Beddingfield ends on high note

Beddingfield High finished the baseball season Thursday the way the Bruins started it a little more than two months ago — with a mercy-rule win.

Beddingfield amassed eight hits, drew eight walks and stole 10 bases while not committing a single error in the 13-2 conquest of visiting Spring Creek in the season finale for both 2-A Neuse 6 Conference teams. The Bruins of head coach Matt Ballance finished 7-13 a year after going 3-13 and two years after an 0-12 2022 season, his first at the helm.

“When we played well, I think we played well enough to beat anybody and when we played bad, we played bad enough where anybody could have beaten us,” Ballance said. “But, overall I’ll be honest with you: If you’d told me when I took the job three years ago with that group that didn’t make it past the fifth inning in our first year would win seven ball games, I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know if I would have believed it or not.”

Ballance eschewed any credit for himself and instead pointed to his four seniors — Scott Keen, Asun Pender, Christian Reyes and Bryson Wagner — and junior Justin Kirby for not only this season’s success that seemed to come in buckets when it came, but just getting the program restarted after three inactive seasons, including COVID in 2020.

“But all in all, it goes to a testament to those four who finished up last night — Bryson, Asun, Scott and Christian — when we didn’t stand a snowball’s chance of winning, those four easily could have given up and but you know, they saw it through,” Ballance said. “Just like I told them, I can’t tell you how proud I am of them because they are quintessentially the group that has made Beddingfield baseball, what it’s kind of turned into over the last three years.”

Beddingfield scored seven runs off three hits and three walks in the first inning off Spring Creek (1-15, 0-10) starting pitcher Nicholas Smith, who didn’t return in the second.

Reyes did the job on the mound for Beddingfield, working 4 2/3 inning and giving up one earned run on one hit and two walks while striking out 10.

“Christian came out and pounded the strike zone and threw the baseball really well for us last night,” Ballance said. “Christian had three or four pitches last night that he could get over for a strike. And you know, I think you saw that with the strikeout number that he had. If you throw 4 2/3 and get 10 Ks, you’re throwing the ball pretty well that night.”

Wagner led the offense with a 3-for-4 showing that included two RBIs. Sophomore Austin Jones was 1 for 2 with three RBIs. Kirby and sophomore Fernando Abazan each went 1 for 2 with an RBI. Kirby’s hit was a double.

Rylan Kornegay doubled in a run for the Gators. who had two hits and three errors.

It was a satisfying end to a season that began with three wins in the first four games but injuries to Wagner and Pender took them out of action for significant stretches. The Bruins struggled to hit the ball often and defense could be an adventure, still, the improvement was evident all year long, Ballance said.

“You know, it just is one of those deals where you’re always stuck wishing you got a little bit more out of them,” he said. “But you know, then again, you also say what if we’d been healthy all year? So you hate to blame it on the injury bug and I’m not looking to do that either, but it definitely makes you wonder, you know, just how good we could have been this year if we had stayed healthy for the entire season.”

Score by innings:

Spring Creek 001 01 — 2

Beddingfield 711 4x — 13

W-Christian Reyes 4 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO. L-Nicholas Smith 1 IP, 3 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO.

LEADING HITTERS — Spring Creek: Rylan Kornegay 1-3, RBI; Jayson Hill 1-2. Beddingfield: Bryson Wagner 3-4, 2 RBIs; Justin Kirby 1-2, 2B, RBI; Austin Jones 1-2, 3 RBIs; Fernando Abazan 1-2, RBI; Scott Keen 1-2.

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