ASHEBORO — The 1A West Regional Championship is headed back to the Granite City.
Two days after suffering just its second loss of the season, Mount Airy got its revenge against Uwharrie Charter with a 1-0 road victory on May 23.
Uwharrie, the defending 1A State Champion, suffered its first shut out loss against a 1A team since 2018. The loss also broke a 19-game win streak for the Eagles.
“I’m super proud of them and the way they competed,” said Mount Airy coach Josh Wilson. “We’re to the point where you’re just trying to survive, so if that means scoring one run and playing great defense for seven innings that’s what we’ll do.
“You have to do whatever it takes, and our guys fought with everything they had.”
Mount Airy’s lone run came with two outs in the top of the first inning. Cameryn Wilson was walked, then Landon Cox crushed a line drive to left field. Cox’s hit landed a few feet in front of a charging Uwharrie fielder, so when the Eagle dove for the attempted catch it bounced past him. Wilson crossed the plate and Cox advanced all the way to third.
The No. 1-seeded Granite Bears (26-2) had one other hit on the evening — an Ian Gallimore line drive to right-center field. Two hits got the job done thanks to Mount Airy’s strong defense, but even with the two hits Coach Wilson was pleased with his team’s aggressiveness at the plate.
Mount Airy only struck out three times in Game 2 after striking out seven times in its Game 1 loss. No. 2 Uwharrie’s 4-0 win on May 21 was Mount Airy’s first shutout loss this season.
“We were able to hit the ball a lot more, they just made some good plays,” Coach Wilson said. “The big thing was cutting down on strikeouts because we had to make them work for everything. We told them, ‘Go back to when your 8 or 9 years old and you dad was throwing to you in the yard. You didn’t think about the plate being 17 inches or anything like that. Don’t overthink it. If you think you can hit it, hit it.’
“Overall, we had much better approaches even if we did end up with fewer hits than the other night.”
Uwharrie (25-6) was also held to just two hits on the evening due to a combination of Kamden Hawks’ pitching and a solid defensive performance across the board.
Thursday’s game marked Mount Airy’s 11th shut out victory of the season. Hawks improved to 14-0 on the mound this year by throwing 12 strikeouts. The lefty Morehead State University-commit struck out seven of the Eagles’ nine batters at least once.
Hawks also struck out five-straight batters across the second and third innings, including all three in the bottom of the third.
“Kam set the tone, and it helped everyone else settle in too,” Coach Wilson said. “Kam felt comfortable throwing because he had confidence in the guys behind him, and the guys behind him also fed off his energy. It was a true group effort, and that’s what it takes to win at this level.”
The Bears worked out of a few potential game-changing moments with their strong defense.
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, Uwharrie’s Caleb Stickle hit a hard ground ball in the direction of left field. Shortstop Rylan Venable laid out to intercept the hit, quickly popped back up and threw before fully standing up. First baseman Cox stretched out to make the catch just in time to force the out.
The following inning, Uwharrie’s Carter Brown led off with a ground ball up the middle to pick up his team’s second hit. An error on the throw back to the infield allowed Brown to bolt to second base.
Hawks struck out the Eagles’ next batter, then gave up back-to-back bases on balls. Hawks fell behind with a 2-0 count, then his third pitch was tipped before the fourth pitch was also called a ball. One pitch away from walking in the game-tying run, Hawks threw back-to-back strikes to keep the scoreboard clean. The following batter, Walker Wilkins, flied out to Ian Gallimore in right field.
“That was huge for us,” Coach Wilson said. “Last game we did not respond the way we should have when things didn’t go our way. Tonight we had the one throwing error in the big scare inning, but that was a gift to them and we overcame it. Fighting through that adversity shows the type of competitors our guys are.”
Following Game 1, Coach Wilson told his team that talent wouldn’t be the issue for Mount Airy entering the second game of the series. Instead, he said the most important thing was for the Bears to stay under control from the shoulders up.
Coach Wilson added that the Bears didn’t even hold a traditional practice on Wednesday, instead opting to play Blitzball on the softball field.
The message to his team was: ‘Y’all may think I’m crazy, but you need to be loose and have some fun. At this point there’s nothing physical we can teach you that you don’t already know and that’s going to magically turn everything around. Y’all know how to play; you don’t win 25 games in a row not knowing what you’re supposed to do. The mental part has to be there to win.”
Fueled by a sea of navy shirts, Mount Airy took the fight to Uwharrie early and it paid off.
“They were just super engaged in that game from the start,” Coach Wilson said. “We scored early and kind of got that monkey off our back, and that’s what it took. We had baserunners and had opportunities, but didn’t capitalize. Even when Uwharrie made good plays we never wavered.”
Perhaps the Bears’ biggest mental obstacle came in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hawks had around 15 pitches left before reaching his maximum for the game, and Mount Airy knew Uwharrie had won its fourth-round game with a walk-off.
Hawks struck out the Eagles’ first two batters, then put up a full count before a hit by pitch. Hawks’ pitch count had reached 102 when Uwharrie’s Alex Carver stepped up to the plate, but the senior’s 12th strikeout of the night secured the victory just in time.
“We’ve been in those tight games where it’s going to take a defensive stop to win it,” Coach Wilson said. “We’ve been battle-tested, so I was confident going into that last inning. Playing in a 1-0 game for seven innings is mentally exhausting for everybody, so I’m proud of how they finished strong to send the series back to our place.
“I think every one of them could say they gave it their all. They left it all out there and we were able to come away with a win.”
The win-or-go-home finale to the 1A West Regional Championship is scheduled for the evening of May 25 with a time to be determined. Mount Airy’s graduation is scheduled for Saturday morning.
“It couldn’t be a bigger day for a high school senior, but I know our boys are up for the task,” Coach Wilson said. “They’re locked in, and I know they’re ready. Right now our only focus is going 1-0 on Saturday.
“This is a big time game for us and a big time game for the community. I’m expecting a big crowd to come out and support these guys.”
Pitching
Uwharrie Charter
Brett Smith — 7 IP, 3K, 4 BB, 0 HBP, 2H, 1R
Mount Airy
Kamden Hawks — 7 IP, 12K, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 2H, 0R
Scoring
(2) Uwharrie — 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 — 0
(1) Mount Airy — 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 — 1
Game 1
Uwharrie took advantage of early walks to put four runs on the board across the second and third innings. Mount Airy held Uwharrie scoreless the rest of the evening, but failed to string together enough hits to get on the board themselves.
The 4-0 loss marks Mount Airy’s first defeat since Feb. 29, and is the team’s first against a 1A opponent this season. The Bears hadn’t even trailed in more than a month.
“To get shut out tonight is a real gut check,” said Mount Airy coach Josh Wilson.
Uwharrie scored three of its four total runs in the second inning. Three Eagles were walked to load the bases with two outs, then Alex Carver earned a base on balls to break the 0-0 tie. The visitors’ next batter, Walker Wilkins, sent a ground ball down the left field line to bring in two more runs.
The Eagles loaded the bases once again in the third inning after two walks and a single. A hit to right field from Landon Zephir brought in Uwharrie’s final run.
“The difference in the game was walks; we had seven and their guy only threw one,” Wilson said. “Every run they got was free. You’re not going to give away four early runs like that and expect to beat a team of this caliber.”
Ian Gallimore took over on the mound for the Bears midway through the third inning. The senior, who hadn’t pitched a full inning all season, didn’t surrender a single run during Tuesday’s game.
“Ian’s a competitor, and I think he’s gained a lot of poise in high-pressure situations with all the success they’ve had in football,” Wilson said. “He hasn’t pitched a lot in games, but throws every practice and stays ready. He came in tonight and threw strikes when we needed him to.”
Even with the lopsided scoreboard, Mount Airy (25-2) only finished with two fewer hits than Uwharrie. Including bases via error, Mount Airy put runners on in six of seven innings. However, four of Mount Airy’s five hits came with two innings on the board.
Jake Hunter pitched a complete game for the Eagles. The sophomore finished with seven strikeouts, one base on balls and one hit allowed.
“We were able to hit their number one guy, but just couldn’t get much going to support that,” Wilson said. “A lot of that has to do with how we reacted to certain things. The big thing for us is staying under control from the shoulders up. I feel like we could’ve made a run at them at any point, but that roller coaster of emotions can’t be there.
“Tonight’s over, and we can’t change anything about it. We’re just going to go home, sleep it off then come back ready to play. The only thing we’re thinking about is extending the series to get back here. If we play to our potential I don’t think anybody is better than us in a three-game series. We just have to play like we know we’re capable of and keep our emotions in check.
Pitching
Uwharrie Charter
Jake Hunter — 7 IP, 7K, 1 BB, 0 HBP, 5H, 0R
Mount Airy
Brison George — 2 IP, 1K, 5 BB, 0 HBP, 2H, 4R
Ian Gallimore — 5 IP, 2K, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 5H, 0R
Scoring
(2) Uwharrie — 0, 3, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0 — 4
(1) Mount Airy — 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 — 0
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