Rest assured, had there been a seventh inning on Saturday, no one else was finishing the game for Charlie Collins ’24.
With his stoicism and placement, the right-hander from Bryson City, N.C., gave Christ School varsity baseball a defining performance and said he still had more in him after 93 pitches.
Charlie only yielded two earned runs, six hits, and no walks to go with four strikeouts. His run support couldn’t have been any better – the Greenies battered one of the best teams in NCISAA 4-A, High Point Wesleyan Christian Academy, by a 14-4 score.
“It’s huge. Getting this is huge not only for us as a program, but for our state ranking and everything toward the playoffs,” Charlie said.
“We looked up and down and we thought that our lineup 1-9 was better than their lineup 1-9. We knew that if I could just keep us in the game by throwing strikes and keep producing groundballs, that we’d be OK.”
Leadoff hitter Matthew Hammel ’23 was a problem all afternoon for the Trojans (7-2), going 4-for-4 with a double, three RBIs, three runs scored, and a walk. His last hit was an infield single with the bases loaded and two outs.
The Greenies (8-2) scored in every inning but the fourth to induce the 10-run mercy rule. They had two runs in the first, three in the second, one in the third, four in the fifth, and four in the sixth and final inning.
Johno Pierce ‘23 went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs, while Jake Gravley ’24 was another Christ School batter with multiple hits – he was 2-2 with a double and an RBI. Will Walker '25 hit a double in the second-inning rally that gave Christ School the lead for good and played solid defense at third base.
Strong wind gusts played havoc with almost everyone and everything at Bourne Field. The power went out in the final inning, the wind screen on the outfield fence was blown off, and players had to hold onto their caps for dear life at times.
As far as the game itself, the only negative effect for the Greenies came in the fifth inning when a Wesleyan home run to right field appeared to be wind-aided. More photos from Saturday's game can be viewed at this link.
Christ School plays its first Carolinas Athletic Association game Tuesday at Asheville School (2-3) at 4:30 p.m.