Cherryville baseball's Bumgardner hurls no-hitter to start NCHSAA 2A finals
BURLINGTON — Not even a blister was going to keep Brock Bumgardner from giving Cherryville baseball a leg up in the NCHSAA 2A championship series.
Bumgardner hurled a no-hitter in the Ironmen’s 4-0 victory over Rosewood in the 2A state finals.
“This is what you dream of as a kid,” Bumgardner said. “You just want to get the ball in the first game, second game, whenever you get it. You just want to push through that moment; I was so pumped up to get the ball, I was so ready.”
Only three Rosewood base runners reached in the game; two via errors in the fifth and seventh, in addition to a walk in the sixth. He struck out 11 in the game.
He also played through a blister issue which stopped play for nearly 15 minutes. According to Bumgardner, the break allowed him to rest himself mentally and physcially, giving him the reprieve necessary to go the distance.
“Honestly, I got a breather,” he said. “(It allowed me to calm down) It’s not the end of the world. (I was thinking) keep throwing in the zone, keep doing your job.”
The Ironmen junior standout’s bat also played a role, a two-RBI double putting Cherryville on the scoreboard in the first. Bumgardner was intentionally walked his next two at bats, one of which followed a Talon Dalton leadoff double in the fifth. Aaron Heavner made them pay for the decision, his blooper with two outs bringing in two to give Cherryville a 4-0 advantage.
Rosewood put one on in the seventh following a Cherryville outfield error with one down. However, Bumgardner forced a groundout and a fly out to complete the no-hitter.
“We preach (throwing first strikes) all the time,” said Cherryville baseball coach Scott Heavner. “First pitch strike, first out, every inning. You know, he did that the majority of the night. I mean, I don't know that we got a lead off man on.
“What more can I say about (Bumgardner) though; no-hitter? In the state championship? That doesn’t happen every day.”
More important than the no-hitter, though, was the win that gives Cherryville leeway heading into Thursday’s round of play. Game 2 is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday, May 28 at Burlington Athletic Stadium, with a potential winner-take-all Game 3 to take place at 5 p.m. later that evening if necessary.
“In the grand scheme, this is one win; it doesn’t mean much. But it’s also important because it gives us options going into (Thursday),” Heavner said. “This team, it’s hungry. Our guys have been relentless all year long, they’ve been focused and had this as a goal the whole time.”
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Cherryville baseball's Brock Bumgardner hurls no-hitter in NCHSAA 2A finals opener
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