Behind 18 Strikeouts, HiToms Smack Copperheads 6-0
High Point/Thomasville, NC – On the first road trip of the season to Asheboro, the High Point-Thomasville HiToms felt right at home in a 6-0 win on Tuesday night. Six HiToms pitchers combined to strikeout 18 Copperheads batters over the last seven innings of the ballgame. The HiToms are 1-0 after the win. The Copperheads fell to 1-2.
On the hitting side, the HiToms started the party early with returning outfielder Luke Spiva. Spiva banged the fifth pitch of the ballgame over 400 feet and past the right field fence for his first home run of the year. CJ Johnson continued to hit the ball hard, smashing three hits. Chet Sikes, Cole Simpson, and Von Seibert also drove in runs for the HiToms, who had each starter reach base. Fresh off of his Catawba season, pitcher Tyrese Hearst started for the HiToms pitching three scoreless frames in his 2021 Coastal Plain League debut, striking out the side in the third.
Hearst’s third inning ignited the fire for the HiToms, who then mowed down 15 more batters for a stunning 18 strikeouts. Will Lancaster, Ben Peterson, Avery Cain, Tristan Snyder, and K.J. Wells combined to complete the first shutout of the season. Lancaster earned the win with 5 strikeouts in two innings of relief pitching. Former Appalachian State righty Ben Peterson was the third pitcher of the night, lighting up the radar gun with a max of 95 mph, leading to three strikeouts of his own.
The HiToms return home for another battle with the Carolina Disco Turkeys on Wednesday night. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m., with $1 concessions courtesy of Shuler Meats.
Courtesy of Shaemus Kreider, HiToms media