Eagles Baseball 10-5 in conference
May 5, 2021RCC is #2 seed in the Region 10 tournament, starting Friday, May 7
WENTWORTH – Rockingham Community College’s Eagles Baseball team has finished the season 21-13 overall, and 10-5 in the conference.
“We will be the No. 2 seed in the Region 10 tournament,” said Head Coach Reece Honeycutt.
That National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) tournament is slated for 3 p.m. Friday, May 7, at the Moor Park Stadium in Mooresville. It will pit RCC against the No. 3. Seed.
RCC played Surry Community College for a second time this past weekend, May 1-2.
The Eagles won the first game 6-3.
Freshman Jonathan Todd (Rockingham County HS) pitched 3 innings. Freshman infielder Ricky Gonzalez (South Stokes HS) threw 5 innings, and sophomore Zach Bennett (Lincoln Charter HS) threw 1 inning to combine a great first game.
Gonzalez got the win and Bennett got the save.
“We played small ball and hitters did their job putting the ball in play,” said Head Coach Reece Honeycutt. “It was a good team win.”
RCC lost the second game, 6-11.
“Offensively we had a couple good things happen and scored enough runs to win the game. We just need to do a better job with the pitching side of the ball when their number is called,” Honeycutt said.
Freshman Daniel Sell (West Rowan HS) threw 3.1 innings and “battled without his best stuff,” the coach continued. Freshman Trenton Wood (East Lincoln HS) “did a good job out of the bullpen.”
In the third game of the weekend, the Eagles won 6-4.
It was Sophomore Day on the home turf of Gilliland Field. Before the game started, eight graduating sophomores were honored:
- Zach Bennett, who will begin working in the insurance field;
- RJ Brooks, who is transferring to Appalachian State University;
- Justin Cash, Garret Hladilek and Jarred Simpson, who are all transferring to play baseball at Bluefield State College;
- Hunter Lail, who is transferring to Western Carolina University;
- Scott Meitzler, wo is transferring to play baseball at Lenoir-Rhyne University; and
- Bennet Nooe, who is transferring to an undecided four-year university.
The sophomore pitchers, Scott Meitzler (Hudson HS), Hunter Lail (Burns HS), and Zach Bennett, “threw a great game. Scott got the win and Zach got the save,” Honeycutt said. “Scott hit his 11th home run of the season, which ties the most in school history!”
Other sophomores –Nooe (Morehead HS), Garrett Hladilek (Rockingham County HS), and Jarred Simpson (Morehead HS) all had key hits, according to the coach.
Combine Academy
On April 27, RCC lost 8-18 against Combine Academy.
Nooe hit two doubles, Hladilek one double, and freshman outfielder Gabe Duncan (East Lincoln HS) hit a triple.
Nooe and freshman infielder Brady Price (McMichael HS) had RBIs, and Hladilek and Jackson Brant (Mooresville HS) had two RBIs each. Meitzler managed to steal a base.
Meitzler, Gonzalez and sophomore Carson Wray (Morehead HS) pitched two innings each, Lail pitched one, and freshmen Camden Woods (Morehead HS), Dylan Mauldin (Ashbrook HS) and Nick Womack (Lincoln Charter HS) pitched partial innings.
Caldwell Tech
On April 23, RCC was twice shut out by Caldwell Tech, 0-8 and 0-10. A home game that Sunday was canceled due to a wet field.
In the first game, Todd faced 27 pitchers, Woods four, and Gonzalez one. Coach Honeycutt said Todd threw the ball well in his six innings.
Meitzler, Duncan, Nooe and Gonzales each had hits.
“We just didn’t get the bats going. We couldn’t put multiple hits together,” Honeycutt said.
In the second game, Sell faced 16 batters, to Wood’s nine and Bennett’s two.
“Daniel Sell started on the mound and just didn’t have his stuff. Trenton Wood and Zach Bennet each threw out of the bullpen and threw well,” said the coach.
Bennet Nooe and Scott Meitzler each had a hit.
“It was a tough day for the Eagles,” said Coach Honeycutt. Nevertheless, the Eagles were still in second place in the conference.
Thomas Nelson
On April 17-18, RCC faced Thomas Nelson for three wins: 18-3, 6-4, and 8-4.
In Game 1, Todd threw a complete game – 5 innings pitched, 2 earned runs, and 10 strikeouts.
Hladilek led the offense with a four-hit day. Simpson hit his fourth home run of the season.
“We came out and scored eight runs in the first inning which set the tone for this game,” said Honeycutt.
In Game 2, “Daniel Sell had this third consecutive quality start for us which is going to be big for us. He threw 5 innings while striking out 7,” said the coach. “Zach Bennett getting back on the mound for an inning in this game was also big for us.”
Simpson led the offense with a couple big RBI hits.
Meitzler hit his 10th home run the season.
‘We were not as aggressive in this game. The hits and the score show that,” Honeycutt said. “The pitching staff did a good job getting us this win,” Honeycutt said.
In Game 3, Meitzler got the win, throwing 7 innings and striking out 12.
Nooe, Simpson, and Hladilek led the offense with multiple hits.
“We just gave away way too many at bats in this game. The mid-game adjustment needs to be made better,” said Honeycutt. “It’s good to get three wins even though we didn’t play our best baseball.”
To follow RCC Athletics, visit https://www.rockinghamcc.edu/student-services/athletics/.
