Garrett Griffin was the relief pitcher after Deangelo Tyson suffered an injury.

Coach Hank Harris said the team’s batting has improved over the season. “We hit the ball very well today,” he said. “Our offense exploded and kind of matched our defensive intensity.”

The Bearcats won against Sun Valley last Wednesday 6-5, only to lose to them on Friday 5-6.

Coach Hank Harris said that the game last Wednesday was one of the team’s best. “It’s like I’ve said all year, it’s what we hang our hat on, is playing good defense, and we’ve been pitching really well,” he said. “Today was outstanding. Our starter, Deangelo, he came in and kind of pulled a quad muscle, so we had to bring him out and bring Garrett in. He’s normally our Friday starter, but he came in and did a hell of a job coming in not expecting to pitch. Just a great pitch. We hit the ball very well today. Our offense exploded and kind of matched our defensive intensity, which was good. We played probably one of the most complete games we’ve had in about three weeks, so it was great. It was a great senior day; it’s good to send these guys out with a home win.”

Towards the end of the game, Sun Valley had inched forward, closing the majority of the gap by the last inning. “It was getting close, it was a little bit tense, but we knew that we had the last at bat and we knew that they had to score three runs and keep it going, but I thought we were not afraid,” Harris said. “I think it was probably the first time all year where we’ve had a lead and we did not play scared of the lead.”

The school had a half-day that Wednesday for professional development, giving the team a chance to get extra practice in before the game. “We took a more concerted effort when we were batting practice, and I think that really paid off today in the game, too,” Harris said.

Harris also praised relief pitcher Garrett Griffin (#15) for his pitching during the game when Deangelo Tyson (#1) re-injured his leg, which Griffin said he had hurt in basketball practice. “He came in and really dealt on the mound,” Harris said. “Batting was a real team, but without him on the mound, who knows what would’ve happened.”

Griffin said it was “a little scary at the end” when Sun Valley began to catch up, but that the team played well. “I’ve been trying to keep my fastball down,” he said. “My coaches have been teaching me to hit my spots, and throw my curve ball for a shot. D started on the mound for us, and I was playing third base, but coach wanted me to pitch when he was hurt, so I tried to come in, throw shots, and do what I could to help the team out.”

The teamwork helped propel them to the win. “Overall, we could improve on some stuff, mostly our offense, but I think we stuck together and each and every game we had a good mindset going in and were trying to stay positive, and work on offense stuff coming into the off season,” Griffin said. “Try to win some more games, tight games. We lost a lot of tight games this year. We’re a lot more together. We rely on each other, and it’s a family.”

The team played Sun Valley again last Friday for the fifth spot in the conference. Harris was optimistic before the game. “Last year, we didn’t win a conference game, and this year, our record is better, our conference record is a little better,” he said. “It’s been a good season.”

The Bearcats lost that game 6-5.

JV baseball

The JV baseball team lost last Friday’s non-conference game to Sun Valley 9-3.

It was their final game of the year.

Soccer

The Lady Cats lost a conference match to Piedmont last Tuesday 8-0.

The girls will face Cuthbertson at Anson High School on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Softball

The softball team lost two games back-to-back last week.

Last Monday, the girls lost to Cuthbertson 7-3.

In the first inning, both teams made two runs. Anson made one run in the third inning, while Cuthbertson made one in the fifth inning. The teams stayed tied 3-3 until the ninth inning, when Cuthbertson made four runs to take the game 7-3.

The team lost to Weddington 14-1 last Wednesday.

Weddington made five runs in the fifth inning, eight in the second, and one in the third. Anson made its only run in the third inning.