By Jeremy Trantham
Times-News Staff Writer
Last Modified: Friday, March 13, 2009 at 11:27 p.m.
West Henderson wasn’t about to let the weather cancel another game against rival Hendersonville.
The Falcons pressed on, despite a chilly intermittent drizzle, and came away with an 11-1, five-inning nonconference home win on Friday. Junior Taylor Reeves allowed one solo home run in 4 2/3 innings to pick up the win in his first varsity start.
“We had to play them because their schedule is so compacted there’s no place to play them if we (didn’t) play them today,” said West coach Jim Hyatt.
West moves to 4-0 on the season while Hendersonville drops to 0-2, with both losses to Henderson County rivals. The two teams were scheduled to play on March 6 at Green Meadows, but snow forced a cancellation.
Ben Walgenbach kept the Bearcats in the game early, allowing just four unearned runs through the first four innings, before tiring in the fifth. The Falcons, who held a 4-1 lead at the time, knocked Hendersonville’s junior ace from the mound with four straight hits and a walk to start the bottom of the fifth.
“I should have (taken him out) earlier,” said Hendersonville coach Mark Cook. “Ben’s a strong kid, he’s been lifting and throwing a lot. I thought he had good control and his curve ball was working good.”
After Wesley Cook had relieved Walgenbach, a throwing error, Hendersonville’s second of the final frame, allowed Zach Beard to score the game-ending run.
“Not a great night for baseball — cold, wet,” Hyatt said. “I thought both teams were a little sluggish because of the weather. He pitched well and kept us off balance for awhile. He got a little tired and we were able to put some things together.”
Beard was 2-for-4 with two runs, a double and a game-high four RBIs for West. Tyler Isgett went 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs.
West took a 4-0 lead in the second as the Falcons took advantage of Hendersonville’s first error. Beard and Isgett provided big two-out hits with back-to-back two-run singles.
The score remained the same until Hendersonville senior Wesley Cook, the coach’s son, launched a solo home run over West’s newly installed taller center-field fence.
“The ball wasn’t carrying great,” Hyatt said. “Of course, the Cook boy carried one pretty good. When he hits it the ball doesn’t have to be carrying great.”
Reeves scattered five hits while striking out six and walking one as the Bearcats stranded seven baserunners.
“Our bats worked at times, but we left too many kids on,” Cook said.
“For his first varsity start I thought (Reeves) pitched well,” Hyatt said. “He made a couple of mistakes and was behind (in the count) a little bit, but I think the more he’s out there on the mound the better he’ll get.”
Jesse Ivens also had a big night at the plate for West, going 2-for-2 with two runs and walk.
While the two late errors helped the Falcons reach the 10-run mercy rule to end the game, Hendersonville’s defense made noticeable improvement since a 12-4 loss at North Henderson earlier in the week.
“Better performance,” Cook said. “Ben pitched well. Wesley came in and threw well. Coach Hyatt and these kids at West have a good team. Same thing early in the year for us, we made some errors and they hurt us.”
Linescore
;;;;;r;h;e
Hendersonville:;0 0 0;0 1 x;x;—;1;5;3
West:;0 4 0;0 7 x;x;—;11;10;1
Winning pitcher: Taylor Reeves (1-0) (4 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 6 Ks, 3 BBs)
Losing pitcher: Ben Walgenbach (0-1) (4 IP, 9 R, 4 ER, 9 H, 5 Ks, 4 BBs)
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