LENOIR — Hibriten’s bats were popping and Bryan Tuttle made sure West Henderson’s weren’t Tuesday as the Panthers posted a 6-0 second-round win over the perennially strong program from Hendersonville.
The victory was mostly about advancing — Hibriten will now play East Rutherford on Friday — but it was also about erasing a blemish many of the team’s players received two years ago. When the current seniors were playing as underclassmen on varsity, the 2007 Panthers took a 12-1 whipping at West, and those that remain in Panther red and black, hadn’t forgotten.
“I’m glad those little sophomores grew up,” Hibriten coach Terry Henthorne said.
Tuttle, the loser in the game two seasons ago, tossed a dominant, complete-game, three-hitter and struck out six this time around.
“When he’s on the mound, we know we have a chance to win,” Hibriten first baseman Jack Howard said. “He absolutely shut down a good offensive team.”
Tuttle allowed just two base knocks after Tyler Isgett’s double led off the game.
“I think the best thing for Bryan was the opening shot,” Henthorne said.
Hibriten (19-6) gave Tuttle almost instant run support, scoring a run in the bottom of the first when Trent Reynolds hit into a fielder’s choice. Reynolds barely beat the throw to first to avoid a double play and the inning’s third out as Matt Edwards, who had singled, scored from third.
“When we got the first run, I knew we were going to put more up, so I wasn’t too worried about it,” Tuttle said.
The Panthers did most of their damage in a four-run third inning. After Howard’s RBI-double to center and Reynolds’ RBI-single over first, West coach Jim Hyatt replaced starter Dillon Baker with Kyle Davis. With no outs and a runner on, Davis got Dylan Crump to foul out to catcher Forrest Koontz, but his first pitch to the next batter, Gavin Christian, ended up in the trees behind the left-field wall. Christian’s first homer of the season was a moonshot, and it gave Hibriten a 5-0 lead.
“This time of year, the second round of the playoffs, you’re not going to get thrown batting practice,” Henthorne said. “You’re going to have to work to come through with the clutch hits and we did.”
Hibriten totaled nine hits on the night and looked more like the team that won the Catawba Valley Athletic Conference outright than it had in a few games.
“We looked more relaxed at the plate, I have to say,” said Howard, who was 3-for-4 with two doubles. “We weren’t lunging at curveballs in the dirt (like we did against North Surry Saturday).”
It was Howard who provided Hibriten’s final run in the fourth. Facing the third Falcon pitcher, Taylor Reeves, Howard doubled to left to score Matt Edwards, who had singled.
The defense helped Tuttle, who struck out the side in the third, all night.
In the first, Joel Woods and Howard combined for a 5-3 double play to get the Panthers out of the inning. In the fifth, Matt Roberts appeared to have a hit past Howard when the grounder bounced off the first baseman. But Edwards fielded the ball at second and threw to Tuttle covering first to get the out. And after Reeves singled in the seventh, the Panthers closed the game with a 4-6-3 double play (Edwards to Austin Beard to Howard).
“We are here to stay,” Howard said. “People have been doubting the CVAC, saying we’re weak. But we’re strong and we’re here to show it.”
The Panthers will host Friday’s third-round game. East Rutherford defeated Bunker Hill 6-1 Tuesday. Last year, East Rutherford defeated Hibriten 9-4 in the regional semifinals en route to a state finals appearance.
West’s season concluded with an 18-6 record.