Myers Park stops Hough in a wild first round NCHSAA 4A baseball playoff game
In the first round of the NCHSAA 4A playoffs on Monday night, the Myers Park Mustangs downed the Hough Huskies in a close 7-5 win.
And it didn’t feel like a first round game. Myers Park was seeded 12th and Hough 21st.
“That team is a top 10 team,” Myers Park coach Erik Foor said of Hough. “Even with the RPI, maybe there needs to be some adjustments throughout the process. That’s an unfortunate draw for us and we knew it was going to be a battle. Ultimately you’re playing...a top 10 team all year in the state. They got their No. 1 (pitcher) back. He wasn’t as polished as he needed to be, but we kind of grinded at-bats out and did our job at the plate.”
Hough jumped out ahead 2-0 early after a two-run home run by Clemson commit Jaxon Matthews. As it was happening, Foor just wanted his guys to stay composed.
They did.
“This team pulled together, man,” he said. “We made a couple crucial mistakes inside the game that could’ve affected us and could’ve brought some high school kids down in the moment, but we stayed with it.”
To Foor’s point, Myers Park rallied to take a 4-2 lead before a scary injury happened to starting catcher Thomas Jones on a throw to second base. He had to leave the game. Sophomore Rob Ford, who had primarily played junior varsity, replaced Jones.
Ford didn’t have an easy time. Hough loaded the bases in the sixth inning and all three Huskies scored on an RBI double. Trailing 5-4, Myers Park scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth, despite getting just one hit.
Ford played well through all of that, stopping several balls that might’ve led to more Hough scoring. He was also part of the Myers Park defense that shut Hough down in the top of the seventh to end the game.
“Pretty much all I was thinking is I’ve got to do my job,” Ford said. “That’s what it comes down to at the end of the day.”
Coach Foor was pleased with the sophomore’s composure during the high-stress moments.
“Aw man, next man up,” Foor said. “These guys are trained next man up. Whenever you’re called upon, you’ve got to be ready. That’s athletics. For a sophomore to come into that moment, that’s a great job by him. Hat’s off to our sophomore.”
With the status of Jones hanging in the balance, the Mustangs will prepare to play the fifth-seeded Weddington Warriors on Friday.
“We’re going to take it one day at a time,” Foor said, “get to practice, get to work and see what happens on Friday.”
Three who made a difference
Jaxon Mathews, Hough: The Freshman came in and got things going for the Huskies with a two-run shot to open up the game’s scoring.
Luke McGrath, Myers Park: The Mustangs’ starting pitcher, pitched five solid innings with five strikeouts.
Rob Ford, Myers Park: The sophomore catcher was thrown into the game due to an injury to the Mustangs’ starting catcher. He did an excellent job blocking balls in the dirt and making the right plays.
Worth mentioning
▪ Both teams were bitten by the error bug in this game totaling over five total for the night.
What’s next?
▪ The Huskies’ season will come to an end while the Mustangs advance to play the Weddington Warriors on Friday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Scoring summary
Myers Park: 0 2 0 1 1 3 X — 7
Hough: 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 — 5
WP: Jim Johnson (2.0 IP, 1K, 0BB, 0ER)
LP: James Nesta (0.1IP, 1K, 3BB, 2ER)
PHOTOS: Hough at Myers Park baseball
This story was originally published May 9, 2023 at 10:52 PM.
