HP Central baseball falls to Page

May 6—HIGH POINT — High Point central baseball coach Andy Harper knew this season was going to be a challenge.

With three seniors, just two with varsity experience including none on the pitching staff, six returners and seven freshmen, Harper expected a tough rebuilding season in which the Bison would take their lumps.

And so it was Wednesday when a few timely Page hits, Central's errors in the field and struggles on the mound and at the plate added up to a 12-0 loss for the Bison, who dropped to 0-3, all in the Metro 4A Conference.

"It's going to be a tough year," Harper said. "We're young and we have guys who haven't played since middle school. It's a rebuilding deal. The positive side is if we build and develop and then things will look good for the next couple of years. It's going to be a grind and a test of faith this year."

Harper said one of the keys to the season could be the experienced players performing well while bringing the younger players along.

"We knew it was going to be tough so as coaches, we have to hide our pride a little bit and find our patience,"Harper said. "We have guys who are trying but at times the play looks ugly. We have to make sure we know the difference between making mistakes and not giving the effort. As long as we give the effort we're satisfied with that.

"I think we gave the effort today. We just have guys who are timid and not sure of themselves against varsity opponents. We haven't had any bad attitudes. The effort has been there. We've got to get them more reps, and unfortunately the only way they can get it right now is playing."

Central stayed even through the first two innings before things unraveled, starting with a misplay on a fly ball and two passed balls that led to the Pirates first run.

A walk and a couple of errors resulted in the second. A one-run single and two-run double made it 5-0. Another run scored on an error and was followed by a three-run triple that pushed the margin to 9-0 as Page sent 14 batters to the plate. The Pirates added three more in the fourth.

On offense, the Bison mustered just one hit but did put two runners on in the first and third. The game was stopped after innings because of a mercy rule.

"We don't have a margin for error," Harper said. "We have to keep the other team down because we don't have much pitching to come back with. So, if there's a crack, it's probably going to bust.We don't have anybody with varsity pitching experience. So that's tough because everybody is looking at that and that is where it starts.

"We're super inexperienced. We don't have anybody who can shut someone down. So we hope that when there's contact, our guys can make some plays and that's a tough combination.'

gsmith@hpenews.com — 336-888-3519 @HPEgreer — 336-888-3519