Warriors beat Bears, avoid elimination

Turns out West Caldwell was saving its best for last.

In what was essentially a play-in game to the Catawba Valley Athletic Conference tournament and a bid to keep the season alive, the Warriors toppled Bunker Hill 9-3 Tuesday in Claremont.

“We knew this was a big game going in, for both teams,” West Caldwell coach Kevin Abee said. “We picked a great time to get some big two-out hits, which we've been lacking all season.”

West's win set up a first-round CVAC showdown with county rival and No. 1 seed Hibriten. The game will be played today at Leslie Hageman Field in Lenoir. It will start at 7 p.m.

The Warriors (9-14 overall, 6-12 CVAC) got seven strong innings on the mound from Jake Benfield, who didn't allow an earned run and struck out six. He threw 120 pitches on the night, and overcame seven West Caldwell errors to get the win.

“(Benfield) is a great infielder, definitely our best fielding pitcher,” Abee said. “He got us out of several jams and did a great job of keeping momentum in our favor.”

Benfield also contributed with his bat, going 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and two runs scored. Ray Bowles and Jeffrey Rousselle also had big offensive nights for West, with Bowles going 3-for-3 (with two RBIs and three runs) and Rousselle going 2-for-4 (with a four RBIs and a home run).

After the teams traded runs in the first inning, West broke the game open in the top of the third. Gordy Hendrix led off with a single, eventually scoring on a Benfield single. Rousselle then plated Bowles and Benfield with a three-run bomb to right field.

“It was a great at bat with his opposite field power,” Abee said.

The Warriors added one insurance run in the top of the fourth and three more in the top of the sixth, with Bowles, Benfield and Rousselle once again delivering key hits.

Chris Crawford took the loss on the mound for Bunker Hill.

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