Addison shines in leading Hornbeck back to state tournament

Published 12:23 pm Sunday, May 8, 2022

By Daniel Green  |  BWS Sports

EVANS — Hornbeck’s Brayden Addison had himself quite a day Saturday afternoon.

Not only did Addison go 4-for-4 at the plate with a home run and six RBIs, he also scattered four hits over 5.1 innings, striking out 10 batters in leading the fourth-seeded Hornets to a 14-2 victory over the No. 12 Evans Eagles in the Class C quarterfinals.

With the win, Hornbeck moved to the semifinals and a matchup with another District 3-C rival in the ninth-ranked Simpson Broncos, who upset No. 1 Harrisonburg on Friday. The two teams will play at 10 a.m. on Wednesday in a game that can be heard live on KJAE-FM 93.5 with Will Norris and Daniel Green on the call.

Hornbeck wasted little time getting on the board, taking advantage of four first-inning errors by the Eagles. Additionally, Addison aided his own cause by blasting a 3-run homer over the centerfield fence to give the Hornets an early 6-0 lead.

All six runs for the Hornets in the frame were unearned off of Evans starter Zane West.

After the homer, Addison stepped onto the mound and struck out the side in the bottom of the first.

Hornbeck pushed another run across in the second to up the lead to seven runs and Addison fanned two more in the bottom of the second, although he did walk a batter and hit another.

The Hornets failed to score in the third, but the Eagles got on the board when West got the first hit of the game and later scored on a passed ball to cut the gap to six runs, 7-1.

But once again, Addison did the damage on the offensive side of things, smacking a 2-run single to left center, pushing the lead out to 9-1.

Evans responded with a run in the bottom of the frame as West singled and scored on a double off the bat of Caden Whatley, cutting the deficit to 9-2.

However, the Hornets pushed five runs across in the sixth, including an RBI-single from Addison and a 2-run blast off the bat of JoJo Weeks, extending the advantage to 14-2.

The Hornets closed it out in the bottom of the frame to punch their ticket to Sulphur.

Addison gave up two runs on four hits over 5.1 innings, while Weeks and Jaren Mitcham each pitched a third of an inning.

Addison had three singles and a homer with six RBIs, a season-high for the righty. Tristen Welch added two hits and three runs scored for the Hornets in the contest.

West suffered the loss, giving up seven run in two innings of work. Wyatt Austin pitched the final four innings for the Eagles. West led the Eagles with two hits and two runs scored.