ALBEMARLE — One month into the high school baseball season, two Stanly County teams have perfect conference records and are 10-1 to start the season.
The West Stanly Colts and the North Stanly Comets have both emerged as early frontrunners in the Rocky River Conference and Yadkin Valley Conference, respectively.
The Colts (10-1, 6-0 RRC), whose only loss of the season came at home versus St. Stephens back on March 8, have rattled off eight straight wins as conference play is in full swing.
Similarly, the Comets (10-1, 6-0 YVC) have won six games in a row. North’s lone loss of the year was a 2-0 loss at home against the Colts on March 15.
West and North both are coming off winning seasons. The RRC champion Colts, led by ninth-year coach Chad Yow, were undefeated in conference play while winning three of their five nonconference matchups. Despite the strong campaign, the team’s postseason ended sooner than it was hoping as it suffered a 6-2 defeat to South Rowan in the first round of state playoffs.
Last year’s Comets finished second in the YVC behind Uwharrie Charter, wrapping up their postseason with a 3-2 loss to Mountain Island Charter in the first round of state playoffs. Before that loss, North had won eight out of ten games during a resilient conference stretch.
This season, the Colts have outscored their opponents by a 105-13 margin, limiting the competition to less than three scored runs in nine different games. Meanwhile, the Comets — led by first-year coach Scott Clemons — have outscored their opponents 88-15 while holding them to less than three scored runs in 10 different games.
Senior Charlie Carpenter, junior Jordon Hart and sophomore Jett Thomas have been the centerpieces of the Colts’ pitching rotation. In a recent performance, Thomas allowed no runs, one hit and had nine strikeouts in three innings of work in which 31 of his 41 pitches were strikes.
Over in New London, junior infielder and reliever Luke Shaver has led North at the plate with a team-high .475 batting average, 19 hits and 11 RBIs. Junior first baseman Nic Melton has a .389 batting average and 14 hits as well as the only home run his team has produced so far this season. Freshman pitcher Cole Smith has notched three wins and a team-best 3.23 ERA through eight starts.
The Colts are scheduled to have three games with Forest Hills (5-7, 3-3 RRC) on April 5-8 while the Comets will face Mount Pleasant (4-5, 3-1 YVC) on April 5 and April 8.