Red Tornadoes sink Hibriten

May 01--The Hibriten Panthers suffered an 8-2 defeat at the hands of Hickory High School on Friday night in Lenoir.

The Panthers managed just four hits in the game. Noah Haney had two of those hits, one of which was a solo home run to center field. Jacob Smith and Evan Clark each added singles.

Each team scored one run in the first inning. Hickory struck first with a RBI double by Davis Rhoney. Hibriten countered when Christian Church drove in Cory Shatley on a ground out in the bottom of the first.

The Red Tornadoes went on to score the next four runs of the game. Landon Linkeous hit a two-run home run and Dylan Roten hit a RBI single in that span. Hickory held a 5-1 advantage after five innings.

Hibriten cut the deficit to three in the bottom of the sixth inning when Haney hit a solo shot to deep center field.

Hickory added three more insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Jess Guarino and Baylor Pait each hit RBI singles, while Linkeous hit a RBI double to make it 8-2.

The Panthers got a base runner in the bottom of the seventh when Clark drew a walk. However, they would get no closer.

Isaiah Maltba pitched the first two innings and took the loss. He allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits. Tristen Whaley picked up the win for Hickory.

Hibriten is the No. 7 seed in the Northwestern 3A/4A Conference tournament and will travel to No. 2 St. Stephens on Tuesday night.

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