It certainly wasn't worth the wait.

Thanks to Mother Nature's wrath on Monday night, the Pioneers, who got off to a slow start in an all-important game with South Caldwell, suffered through two days of waiting before they bested by the Spartans 10-5 Thursday night at Pioneer Field. The loss drops WHS (8-4 overall; 4-3 in the Northwestern 3A/4A Conference) into a second-place tie with Alexander Central in the NW3A/4A.
On the other hand, the win gives South Caldwell (11-1; 7-1) a two-game lead on the Pioneers and the Cougars with four games left in the regular season. The Spartans belted three home runs. Blake Johnson and Travis Cook paced the attack. Those two combined for two home runs and eight runs-batted-in. Johnson was 4-4 with a double, a home run and four RBI.
"They just came in here and took it to us," said WHS coach Pete Hardee in a dejected tone. "There's not much more to say. We've just got to work a little harder and try to play a little bit better."
Matt Proffitt and Tyler Jones both homered for the Pioneers. Proffitt had a three run shot on Monday night before the rains came. Jones belted a two-run blast in the fourth that brought the Pioneers within striking distance at 8-5. But a two-run homer by Gage Parham in the fifth put the contest out of reach.
Cook, who is 2-0 lifetime against WHS, retired eight in a row before he walked Proffitt in the fourth to end the streak. Jones followed with his home run and that also opened the exit door for Cook. But Logan Alley came on in relief and completely shut WHS down. The righthander gave up a hit, walked one and struck out four in 2 2/3 innings of work. A bloop single by Dylan Norris and a walk to Ryan Turner in the seventh inning were the only blemishe against Alley.. He closed things out by striking out Josh Roberts to end the game.
"There are no more must wins," Hardee said. "Right now, we just have to survive. We've got to play better. We certainly didn't do that tonight."
The Pioneers host Hibriten Friday night. Our coverage begins at 6 pm on Oldies 100.7 FM. Mount Tabor, weather-permitting, comes to town on Saturday.
NOTES: There was another game on the schedule Thursday night. Fred T. Foard dropped a 2-1 decision at West Lincoln in a non-conference game. The Tigers have lost three in a row.

NORTHWESTERN 3A/4A CONFERENCE STANDINGS:

SOUTH CALDWELL         7-1; 11-1
WATAUGA                     4-3;   8-4
ALEXANDER CENTRAL  4-3;   6-7
FRED T. FOARD              4-4;  6-7
HICKORY                        4-4;  9-6
ST. STEPHENS               2-6;  3-8
HIBRITEN                        2-6;  3-10

THURSDAY'S GAMES:

SOUTH CALDWELL 10, WHS 5
WEST LINCOLN 2, FRED T. FOARD 1

FRIDAY'S GAMES:

HIBRITEN @ WHS
HICKORY @ ALEXANDER CENTRAL
ST. STEPHENS @ FRED T. FOARD

SATURDAY'S GAMES:

MOUNT TABOR @ WHS
WEST WILKES @ HIBRITEN
SOUTH CALDWELL @ DRAUGHN

WOMEN'S SOCCER:

The Watauga High soccer team blasted South Caldwell 6-0 Thursday night at Jack Groce Stadium. Skylar Hicks paced the attack. She had two goals and an assist. Lillie Brady had a goal and an assist; Brittany Brown had two assists. Kendyl Baird, Hannah Younger, Lydia Mauney each had a goal to round-out the scoring. Jeanette Vines had an assist. The Pioneers (8-2-1; 4-1-1 NW3A/4A) entertain Hibriten Friday night.

MEN'S TENNIS:

The Watauga High tennis team suffered its second loss in three matches this week. The Pioneers (10-4) dropped a 5-4 decision to Newton-Conover on Thursday night at the Sports Complex. Steve Lake, Michael Smith and Patrick O'Neal won in singles play. Lake and Smith picked up a win in at No.1 doubles. The Pioneers play three matches next week: The Pioneers entertain St. Stephens on Monday, South Caldwell comes to town on Tuesday and the Pioneers travel to Hibriten on Thursday. WHS will play at Hickory on Monday, April 18. The St. Stephens and Hickory matches are make-ups that were originally postponed by weather.

MEN"S GOLF:

The non-conference match at Cedar Rock Country Club was canceled and will not be rescheduled, according to WHS coach Mike Northern. The Pioneers travel back to Cedar Rock for a Northwestern 3A/4A Conference match hosted by Hibriten on Monday. The Pioneers are currently in sixth place in the league standings. Hickory leads the league standings; the Red Tornadoes own a 33 shot lead on second-place Alexander Central. And a reminder, the Pioneers home match at the Boone Golf Club scheduled for Monday, April 18 has been moved to Tuesday, April 19 because of maintenance work at the golf course. That match will begin at 2 pm on Tuesday, April 19.