Fruitland – North Henderson Knight Field will light up with swings, throws, and grins from familiar stars of the past dozen years.
The game is scheduled for Saturday, July 22, at 7 p.m. It was postponed from June 24, due to expected rain.
Justin King, the Knights head baseball coach since 2011, has organized this exhibition for a decade. He will play. “We will have a concession stand, and folks are welcome to make donations there,” he noted. “Other than that, it is free to all.”
Combining the alumni game with the historic first night game is ideal, King said. “I can’t think of a better spot than to have our alumni involved with something (night baseball) people have been asking for a long time.”
He is very pleased with the lighting, from testing it. “The lighting is top-notch — it feels like daytime,” Coach King said. “Lights are going to bring a whole new environment to our facility. It is going to be great.” The softball field also has new lights.
North Henderson is the last team to get to play night baseball and softball. East and West Henderson have lights at their fields on campus. Hendersonville Bearcats can play at night, now that they host games at historic Berkeley Mills Park.
On July 22, the activity is to start at 5 p.m. with pregame warmups and batting and fielding practice. The first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. The length of the game is undefined. Coach King simply said that “we will play ‘until’.”
Pitches, Swings, Laughs
Many players will simply show up for the game, rather than commit to playing. King said, “I do not have a confirmed list of attendees. We expect a good crowd of folks” participating and watching. King has been the Knight varsity baseball head coach for the past 12 years, after four years leading junior varsity. He has coached dozens and dozens of Knights, and reaches out to them. “I have sent invitations to all of my alumni from the past 12 years. We have shared on social media, and hope to have as many come out as possible. I have notified all former coaches that I can recall from my time and before, to join us as well. There are no designated coaches. We the coaches play a little bit.”
Teams will be “as even as possible” and “split up according to the amount of pitchers and catchers we have,” Coach King said. “We will divide up and play — and share equipment and laughs.”
Seth, Zach
Two of the most distinguished Knight baseball alumni are Seth Williams and Zach Gahagan. Both played for UNC Tar Heels. Williams, 37, was all state with the Knights as a junior in 2003. He started in right or center field for four consecutive seasons (2005-08) of UNC making it to the College World Series, averaging over .290 batting. He blasted 13 homers as a freshman. UNC was national runner-up in 2006 and ‘07.
The N.Y. Mets drafted Williams in 2008. He batted a hefty .368 in a rookie league, and .277 over three minor league seasons including high A ball.
Gahagan in 2018 hit .273 as a Tar Heel senior, then .278 in a rookie league right after the St. Louis Cardinals drafted him. He lasted one more minors season. He lives in Charlotte.
Many people know him best as the Knight quarterback. He was injured early into his senior football season. But he was a vocal encourager on the sidelines, rooting on teammates to an upset of Hendersonville.
Jackie Corn, NHHS Class of 2006, was a slugging first baseman. He is West Henderson‘s head coach, and led the Falcons to the 3A baseball state title a month ago. “Jackie was my assistant for ten years” at NHHS, Coach King noted. Corn will be at a family retreat, and have to miss the rescheduled Knight alumni game.
Henderson County Public Schools Assistant Principal for Instructional Services Scott Rhodes serves as athletic director for the entire school system. He made his mark as a multi-sport star in the late Eighties for Edneyville High, the forerunner of North Henderson, and as the Knights head coach. He coached Williams and others to dethrone West as league champ in 2004, which propelled Knight baseball into another stratosphere.
Honeycrisps
Very recent Knight baseball stars include shortstop Brayden Corn and pitcher-third baseman Dylan Blackwell. They both graduated in 2022. Blackwell was all-conference in baseball and as a football lineman.
Corn starred for NHHS as a shortstop and pitching closer. He rated in the top 20 statewide as an outfielder prospect, according to PerfectGame.org. He plays for the University of South Carolina-Union.
In this summer, Corn plays outfield for the Hendersonville Honeycrisps in the Old North State League for current collegians. A scheduling conflict keeps him from the Knight alumni game, since the Honecrisps also play on July 22.
The Honeycrisps won their last four games, and are 21-8 overall and 17-4 in league contests. Their offense is explosive with eight, ten, and nine runs in the three latest wins. The league has three divisions of five teams. Hendersonville leads the Western Division over Lexington, Pineville, Marion, and Lenoir.
West Falcon alumni Will Lindsey is the head coach of the Honecrisps, which feature Henderson and Buncombe stars. Pitchers include new high school grads Reece Alverson of East Henderson, Hendersonville lefty Samuel Wolfe, and T.C. Roberson’s Cole Penland; also 2022 Asheville Cougar grad Bo Trantham and 2019 West grad Caleb Penner.
Catchers include Brevard College senior Kenny Pridmore from East, and 2021 West grad Gavin Swanner. Infielders include third baseman Colin Ingle and first baseman Jake Lindsey from the 2023 state champion Falcons, Asheville new grad Kyle Moshier, Anderson (S.C.) University senior Kyle Andress who is a 2019 West grad, and 2022 Owen Warhorse grad Briggs Barker.
Outfielders include 2023 3A State Finals MVP Alex Anderson of West, 2022 West grad Jackson Duchesne. Asheville Christian 2022 grad Joshua Morgan is also on the Honeycrisps.
Their remaining home games are at Berkeley Mills Park on July 10, 15 and 22 at 7 p.m., and July 23 at 2 p.m. Playoffs are July 24-30.