East Flat Rock – The two-time reigning Mountain Division champion Honeycrisps (20-8) lead the division by 2.5 games, with a 15-5 mark heading into this week.
The Crisps are among the seven teams with the most victories in the overall four-division, 24-team Old North State League. They edged out second-place Lake Norman Harbor Hippos 7-6 on July 6. Their 38-game regular season concludes at home on July 20.
Seasoned Players
Players can participate in the NCAA-sanctioned league if they have college baseball eligibility in 2025-26. Some Old North teams recruit nearly nationwide. They target players who hope to gain attention from larger college programs they wish to transfer to, as well as those simply looking to improve their game.
Most current Honeycrisps have already played college baseball. Local talents include Asheville High School alum Connor Hillier (Barton College).
“Awesome!” is how Hillier describes collegiate summer ball. The red-shirted rising sophomore likes how it helps him fine-tune his game in the off-season, and more year-round.
One of two incoming seniors is 215-pound left-handed pitcher Jared Penland (USC-Union) from Tuscola (Class of 2021).
There is A.C. Reynolds lefty-hitting outfielder Ayden Hines (Mars Hill so.). A husky lefty North Henderson alumnus is 6-foot-3, 235-pound Bryson Bradley (Bluefield State jr.).
Incoming Collegians Ram On
Eight of the 30 Crisps on the roster are incoming freshmen. Among them is a duo of new T.C. Roberson graduates who won a record three consecutive 4A state titles. They manned the left side of the Ram infield — third baseman Zeb Stroup and shortstop Jake Parham. Both will play for UNC-Asheville.
Part of their training involves trying different fielding positions, to increase their versatility in college.
The Crisps do a synchronized leap to greet run scorers, a la Roberson’s dugout celebrations. That triggered fond memories of Ram conquests.
The two Rams are adapting well. Swangim mentioned that he is not altering his batting approach. Although pitchers throw harder than most high schoolers did, Roberson successfully faced a 99 mph pitcher from NYC in a tournament in Florida.
Wooden Bats
A good preparation in the summer collegiate league is in requiring batters to exclusively use wooden bats. So do major and minor league pros. Hitters can can use either type in many college spring leagues. An initial challenge for new collegians is switching from aluminum bats in high school to wooden bats.
Wooden bats help hitters develop better mechanics and disciplined strike zone awareness. This is because usin them requires a more precise and accurate swing, due to their smaller sweet spots. The two Ram stars are known for their accurate swings, making their adjustment to wooden bats much easier.
Aluminum bats allow hitters to make greater contact with larger sweet spots, enabling the ball to travel farther. This is due to a “trampoline effect,” in which the bat compresses and transfers energy to the ball upon impact.
Hit balls travel faster in the pros and college than in high school. They are thus more likely to injure fielders, making aluminum bats more dangerous to use and prompting their ban. They are more durable and cost-efficient. Wooden bats can break upon off-target impacts.
Winning Convincingly
Parham doubled in a five-run fifth inning on June 11, as the Crisps rallied from a 3-0 deficit to lead the visiting Sawmills Timberkings. The Crisps won 12-9, for a double-header sweep.
The Hickory-area Sawmills’ primary owner, Mark Emery, resides in Saluda. His players come from as far away as Texas.
The Honeycrisps recently won six consecutive games. They pulverized second-place Pineville Porcupines 10-4 on June 23. They thumped industrial league teams Asheville Whistlepigs 16-6 on July 2, and Berkeley Spinners 14-0 on July 4.
These victories took place on East Henderson High School’s field. It serves as the Crisps’ home until at least next year, when renovations on their usual home field are expected to be completed. That field is located in the 75-year-old Berkeley Park Sports Complex, near the Kimberly-Clark plant in Hendersonville.
League Restrictions
Certain league rules prevent more local stars from joining the Crisps. Players cannot be committed to community colleges. This is the case with Roberson’s Caden Davidson, among others. The reasoning behind this rule is that coaches might lure them to transfer to their larger programs.
Additionally, a player cannot compete for a team coached by his college coaches. The Crisps are managed by Western Carolina Catamount coaches. This excludes Ram star lefty pitcher/right fielder Micah Simpson, who is heading to WCU. Instead, such locals are playing American Legion ball on the Asheville Post 70 squad.