Unbeaten Hoggard baseball has eyes on first Mideastern Conference title since 2013
Through nearly all of the first month of the high school baseball season, Hoggard High School remains unbeaten.
That feat grew more impressive Tuesday night as the Vikings knocked off undefeated rival Ashley 4-2 in a come-from-behind victory thanks to three seventh-inning runs.
The win pushed Hoggard to 9-0 (3-0 MEC) and the top of the Mideastern Conference, a spot it shares with Topsail 4-3 (3-0 MEC). More importantly, the Vikings are set on claiming a conference title for the first time since 2013 this spring.
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"It's a big conference win because it keeps us having a shot to try and win this thing down the stretch," new Hoggard coach Bryan Tuck said after the game. "The way we battled back and scored, I think that's just a momentum builder for us."
Tuck, who led the baseball program at Chapel Hill for five years before coming to Wilmington this spring, says it's his team's experienced makeup that excites him the most.
"This team has been there," he said. "They've been to the third round (of the playoffs) each of the last three years, and that senior leadership, there's a never-say-never attitude. Everybody believes that everybody can do their job."
One big piece of that senior experience comes in the way of shortstop Logan Ponnett, a three-year starter for the Vikings who's scored 53 runs and batted .367 with 43 RBIs in his high school career.
"I've been here for three years, so to stay undefeated against such a good Ashley team is pretty exciting, and I just kind of gotta embrace that moment," Ponnett said.
Ponnett was instrumental in the Vikings' win over Ashley, batting Josiah Gillespie home to tie the game 2-2 before scoring on a passed ball to take the 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh. Hoggard would score once more as a Chase Buscher ground ball sent Cameron Matthews in for a score moments later.
It's not just Ponnett, however, that gives the Vikings a special feel this spring. Starting pitcher Chase Buscher, who's thrown 28 strikeouts in 19 ⅔, innings, and utility player Luke Vargo (11 runs, nine RBIs, four doubles, one home run) are off to hot starts just nine games into the season.
Hoggard finished third in the MEC last fall, advancing to the third round of the state playoffs where it fell to eventual 4A state runner-up Wake Forest. The team hasn't claimed a conference title since 2013, when it won the 4A-only Mideastern Conference.
The Vikings' best season in the last decade came in 2016 when they made a state regional final appearance.
"We've got something to prove," Ponnett said of Hoggard's mentality this year. "I've been playing with some of these guys since I was seven years old. We just really want to win. A state championship is on our mind."
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Hoggard baseball searching for first conference title since 2013
