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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

Another week, another epic Coy James moment.
James made history by launching two home runs at Davie’s eight-year-old ballpark, Drew Krause was incredible behind the plate and Davie’s varsity baseball team held off visiting Lake Norman in a thrilling 6-5 battle on March 11.
The War Eagles, who came in 1-4 with three straight losses, definitely needed this for their psyche. It was a resounding win over a team that was 6-0. The Wildcats had outscored their opponents 29-5 while never allowing more than two runs in a game.
“Lake Norman is a very sound team,” coach Joey Anderson said. “Their pitcher hit 91 (mph) a couple of times, but we put hits together. It was a great win that we needed.”
In the bottom of the first, James rode the fourth pitch he saw over the left-center fence for a 1-0 lead. The leadoff man would repeat the feat later.
In the Davie second, Carson Queen singled after the first two batters were retired. Hayden Potts walked. After getting down 1-2 in the count, James drew a free pass. Then Logan Allen stepped up, jumping on the first offering and delivering a two-run single. Hunter Potts followed with a hit that gave Davie a 4-0 lead.
Lake Norman rallied within 5-3, but a monumental moment came in the sixth, when James led off with another solo homer, this one to left.
Before this night, there had been four long balls off Davie bats at the field that opened in 2018. Carson Whisenhunt went deep in April of 2018. Whisenhunt did it again in March of 2019. James blasted one out in March of 2022. And in a JV game, Hunter Daywalt went yard in March of 2022.
Now James has three of the six dingers at Davie, which is like hitting one out of the Astrodome. And he’s obviously the first to hit two in one game at Davie.
“It’s 365 (feet) to the corners and left-center is right around there,” Anderson said. “Center field is 395 or 396. He hit it on top of the hill in left field.”
Anderson got what he was hoping for from starter Tucker Hobbs and reliever Colin Harrison. Hobbs pitched into the fifth and came away the winner.
“Tucker, on his 18th birthday, threw a real good game,” Anderson said. “He kept them offbalance and he pretty much stopped the run game.”
The Wildcats, though, did not go quietly in the seventh. They stroked four hits and gave Davie a serious scare. But Harrison hung in there, got massive help from Krause and recorded the save after working 2.2 innings.
“We had a couple of mistakes late or they might not have scored (two in the seventh),” Anderson said. “Since Harrison had been in those situations earlier in the year, he was able to stay calm and get out of it.”
Davie can thank its catcher for surviving the high-wire act in the seventh. With no outs, after Lake Norman had opened the inning with back-to-back hits, Krause blocked a pitch in the dirt and gunned a runner trying to advance to third. Hayden Potts applied the tag. Four batters later, with the score 6-5, Lake Norman tried to get the tying run into scoring position. Lo and behold, Krause threw him out, too, to end the game.
Krause has been just as reliable at the plate.
“Most of the stolen bases that they’ve had off of him, guys have not done a very good job of holding them on or he was off with his throw just a little bit,” Anderson said. “Sometimes Drew gets a little amped up. He’s our go-to guy when we need somebody fired up, but sometimes we’ve got to put a leash on him. He’s a firecracker and he’s been playing great baseball. He’s been hitting line drives and using the backside. And what he’s done behind the plate for us has been special.”
James has been so hot with the bat that his average dropped on a 2-for-3 night with three runs, dipping from .733 to .722. After this one, he stood at 13 for 18 with three homers. It was the first two-homer performance by a War Eagle in 62 games, dating to Davin Whitaker’s two bombs in a 22-10 loss at High Point Christian in April of 2022.
Davie got a big boost from Allen, who went 2 for 4 to break out of a slump.
LN 9, Davie 7
The March 13 rematch with Lake Norman felt like a scene from 1965, 1971, 1987, 1999, 2006 or 2011. The War Eagles were back at Rich Park for a “Throwback Game.” This launching pad was Davie’s home field from 1957-2017.
Unfortunately, Lake Norman spoiled the return to Mando Field by erasing Davie’s 3-1 lead and staving off the War Eagles after they got within 6-5 and 8-7.
“It was packed,” Anderson said. “They looked up at the hill and it seemed like it went on forever. The atmosphere that they brought was really good. We’re going to try to make it a permanent thing (once a year). It obviously has a little age to it. I know that they’re working on improvements to the infield. It was definitely different.”
In the bottom of the first, James was at it again, barreling a clothes-line shot over the left-field fence. After Hunter Potts walked, Krause drove a two-run homer over the wall in left to stake Davie to the 3-1 lead.
“I was like: ‘Crap, here we go.’ Because everybody’s going to say I can hit it out, and it kind of went that way,” Anderson said.
Indeed, Davie’s bats cooled off and the Wildcats took full advantage of Davie’s inability to throw strikes in the third. They put up five runs on six walks and two hits to put Davie in a 6-3 hole.
Lake Norman did something you never see in James’ second at-bat in the third – it intentionally walked him to lead off the inning. The move backfired as Davie scored twice to cut the margin to 6-5.
After falling behind 8-5, the War Eagles rallied within 8-7. But they came up short to fall to 2-5.
“I felt like we let that pitcher get off the hook,” Anderson said. “I feel like we could have put more pressure on him and knocked him out (instead of letting him go four innings).”
Notes: It’s impossible to overstate how good James has been. He went 1-2 with three runs and two walks in the 9-7 loss as his average “dropped” to .700. With four homers, he already has the most in 10 years (Brandon Lankford had six in 2015). With 12 career homers, he’s in position to threaten the record of 16 by Matt Marion from 1988-90. Zach Howard (2004-07) and Corey Randall (2010-12) are next on the list with 14 apiece. … Krause, who went 2-3 with four RBIs, has been sensational as a senior, hitting .476 (10-21). This was his first varsity homer, and it was the first over-the-fence homer by a War Eagle other than James since April of 2023 at Parkland. … Davie is struggling for consistency on the mound, with seven pitchers walking 43 in 47.2 innings. The staff’s ERA is 4.99.