STRONG START: Mosteller shines as Post 21 blanks Hickory in season opener

Mason Mosteller pitched a complete-game shutout, the offense totaled seven hits and six walks as every player in the lineup reached base at least once, and the defense put together an errorless performance as the Burke County Post 21 American Legion baseball team opened the 2025 season with a 10-0, six-inning win over Hickory Post 48 on Wednesday at Morganton’s Shuey Field.

Mosteller surrendered just three hits with seven strikeouts and three walks. A 2025 Burke Middle College graduate who played at East Burke High School and recently signed his letter of intent to play at Pfeiffer University next spring, he threw 61 of his 96 pitches for strikes.

“He threw great,” said Post 21 head coach Matt Baker, who coaches at Patton during the prep season. “He threw great for me last year, he threw great against me this year during the high school season, so I’m glad to have him on my team now. … He’s gonna throw strikes, he’s a great kid and a great competitor, and I’m glad he’s on my team.”

“I started off throwing two balls and then I came back and got the guy, and my stuff was feeling good after that,” added Mosteller. “Had a little trouble in the fifth inning (back-to-back two-out walks, infield single), but got out of it. Good play by the shortstop (Jacob Davis) and my brother (Maddox Mosteller) at third.”

Following a couple of scoreless innings, Post 21 (1-0) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when Brady Davis reached on a fielder’s choice, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a two-out single from Jacob Davis.

Post 21 added two more two-out runs in the fourth on an RBI single from Landry Duvall and a balk that allowed Cannon Morrison to cross the plate, while an RBI double from Mason Mosteller with one out in the fifth made it 4-0.

Post 21 was then able to earn a walk-off victory in the sixth, sending 11 batters to the plate as it scored six runs on three hits, three walks, a hit batsman, an error, and a number of wild pitches, three of which resulted in runs.

Laine Barrier scored on a wild pitch to get the sixth-inning scoring started, while Duvall plated Morrison with an infield single before also scoring on a wild pitch, Jacob Davis knocked in Brady Davis with a double before crossing the plate on a fielding error, and a wild pitch during Morrison’s second at-bat of the frame brought in Brooks Snipes — who served as the courtesy runner for Mason Mosteller following a single — with the game-ending run.

“I think one through nine, everybody looked good,” said Baker. “Everybody didn’t get a hit, but we hit a lot of balls hard that they caught. But we’ve got a solid lineup. We’ve got kids hitting ninth for us that are hitting first, second, or third during their high school season, so a lot deeper lineup than we had last year. … Just a good group of guys, they enjoy being around each other and I enjoy coaching them.”

In addition to two hits each from Jacob Davis, Mason Mosteller, and Duvall, Post 21 also got a one-out double from Zeb Koone in the third before he was erased on Brady Davis’ fielder’s choice. Speaking of Brady Davis, he scored three runs for the hosts after also reaching on a throwing error and a walk, and he had a stolen base as well.

Morrison (SB) and Maddox Mosteller (run) added two walks apiece, with Barrier recording the remaining walk for Post 21. Meanwhile, Zach Carson supplied a sacrifice bunt in the fourth before being hit by a pitch in the sixth.

“I thought we swung at strikes for the most part,” said Baker, who pointed out that he “was very happy with where we were with being selective in the box.”

“Obviously they’ve been playing high school ball for several months,” he continued. “But for being the first game, I thought they looked really comfortable in the box.”

Standout defensive plays by Post 21 included Barrier catching a fly ball at the left-field wall and Morrison throwing out a base stealer from behind the plate in the third, Jacob Davis and Maddox Mosteller combining for a 6-5 putout to retire a runner that had wandered too far past the third-base bag on an infield single to end the fifth, and Carson making a diving catch in shallow right field to begin the sixth.

“Legion ball is the most fun I’ve ever had playing baseball,” said Mason Mosteller, who is excited to continue playing alongside “the top guys from every high school around here” throughout the summer.

Post 21 was originally scheduled to host Cherryville Post 100 on Thursday, but that game was postponed to June 24. The team is now idle until a home contest against Caldwell County Post 29 on June 7 at 7 p.m.

NOTE: Mason Mosteller became only the third Post 21 starting pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout this decade, joining Chapel Matson in 2021 and Ethan Willis in 2022. He also became the first starting pitcher from a Burke County school to do so since Tripp Causby (Patton 2018 graduate) in 2016.