Luke Cannon racks up 14 K's in the Hawks win over C.B. Aycock

North Lenoir senior pitcher Luke Cannon demonstrated a remarkable performance on the mound and at the plate, leading the Hawks to a 4-0 win over C.B. Aycock in their home opener on Thursday.

During his five innings of work, Cannon managed to escape tough spots, allowing only one hit and striking out 14 batters despite walking five. Jacob Suggs took over in the last two innings, picking up a strikeout and a grounder to end the game.

"We have pitching depth and a lot of versatility," sophomore Carter Chadwick said. "I feel like there are no holes in our defense or line up 1–9."

Blake Crawford's RBI single in the bottom of the first gave the Hawks an early lead. In the bottom of the fifth, Cannon's RBI triple set the tone for Suggs and Chadwick to follow up with RBI singles, extending their lead to 4-0.

"I am really proud of our toughness and how we didn't lose any energy throughout the game despite struggling on offense early," Crawford said. "Luke pitched a great game, and Jacob really stepped up coming in to close it out."

Despite facing baserunners in every inning except the fourth, Cannon rose to the challenge and struck out the next three batters in both the first and fifth innings, preventing any runs from scoring.

North Lenoir (2-0) will host Greene Central on Friday at 5 p.m.