The Asheboro ZooKeepers won their final game of the 2023 Coastal Plain League Season on Saturday night with a 9-4 result on the road against the Boone Bigfoots.

Asheboro’s first two batters of the night were hit by pitches and Cooper George drove home the first run of the night with an RBI single. Todd Hudson later brought in a second Zooks run with an RBI groundout. 

After the Bigfoots scored a run in the bottom of the frame against Zooks starter Drew Siegner, Lleyton Lackey made it 4-1 with a two-run home run in the top of the second. It was Lackey’s second home run of the season. The ZooKeepers then went ahead 5-1 in the top of the third after Dallas Callahan delivered an RBI double to score Jared Beebe. 

Boone trimmed Asheboro’s lead to 5-3 over the next two innings. Siegner exited after completing the fifth following a stellar performance in his first start of the summer. He allowed eight hits and three walks. 

A four-run top of the seventh put the Zooks ahead 9-3. Hudson drove in a pair with an RBI triple, Callahan brought Hudson home with an RBI single and a Bigfoots error later in the frame allowed Callahan to score from third, which would be Asheboro’s final run of the season. 

Boone clawed back within five runs but Talor Grubbs and Mayson Dear combined to throw three scoreless innings to set up Matt Kemp for the bottom of the ninth. Kemp retired Boone in order to secure a win for Asheboro.

With the win, the ZooKeepers finished the season with an overall 20-24 CPL record. The Zooks finished fourth in the West Division standings but placed second in the second half with a 12-11 mark. 

Written by Jacob Kisamore