Hayden Pope headed to Methodist

by Dunn Area Sports Staff | Jun 7, 2022 | Triton

Hayden Pope (center) was seated with his brother, West, and mother, Erin, on Tuesday. Standing from left are athletic director Wendy Simmons, baseball coach Jake Willis and principal Ryan McNeill.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Al Myatt)

Right-handed pitcher Hayden Pope of Triton signed to play baseball at Methodist on Tuesday at a ceremony in the school media center.

Pope was 7-3 as a senior with a 3.20 earned run average as the Hawks went 18-8. Pope had 69 strikeouts in 50 and one-third innings.

Pope got the win in a 1-0 victory at Terry Sanford for the All American Conference tournament championship on May 5. He allowed one hit in five innings.

Pope was also the winning pitcher in a 9-4 triumph at Carrboro in the first round of the NCHSAA 3-A playoffs.

“Extremely proud of him,” said Triton coach Jake Willis. “He was on varsity as a freshman. I hate he missed those couple of COVID years. … He had a heckuva senior year. He threw a lot if innings for us. I’m very happy that he’s got the opportunity to compete at the next level.”

Methodist, coached by Tom Austin, was 26-16 in 2022 with a 16-5 record in the USA South Conference.

Pope’s fast ball velocity is in the mid- to upper-80s (miles per hour). He also played football and basketball for the Hawks.

“It’s always been a dream,” Pope said of the chance to continue his career beyond high school. “It’s just the little things that matter. They helped me get here. I just thank them, especially my Mom. She took off a lot of work and spent a lot of money and time so I could play.

“Also Coach Willis, taking over (Joey) Miriello’s job. … We had the best record we’ve had in about 10 years. … He pushed me to do better every day.

“I’m going to try to do better next year than I did this year.”