The High Point-Thomasville HiToms took the field for the first time in 2021 on Friday night, taking on the Catawba Valley Stars in a 7-inning exhibition. Baseball night in Thomasville saw the return of fans en masse to historic Finch Field, but the HiToms bats struggled to find their form, and the Stars secured a 5-3 victory.

Thomasville native Avery Cain was on the bump for the HiToms in front of a hometown crowd. He would strike out four in three innings of work, but he would also concede two runs on two hits and three walks. Lefty Trey Cooper struggled relieving Cain, and the HiToms were unable to overcome the deficit from then on.

High Point-Thomasville was held scoreless for the first four innings of the contest thanks to the combined efforts of Gianni Smith and Hunter Dupuy. Their only runs of the night came in the sixth inning, where pitcher Bryson Wagner struggled to find the strike zone. RBI walks from Ellis Stokes and Von Seibert bookended the HiToms rally that fell just short.

Catawba Valley made the most of their opportunities in the contest and earned their first victory of the 2021 campaign, improving to 1-2 while the HiToms stranded 12 baserunners in their opening night loss. They will continue to seek their first win against the Carolina Disco Turkeys on Saturday night at Finch Field.