RC Baseball Team Picks Up First Win In Home Opener
For Rockbridge County High School’s first baseball victory of the season, it was all about adding on and a gem of a pitching performance.
The Wildcats scored in every inning, banging out eight hits and taking advantage of five errors to roll past visiting Parry McCluer 14-1 in five innings on Saturday afternoon in Lexington. Last year, the Wildcats and Blues split the season series, with each team winning at home.
PM (1-5) struck first on Saturday, with Braedyn Houck reaching on a single and eventually scoring on an RC error. But the Wildcats (1-2) answered immediately with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning, taking a lead they would never relinquish.
Clay Irvine led off the inning with a walk, stole second, and scored on Nolan Stines’s RBI-single to center field. Stines also picked up a stolen base and eventually scored on a passed ball, putting the ‘Cats in front, 2-1.
That was all RC needed as Irvine turned in a five-inning, complete-game effort on the mound. Houck’s single in the first inning was the only hit Irvine allowed in the game, as he gave up only the unearned run while striking out five and walking none.
The Wildcats added to the lead in the second, scoring three times without having a ball leave the infield. Eli Sorrells was hit by a pitch to start the inning, stole second and scored on a PM error. Rocky Perlozzo, who reached on an infield single, later scored on a wild pitch, and Austyn Gannutz, who also was hit by a pitch, raced home on Irvine’s RBI- groundout to third base to push the Wildcats’ lead to 5-1.
The ’Cats blew the game wide open with an eight-run third inning, as the Blues bobbled the ball three times in the frame.
Irvine and Brady Majors paced the RC attack, with both batters going 2-for-3 at the plate. Irvine crossed the plate twice and drove in a run, while Majors tallied a pair of runs.
RC put the finishing touches on the victory with a single run in the fourth. Austin Moyers, pinch hitting, walked, moved to third on an Irvine single, and scored on a two-out error. The game ended in five innings due to the 10-run mercy rule.
Reviewing the game, RC head coach Travis Roadcap said, “It was great having our first home game be on a beautiful Saturday in front of a good crowd and getting the first win of the year.”
“We took advantage of nearly every mistake our opponent made and were able to put the pressure on PM early,” added Roadcap.
RC FRESHMAN Austyn Gannutz reaches third base while PM sophomore Caleb Clark stands on the bag. Gannutz scored one run, drew a walk, and had an RBI. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
PM SENIOR first baseman Braedyn Houck catches the ball. Houck recorded PM’s only hit and scored the Blues’ run. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
The RC coach praised Stines, Gannutz, Drew Potter, Bradi Ziegler and Trevor Hoke for having clutch at-bats with RBIs in key situations. ”It was nice to feel like we were getting into a rhythm of playing and being relaxed,” said Roadcap.
Three PM pitchers were touched up in the loss. Starter Curtis King gave up seven runs, only four of them earned, on four hits, with three walks and two hit batsmen in his two innings of work. Brayden Holdren went an inning, surrendering six unearned runs, and Colby Camden gave up a hit and an unearned run in his one frame on the mound.
PM committed four errors, while RC had two. The Wildcats and Blues are scheduled to face off again at PM on Saturday, May 3, at 1 p.m. It will be a special afternoon in Buena Vista, as the PM baseball field will officially be dedicated for and named after Charlie Manuel, a 1963 PM graduate and multi-sport star who went on to win a World Series title as the manager of the MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies.
FIGHTING BLUE sophomore Kyler Ramsey takes a swing while RC players and coaches watch from their dugout. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
