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The Parry McCluer High School baseball team split a pair of Pioneer District games last week, falling 5-1 at Narrows last Tuesday before cruising to a 14-0 win in five innings over Covington on Thursday.
With pitchers Jase Barger and Tyler Wade combining for a no-hitter and their batters hitting well, the Fighting Blues (4-1 overall, 2-1 district) dominated Covington (1-4, 0-1).
Barger pitched the first three innings for PM, striking out five and allowing no walks. In the final two innings, Wade struck out two and surrendered one walk.
The Blues recorded nine hits against Covington pitchers Garrett Carper and Landon Arritt. Leading the way with two hits each were Barger, Brayden Holdren and Maison Hamilton, who led PM with three RBIs.
Covington committed three errors, while PM had none.
“It was nice to get back in the win column,” said PM head coach Bryan Loy. “I thought we were able to get the bats going again and were effective on the base paths.”
The Blues jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Holdren doubled on a line drive to right field to bring home Tyler Wade, and Barger singled on a hard grounder to drive in Holdren. Hamilton then brought home Barger and Aaron Pruett with a single on a line drive to right field.
PM added five runs in the third to go up 9-0. Peyton Ramsey singled on a line drive to bring home Pruett, and Ramsey scored on an error. Hamilton ran home on a wild pitch, and Tanner Coleman scored on a passed ball. Wade then singled on a grounder to the Covington shortstop, driving in Evan Cook.
The Blues scored their final five runs in the fourth. Pruett scored on a passed ball, and Hamilton tripled on a line drive to right field to bring home Ramsey. Coleman then singled on a fly ball to center field to bring home Hamilton. Later in the inning, Coleman scored on a passed ball, and Cook scored PM’s final run on a passed ball.
NHS 5, PM 1
Defending Pioneer District champion Narrows earned a 5-1 win over the visiting Blues on Tuesday of last week. When the two teams last met last May, Narrows beat visiting PM 7-6 in the district finals.
In last Tuesday’s contest, PM took a 1-0 lead in the first when Braedyn Houck scored on a passed ball.
Narrows, which would end the week at 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the district, tied the game when Mason McCroskey scored on a passed ball in the third. Carson Crigger then scored on a passed ball to give the Green Wave a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth, Crigger hit a two-run home run on a line drive to center field, bringing home Aidan McGlothlin and extending the Green Wave’s lead to 4-1.
Narrows scored the final run of the game in the fifth when Brody Robertson ran home on an error.
Reviewing the game, Loy said, “We played Narrows tough, and I thought we had some missed opportunities. It was a tight ball game and closer than what the score showed.”
Holdren led PM with three hits, while Houck and Wade each had one hit. Crigger paced Narrows with three hits and two RBIs, while Mc-Glothlin added two hits.
On the mound for PM, Houck pitched the first 4.2 innings, striking out 11 and allowing eight hits, four walks and five runs (four earned). “I thought Braedyn Houck threw well for us,” said Loy.
Barger pitched the final 1.1 innings, striking out one and surrendering no hits, one walk and no runs.
For Narrows, Crigger pitched the first six innings, striking out 15 and allowing five hits, two walks and one unearned run. Loy said he thought Crigger “threw well for them and was able to keep us from capitalizing on opportunities.”
Hunter Owens pitched the final inning for Narrows, striking out one and allowing no hits, no walks and no runs.
The Blues were scheduled to play at Highland County on Monday and will continue district action at Eastern Montgomery today, Wednesday. They’ll then have a week without competition before playing host to district rival Bath County on Thursday, April 13. Both games are scheduled for 5 p.m.
