Wildcats Go 2-0 In Baseball Action Last Week
With strong pitching and hitting, the Rockbridge County High School baseball team won a pair of Valley District games last week, earning a 6-3 road win over previously undefeated East Rockingham last Monday and cruising to a 15-0 home win over Harrisonburg last Tuesday.
With the victories, the Wildcats improved to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the district.
Last Monday, East Rockingham was going into the game with an 8-0 record. The Eagles, who would fall to 8-2 overall and 2-2 in the district with a 5-0 road loss to Spotswood, fell behind 6-0 in the first two innings. The Eagles scored all three of their runs in the fifth inning.
“That was huge for us,” said RC head coach Travis Roadcap of the win, following two losses in a row for his team the previous week, a 20-7 setback at home against Spotswood on April 8 and a 9-1 road loss to Fort Defiance on April 10.
After the Wildcats’ loss to Fort, Roadcap said he “preached to our guys about starting fast, and you’ve got to punch somebody in the mouth first, and that’s what we did.”
Roadcap said his players “came back, and when you go up and defeat an 8-0 team on the road, that was what we’re capable of doing.”
The Wildcats, who had split a pair of games with ER last year, had a strong performance on the mound from sophomore Elijah Watkins, who pitched a complete game, striking out three and allowing four hits, two walks and three runs (one earned). Roadcap said Watkins “threw phenomenal on the mound. He really stepped up and delivered, and then we absolutely just came out swinging.”
RC took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Clay Irvine scored on an Eagle error.
After making three quick outs, the Wildcats were up to bat again and erupted for five runs in the second. Drew Potter doubled to center field, and Austyn Gannutz singled to the same spot. Potter scored on a sacrifice fly to left field by Rocky Perlozzo.
After Austyn Moyers reached first base on an error and Trevor Hoke singled on a bunt, Irvine singled on a line drive to left to bring home courtesy runner JP Welsh III, making it 4-0. Hoke then scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Nolan Stines, and Irvine ran home on a wild pitch to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 6-0.
The Eagles finally scored in the bottom of the sixth when Bradley Shifflett ran home on an error. Alex Jenkins then tripled to center field to drive in Jamison Roadcap. ER scored its third and final run when Jenkins ran home on a sacrifice fly to center field by Richmond Hammer.
The Wildcats ended the inning with a groundout and only allowed one hit for the rest of the game, which ended in the top of the seventh due to lightning in the area.
RC recorded seven hits against two ER pitchers. Potter led the Wildcats with two hits, while five different Wildcats each had one hit, with Irvine recording two RBIs.
For the Eagles, Jenkins, William Eppard and Colin Root each had one hit.
The Wildcats committed four errors, while the Eagles had two.
RC 15, HHS 0
Before taking some time off for spring break, the Wildcats coasted to a 15-0 home win in three innings over Harrisonburg on Tuesday of last week in Lexington.
Irvine, a senior, pitched a perfect game for RC. In three innings, Irvine struck out four while surrendering no hits, no walks and no runs. Coach Roadcap said that accomplishment “is pretty rare for anybody. You don’t get to throw a perfect game very often.”
Against Harrisonburg (0-6, 0-3), the Wildcats exploded for 13 runs in the first inning and added two more in the third before the Blue Streaks decided to go home. “Today we just did what we were expected to do,” said Roadcap.
Facing three pitchers, RC recorded eight hits, led by Potter and Rocky Perlozzo with two each. In the first inning, after Irvine singled and Stines got on base when he was hit by a pitch, Potter hit a three-run home run, his first dinger of the year. Bradi Ziegler would run home on a wild pitch, and Perlozzo singled on a line drive to left field to bring home Gannutz, making it 5-0.
Perlozzo and Brady Majors both scored on wild pitches. Up to bat again, Potter singled on a grounder to third base to drive in Hoke, making it 8-0. With the bases loaded, Ziegler and Gannutz walked to bring in Irvine and Stines for two more runs. Potter then scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Perlozzo, and Majors singled on a grounder to left field to drive in Ziegler. Gannutz scored on an error to extend RC’s lead to 13-0 before the inning ended with a groundout.
The Wildcats added their final two runs in the third when Potter and Perlozzo scored on the same wild pitch.
Harrisonburg committed two errors, while RC had none.
The Wildcats were scheduled to visit Turner Ashby yesterday and will continue district action at home against Rocktown on Friday at 5 p.m. before playing at Broadway on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
