Call them the Walkin’ Wildcats. Or if you prefer, call them Runnin’ Rockbridge County.
Whichever moniker you choose, it fit RC’s baseball team, as the Wildcats (4-7) toppled Parry McCluer 18-5 in six innings on Saturday afternoon in Buena Vista.
The Walkin’ Wildcats drew 12 bases on balls from a quartet of PM pitchers; 11 of them scored. At the same time, Runnin’ Rockbridge County sped around the base paths, recording a whopping 18 steals, with every player in the starting lineup picking up at least one stolen base, and taking advantage of five passed balls and three wild pitches.
With the win, the Wildcats completed a sweep of the season series with the Blues. When the teams met on April 5 at RC, the Wildcats had cruised to a 14-1 win in five innings.
In the rematch, RC stormed out to a 5-0 lead early in the game, but the Wildcats blew it wide open with seven runs in the fourth. All seven of those runs scored on just one hit.
Eli Sorrells led off the frame with a walk, stole second, and later scored on Nolan Stines’s sacrifice fly. Clay Irvine followed with a two-out walk, scoring after swiping second and cruising into home on a pair of passed balls. Bradi Ziegler walked and scored after two stolen bases and a PM error. Brady Majors and Austyn Gannutz added two more walks and two more stolen bases to the tally, and then Rocky Perlozzo drove in two runs with the only hit in the inning; he later scored when he stole second and trotted home as the throw to the bag sailed into left field.
The Fighting Blues (4-11), who actually outhit the visitors, 9-8, in the game, staged a little rally in the fourth and fifth innings.
In the fourth, Colby Camden drove in Lane Luckton, who had walked, with an RBI groundout, while Caleb Clark singled to plate Peyton Ramsey, who had doubled. Curtis King singled to plate Clark. In the fifth, Brayden Holdren singled and later scored on an error, and another groundout from Camden chased home Ramsey.
The Blues could get no closer, however, and the Wildcats put the game away with a six-run sixth inning, taking advantage of four walks and a hit batsman. Gannutz provided the big blow in the frame with his bases-loaded triple to drive in three runs.
Brady Majors and Gannutz provided the bulk of the offense for the Wildcats. Both players recorded two hits, with Majors scoring three times and Gannutz adding two runs to his three-RBI effort.
Ramsey went 3-for-3 at the plate to pace the Blues, scoring twice, while Holdren had two hits and scored a run.
RC and PM each committed three errors. Drew Potter went 3.1 innings on the mound to pick up the victory for RC, surrendering three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out five. Brady Edwards finished up the game on the hill, striking out three in his 2.2 innings of work. The Blues used four different pitchers.
