Young PM Baseball Team Opens With 14-0 Loss
A scheduling conflict forced a venue change for the opener of the Parry McCluer High School baseball season, and PM ran into some rude hosts in their 2026 debut.
Rocktown (2-0) took advantage of eight walks, five errors, four hit batsmen, four wild pitches and three passed balls to roll past the Fighting Blues 14-0 last Wednesday afternoon in Harrisonburg.
“Obviously, it didn’t go the way we wanted,” said PM head coach Bryan Loy. “We have some things to work on, but there were some bright spots.”
The Blues would fall to 0-2 after a 27-1 loss in five innings at Rockbridge County on Thursday in Lexington. (See separate story.)
The Raptors scored at least three runs in every inning, beginning with a three-spot in the first inning, tallying those three runs on the benefit of just two hits. Jayden Barnard led off the home half of the frame with a single, and he moved to third base on a pair of wild pitches. Barnard scored on an RBI single from Xavier Banks. Two more runs crossed the plate after two passed balls and another wild pitch, and Rocktown scored all the runs it needed.
That’s because starting pitcher Xavier Ruvalcaba scattered three hits over his four innings of work on the mound, striking out five while walking only one PM batter. Banks finished off the game with a scoreless fifth, fanning two.
Junior Curtis King started the game and was one of five pitchers in the contest for the Blues, getting saddled with the loss after surrendering three runs on just two hits. Included among that quintet was freshman Dylan Smals, making his varsity pitching debut, going two innings and giving up four runs, none of them earned, just one hit while striking out two.
“I thought Smals threw well for us in relief,” Loy said. “I was pleased with what Dylan was able to give us on the mound in his first varsity outing. He consistently threw strikes for us that day.”
Of the 12 batters reaching via walk or hit by pitch for the Raptors, seven came around to score. Rocktown ended the game early with four more runs in the fourth courtesy of three PM errors and an RBI single from Xavier Perry.
“We’ll be trying to do our best to get better at that,” said Loy, starting his ninth year as PM’s head coach. “We have to keep working and try to get better each day.”
PM put runners in scoring position in both the second and third innings, but sophomore Lane Luckton was left stranded at second base after Ruvalcaba induced a ground ball to the mound and picked up a strikeout. With two outs in the third, the Rocktown hurler picked up another strikeout to end that PM threat.
“We hit the ball hard a few times,” said Loy. “It just happened to be right at somebody. We did put together some good at bats; they just didn’t result in getting on base.”
The Blues got singles from Luckton, sophomore Adison Haynes and senior Sam Griffin for their only offense in the game.
Griffin is PM’s only senior, while the Blues have four juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen.
“We’re a young team, with only four coming back from last year’s team,” said Loy. “Some haven’t played since maybe little league, and we have some freshmen who are playing on varsity. Our guys have the stuff; we just have to figure out how to transfer it to the game.”
Last year, the Blues went 5-15 overall and 3-6 in the Pioneer District to finish fourth in the district. PM ended its season with a 14-0 loss at Auburn in the Region 1C quarterfinals. From that team, the Blues graduated four seniors, led by Pioneer District player of the year Braedyn Houck and fellow all-region selections Brayden Holdren and Peyton Ramsey.
Returning players are King, Luckton, junior Kyler Ramsey and sophomore Colby Camden.
Back to serve as PM’s assistant coaches are Elgin Davis and Adam Gilbert.
The Blues were scheduled to open district action at home against Eastern Montgomery yesterday and will play a nondistrict home game against Jefferson Christian Academy next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
