Gap Pulls Away To Defeat Wildcats, 12-5
A close game slipped away from the Rockbridge County High School baseball team, as Shenandoah District rival Buffalo Gap pulled away to deal the Wildcats a 12-5 home loss on Monday of last week in Lexington.
With the loss, the Wildcats fell to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the district. After falling to Alleghany 7-4 on Thursday, Gap ended the week at 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the district.
Because the game started around 6 p.m. and lasted until about 8:30 p.m., the Wildcats used their recently installed stadium lights for the first time. “It’s cool to see the lights on,” said RC head coach Travis Roadcap.
Following a scoreless first inning, RC’s Trevor Hoke was hit by a pitch. Teammate Eli Sorrells then hit a fly ball to center field and reached first base on an error, while Hoke sprinted around the bases to score. The Wildcats extended their lead to 2-0 when Sorrells scored on a groundout by Austin Moyers.
After Gap starting pitcher Walker Thompson ended the second inning with two strikeouts, the Bison got their offense going in the top of the third. Dalton Coffey was hit by a pitch and was thrown out at third base when Brandon Argenbright singled to left field. Argenbright scored when Wyatt Swisher doubled to right field, cutting RC’s lead to 2-1. The Bison then tied the game at 2-2 when Chase Richie singled on a line drive to center field to bring home Swisher.
Neither team scored again until the bottom of the fifth, when the Wildcats loaded the bases and Hoke displayed speed again, sprinting in to steal home. RC extended its lead to 4-2 when Cole Fine singled on a grounder to second base to bring home Sorrells.
The Bison answered in the top of the fifth. Landon Woods doubled on a line drive to left field, and teammate William Little was then hit by a pitch. The next batter up, Brady Ritchie, doubled on a line drive to left field to bring home Woods. Little then scored when Coffey singled on a grounder to center field, tying the game at 4-4. After Argenbright drew a walk, Swisher hit an infield grounder and reached first base on an RC error, bringing home Brady Ritchie and Coffey to give Gap a 6-4 lead. The Bison made it 7-4 when Chase Ritchie singled on a line drive to right field to bring home Argenbright.
In the bottom of the sixth, RC’s Rocky Perlozzo singled on a line drive to center field, stole second, and then scored when Bradi Ziegler singled on a grounder to shortstop, cutting Gap’s lead to 7-5.
The Bison would take over in the top of the seventh, however, erupting for five runs to put the game away. Gap scored two runs on a double to right field by Argenbright, added one when Swisher singled on a line drive to left field, and scored their final two runs when Chase Ritchie singled on a grounder to shortstop.
In their final chance to bat in the bottom of the seventh, the Wildcats weren’t able to get on base, ending the game with a strikeout, a pop out and a fly out.
Giving the Bison credit, Roadcap said, “They started hitting the ball… They’re a good team. They know what they’re doing.”
“We made some errors,” added Roadcap. “I wouldn’t say fielding errors, but mental errors and baserunning. We’ve got to fix that.”
Gap racked up 14 hits, while RC had six hits. Leading the Bison with three hits each were Swisher, Brysen Keyton and Chase Ritchie, while Argenbright had two hits. Hoke paced the Wildcats with two hits, while Perlozzo, Ziegler, Moyers and Fine each had one hit.
On the mound, Thompson pitched the first four innings, striking out nine while allowing no hits, six walks and two runs (one earned). In the final three innings, Coffey struck out one while surrendering six hits, two walks and three earned runs.
For RC, Brady Majors pitched the first 5.1 innings, striking out two while allowing nine hits, two walks and six earned runs. Ziegler then pitched one inning, permitting four hits, four walks and six runs (five earned). Wyatt Orebaugh then came to the mound in the top of the seventh and struck out the final two Gap batters.
After returning from spring break, the Wildcats were scheduled to play at Staunton on Monday before playing host to Riverheads yesterday. They’ll continue district action at Fort Defiance on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before visiting local rival Parry McCluer on Tuesday at 5 p.m. When RC and PM played each other in Lexington on March 26, the Wildcats cruised to a 27-1 win in five innings.
RC SOPHOMORE Austyn Gannutz swings at a pitch. Gannutz drew two walks. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
RC’S BRADY Majors launches a pitch. Majors pitched the first 5.1 innings, striking out two while allowing nine hits, two walks and six earned runs. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
