Big Week For The Blues

PM Bats Break Out Of Early Season Slump

What a difference a week made for the Parry McCluer High School baseball team.

After dropping their first three games of the season and scoring only one run along the way, the Fighting Blues experienced an offensive explosion in a pair of nondistrict home victories last week, cruising past Jefferson Christian Academy 18-8 last Tuesday and dispatching William Fleming 14-4 on Friday. The Blues improved to 2-3.

“We needed this one pretty bad,” PM head coach Bryan Loy said of his team’s successful week. “This was a big week for us, for sure.”

In each of the two games, the Blues fell behind early, as they have all season, now surrendering 26 runs in the first inning this year. This time, however, PM responded.

After giving up four runs in the opening frame against Jefferson Christian (1-2), on only one hit, the Blues bounced back with a pair in their half of the first. Kyler Ramsey started the rally when he was hit by a pitch and moved to third base on two passed balls. Curtis King followed with a walk, and Lane Luckton drove in Ramsey with a single; King scored on an error on the same play, and the Blues had their response to trim the deficit to 4-2.

“We came out in both games and gave up some runs in the first inning, but we were able to answer back,” said Loy. “We’ve been talking to the players about looking for a pitch to hit, not necessarily swinging at everything. I think the guys are starting to build some confidence and trust the confidence. In the first couple of games, we hit the ball hard but right at somebody; this week, they fell for us.”

While the Blues pounded out a season-high 14 hits against the Cardinals last Tuesday, a number they matched Friday against William Fleming, they were also the beneficiary of 12 passed balls and five wild pitches in the contest. Both came into play as PM continued its comeback.

PM tacked on another run in the second when Ramsey doubled to drive home Eduar Meza. The Blues tied the game at 6-6 with three runs in the third, thanks to three passed balls and Meza’s RBI single. JCA regained the lead with an unearned run in the fourth, and then the Blues blew the game wide open.

PM scored eight times in the bottom of the fourth, as the Cardinals had three passed balls and three wild pitches. The Blues also banged out four hits in the frame. Meza drove in another run with a single; Colby Camden also had an RBI single; and Ramsey completed the big inning with a sacrifice fly to put the Blues in front 14-7.

The Blues added on with two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, with King’s RBI single invoking the 10-run mercy rule with no outs in the final frame.

Ramsey and Meza each had three hits to lead the PM attack, with both players driving in two runs apiece. Luckton was 2-for-2 with three runs scored and an RBI, while Sam Griffin had two hits and scored twice.

Camden picked up the win in relief on the mound, going 4.2 innings while giving up no hits and striking out 10.

PM 14, WF 4

The Blues got another stellar pitching performance in their home victory over William Fleming on Friday afternoon. The first PM starting pitcher to get out of the first inning this season, Adison Haynes tossed 4.2 innings for the Blues, giving up only one earned run on four hits while fanning 11 Colonel batters.

“Today was his longest outing and best outing,” Loy said. “He kept hitters off balance, locating and moving the ball around the plate. I was pleased with his outing.”

While Haynes did allow two runs in the first, one of them earned, once again the Blues had an answer, this time scoring seven runs in the bottom of the first to take a lead they would never relinquish.

Ramsey led off the home half of the first with a single and took second on an outfield error. He scored when Camden followed with an RBI double. Luckton gave the Blues the lead with a two-run single. Dylan Smals, Griffin, Meza and Camden added run-scoring singles later in the inning, and when William Fleming (1-6) finally recorded the third out, PM had a 7-2 advantage.

Haynes struck out the side in the top of the second, and he allowed only two unearned runs and just two hits the rest of the way. Haynes did get into a bit of a jam in the fifth as two errors and a base hit led to one run, but Smals got the final out of the frame in relief when he induced a pop-up in the infield to prevent any further damage.

The Blues, who led 10-4 at that time, ended the game with four runs in their half of the fifth. King drove in one of those runs with a fielder’s choice. Luckton plated another with a single, and Kyle Smals drove in two with a single to end the game.

From the leadoff spot, Ramsey finished 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while Luckton also had three hits, scoring twice and picking up three RBIs. Kyle Smals added four RBIs to his 2-for-4 effort, and Meza was 2-for-3 with two runs and one batted in.

“This was good all-around team ball,” praised Loy. “We’re starting to figure it out on the bases, too. The first couple of games we were struggling to get on base, but now, with more game reps, we’re starting to see things better.”

The Blues face a busy week on the diamond. On Monday, PM played host to Rocktown in a rematch of the season opener. A pair of Pioneer District games are also on the slate, first against Narrows yesterday in Buena Vista and at Bath County on Thursday. The Blues are scheduled to play host to nondistrict rival Liberty (Bedford) on Monday at 7 p.m. before playing at home against local rival Rockbridge County on Tuesday at 5 p.m.