County rivals Riverheads and Buffalo Gap muddled through a 2-0 game for the first four innings and then turned on the heavy artillery over the final three frames as the visiting Big Red held off their hosts 10-6. The win completed a season sweep as RHS had won the first time 12-2.
Brody Phillips was the biggest slugger of the day as his lead-off double in the third helped RHS to score its first two runs. Later he delivered a bases-clearing triple that very quickly expanded a 4-0 lead to 7-0. Teammate Kendall Edwards had a triple of his own and Ethan Mulcahy had some crucial hits, including a two-RBI single to bring in those first two runs.
A pair of freshmen hurlers, Jackson Berkstresser and Cason Croft, combined to earn the win on the mound, pitching five and two innings respectively. Defensively the Gladiators pulled off either two but I think three double plays, with Phillips starting two of them from his shortstop position.
The decisive inning was the top half of the fifth when the Gladiators exploded for five runs with Phillips' triple being the play that broke the game open and woke up the crowd. By the time the at-bat ended, RHS was on top 7-0.
To their credit, the Bison did not fold as they fought back in all three of their final at-bats. Their most productive was the home half of the fifth, when they trimmed that 7-0 lead to 7-3. However, the visitors equaled that three-run frame with one of their own to expand the lead back to seven at 10-3. Edwards' triple was the key blow in that frame.
Once again, the Bison retaliated, but could only muster two runs to cut the margin to 10-5 after six. After a scoreless top of the 7th, the Bison made things interesting one final time by scoring one more run to account for the final margin. But Phillips, who was a mighty busy man at his position tonight, stepped on second for the final force-out to save the win. Despite the loss, the Bison are definitely showing signs of improvement, as they fought Wilson to the bitter end just last night in an 8-7 barnburner.
Speaking of barnburners, the softball game next door was a apparently a doozy as we heard many eruptions coming from that direction. Riverheads took an early 7-2 lead, only to see the Lady Bison storm back. The last score I heard was 13-9 in favor of the home team in the top of the seventh.
The next game for RHS baseball will be the biggest of the season as they will host Wilson Tuesday afternoon. The teams fought to a 2-1 Wilson win the first time around, so in the re-match, the Gladiators need to win, and then hope someone else knocks off Wilson somewhere along the line. Now that the month of May is here, we are headed for the home stretch, with playoffs not far away.
Brody Phillips was the biggest slugger of the day as his lead-off double in the third helped RHS to score its first two runs. Later he delivered a bases-clearing triple that very quickly expanded a 4-0 lead to 7-0. Teammate Kendall Edwards had a triple of his own and Ethan Mulcahy had some crucial hits, including a two-RBI single to bring in those first two runs.
A pair of freshmen hurlers, Jackson Berkstresser and Cason Croft, combined to earn the win on the mound, pitching five and two innings respectively. Defensively the Gladiators pulled off either two but I think three double plays, with Phillips starting two of them from his shortstop position.
The decisive inning was the top half of the fifth when the Gladiators exploded for five runs with Phillips' triple being the play that broke the game open and woke up the crowd. By the time the at-bat ended, RHS was on top 7-0.
To their credit, the Bison did not fold as they fought back in all three of their final at-bats. Their most productive was the home half of the fifth, when they trimmed that 7-0 lead to 7-3. However, the visitors equaled that three-run frame with one of their own to expand the lead back to seven at 10-3. Edwards' triple was the key blow in that frame.
Once again, the Bison retaliated, but could only muster two runs to cut the margin to 10-5 after six. After a scoreless top of the 7th, the Bison made things interesting one final time by scoring one more run to account for the final margin. But Phillips, who was a mighty busy man at his position tonight, stepped on second for the final force-out to save the win. Despite the loss, the Bison are definitely showing signs of improvement, as they fought Wilson to the bitter end just last night in an 8-7 barnburner.
Speaking of barnburners, the softball game next door was a apparently a doozy as we heard many eruptions coming from that direction. Riverheads took an early 7-2 lead, only to see the Lady Bison storm back. The last score I heard was 13-9 in favor of the home team in the top of the seventh.
The next game for RHS baseball will be the biggest of the season as they will host Wilson Tuesday afternoon. The teams fought to a 2-1 Wilson win the first time around, so in the re-match, the Gladiators need to win, and then hope someone else knocks off Wilson somewhere along the line. Now that the month of May is here, we are headed for the home stretch, with playoffs not far away.