Photo by Brian Hoffman
The James River baseball team will be at Carroll County today for the last game of the regular season, and it’s a big one. The Knights are hoping to host a first round Region 2C game and a win over the Cavaliers would be huge.
As of Monday’s results River was fifth in the rankings and the top four get first round games next week. James River has a 3.4 rating and fourth place Dan River was at 3.5, but a win over Class 3 Carroll would likely move the Knights into fourth place.
River picked up a big win against Floyd last week, downing the Buffaloes 4-2 in Floyd. The Knights trailed 2-1 after six innings but scored three in the top of the seventh to pull off the win.
“A much-needed win for us against Floyd,” said River coach Chance Henry. “Floyd got us earlier in the season when we had a bad night so we were hungry for this one. We didn’t hit the ball great, but man we executed well down the stretch.”
Cam Saunders pitched a complete game gem for the Knights, allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out eight.
“He really has been putting it together on the mound,” said Henry of Saunders. “He’s had a complete game in three of his last four starts and could’ve been four of four. He’s really been a steady presence on the mound and I can’t imagine where we would be without him.”
Saunders also had three hits in the win and Carter Birckhead had two hits and an RBI. Colt Cook scored two runs.
On Friday in Stuart the Knights dropped a 9-7 game to host Patrick County. The Cougars scored all nine runs in a big second inning. River cut the lead to 9-5 in the fourth and scored two in the sixth but ran out of time. Evan Joyce had two hits and Saunders drove in two runs.
The Three Rivers District does not have a district tournament. After today’s game in Hillsville the Knights will wait to see where they stand for next week’s Region tournament.
