Photo by Brian Hoffman
The James River baseball team picked up their first win of the season last week and they did so in dramatic fashion. River scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a walk-off win over Floyd County in a Three Rivers District game.
“We finally broke through and got one when we really needed it,” said coach Chance Henry, who got his first victory as head coach of the Knights. “Our staff has really been pushing our guys hard at practice recently and they responded perfectly. We showed a lot of toughness and poise in the tight game.”
Kody Park started on the mound for the Knights and pitched five solid innings, allowing just two unearned runs while allowing three hits and fanning four. Hunter Mays pitched the sixth and recorded the first two outs in the seventh before Zeal Hammons closed out the inning and picked up the win when the Knights rallied in the bottom of the seventh.
“Our pitching was great all night,” said Henry. “Kody Park threw the first five innings in 90 pitches and got nailed by a line drive in the third and stayed in, which showed a lot of toughness and really set the tone for our team in this game. Hunter Mays and Zeal Hammons did their job coming in later and pounded the zone.”
Jeremiah Mays had three hits to lead the Knights. Park, Hunter Mays, Gabe Staton and Logan Joyce had one hit each as River had seven total, all singles. Park, Joyce and Evan Byers drove in the runs for the Knights.
On Monday the Knights hosted Class 3 Northside and dropped a 6-4 decision. The Knights fell behind 4-0 but battled back to make it a one run game into the seventh.
“This felt like a game we could’ve won if we got off to a better start,” said Henry. “They came out swinging and we threw it around to help them out.”
Freshman Cam Saunders got his first varsity start on the mound and allowed just one earned run in three innings. Hammons, Hunter Mays and Park all pitched in relief and allowed just one more earned run.
“The boys have really come together and have started playing cleaner baseball because of it,” said Henry. “We still have things to improve but we’re continuing to move along in the right direction.”
Now 1-8, River is scheduled to host a strong Class 4 Salem team today followed by a trip to Radford on Friday.
