Photo by Brian Hoffman
The James River baseball team took on the newest team in the Three Rivers District on Monday and dropped a 10-1 decision to Patrick County in Springwood.
“We hung around this one for a while as Kody Park really threw well to get us off to a good start,” said River coach Chance Henry. “Patrick County threw some really good arms, it was the best pitching we’ve faced all year.”
The game was tied 1-1 after three innings before the Cougars scored four in the fourth inning and three in the fifth to break it open. Park allowed just two earned runs in four and a third innings on the mound before Zeal Hammons and Hunter Mays finished up. The Knights had just one hit, a single by Gabe Staton.
Last week in Springwood the Knights hosted Salem and dropped an 8-1 decision, which was a much closer game than the first meeting in Salem when the Class 4 Spartans mercy ruled the Knights. Four River pitchers held Salem to seven hits after allowing 20 plus in the first meeting. Jeremiah Mays had two hits for the Knights.
“At the end of the day sometimes you just get beat,” said Henry. “Salem is a good team and we hung around much better this time around. We competed much better and played solid defense.
“We’ve had a big turnaround these last five games. Our record hasn’t necessarily reflected it, but we’ve had some buy in to our team goals.”
The Knights will be at Carroll County Saturday at 3 p.m. for a rescheduled district game.
