The Shadow
HOT SPRINGS — Craig County coach Brady Price is just happy to be on the diamond this spring.
The Rockets played only 10 total baseball games a year ago.
And that was including a district tournament game and a regional first round loss.
Thursday in Hot Springs, Price’s crew played their ninth game of 2019 and scored their fourth win, a Pioneer District 15-5 run-rule victory over Bath County.
“The weather prevented us from playing most of our games last year,” said Price. “It’s nice to be playing baseball.”
Craig capitalized on four Charger errors in the first three innings Thursday and ended things early with a six-run fifth.
“We’ve just got to play better,” said Bath County coach Dennis Maddow, whose team dropped to 2-6, 0-2 in the Pioneer. “We have a good enough team that I think we can play better, we can compete. But we’ve just got to put it together to compete.”
Cole Plott deserved better.
Plott, Bath’s starting pitcher surrendered 10 runs over four and two-thirds of an inning, but only two of those runs were earned.
A crucial two-out error in the first opened the gates for four Rockets runs, including a two-run homer off the bat of Jake Robertson.
The Chargers made two more errors in a two-run second and another in a three-run third.
“We have to back our pitcher,” Maddow added. “That’s why you have so many guys on the field. He threw good, he put it in play. It’s little league, it’s little league errors.”
Bath County scored three of their own in the home half of the first to pull within one.
Plott and Wyatt Harmon both had RBI singles and Kaleb Loan brought in another with a fielder’s choice ground ball.
Coult Fussell had the big hit in the fourth, a two-run single that scored Plott and Austin Dean.
But the Chargers left seven runners stranded combined in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
Dean and Plott had two hits and two runs each to lead Bath County’s offense.
Brandon Swingle led the Rockets with two hits and three RBI, Robertson knocked in three and Kyle Sloss had two hits, scored twice and drove in two.
Sam Boardwine was credited with the mound win, allowing four hits and three runs over three innings.
The Chargers visit Parry McCluer on Monday and play host to Covington on Tuesday.
BEATING THE THROW — Craig County’s Kyle Sloss is safe at third in a Pioneer District game Thursday in Hot Springs. Bath County’s third baseman is Russell Ingram. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
