Raiders split first two games
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The Raiders opened the season with a victory over the Central Decatur Cardinals, but split the week with a loss to Shenandoah on Saturday.
Mt. Ayr 8, CD 1
Central Decatur fell behind early to a tough Mount Ayr Raider team on Friday, May 27.
The Raiders saw Jaydon Knight on the mound to start off the season.
Knight allowed only two hits, walked three and struck out nine batters before being pulled at 80 pitches.
“Prior to this I’ve only thrown probably two bullpens so it felt good to get out there and work out the kinks as I went,” said Knight. “I don’t think it was one of my best showings, but I got the job done today.”
Knight also credited his defense for helping keep the game under control.
“The defense behind me was phenomenal,” said Knight. “Confidence is key when you’re pitching, so just knowing they are behind me helps me.”
Coach Bill Huntington had plenty of praise for his ace pitcher.
“I thought he really looked good up until about pitch 60-65 and then the pop was gone,” said coach Huntington. “The most he’s thrown bullpen is probably 35. We just wanted to make sure we cut him off at 80 so we wanted him and Jaixen for Lenox. I thought he looked great.”
Jaixen Frost relieved the fellow junior and allowed one run on one hit and struck out seven.
The Mount Ayr bats got hot early, earning three runs in the first inning, before tacking on a few more in the next three.
The Raider bats recorded eight runs on nine hits, seven singles, one double and one triple, while knocking in four RBI that included one home run by freshman catcher Tyler Martin.
Martin led the team at the plate with two runs, two hits, two RBI and one walk.
“We had expectations for everyone and they practiced really hard,” said coach Anthony Maldonado.
Stats
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F
CD 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
MA 3 2 1 1 0 1 0 8
Hitting
AB H R BI
Frost 2 1 2 0
Martin 3 2 2 2
Reynolds 4 2 0 0
Knight 4 2 0 2
Shay 4 0 0 0
Grose 1 0 0 0
Sackett 2 0 0 0
Ehlen 2 1 1 0
Larson 0 0 0 0
Drake 1 0 0 0
Cole 0 0 2 0
TOTALS 26 9 8 4
Pitching
IP H ER R K
Frost 2 1 0 1 7
Knight 4 2 0 0 9
TOTALS 7 3 0 1 16
Shenandoah 6, Mt. Ayr 5
The Raiders traveled to Shenandoah for a Saturday contest against the Mustangs.
The Raiders started out strong, leading 5-0 late into the game before the Mustang bats got going and overcame the five-run deficit to beat the Raiders 6-5.
The Raiders started off on the mound with Jace Grose who struck out six batters, allowing one run on two hits, before being pulled at 60 pitches.
After Grose, coaches Bill Huntington and Anthony Maldonado dug into a bullpen that hadn’t seen much varsity action.
Drew Ehlen got the call first and after a 13 pitches was pulled for Riley Stark who threw 19.
The two juniors walked five and allowed one run combined, before seeing junior Daron Drake take to the bump.
Drake threw 45 pitches, allowed four runs on one hit, walking four, and struck out one.
Raines Sackett finished the day with eight pitches, and walked one.
The Raider defense committed two errors on the day and recorded 19 put outs on 31 total chances with 10 assists.
The bats recorded five runs on 14 hits, with two RBI.
Cody Larson had a nice day at the plate with one run on two hits, along with Jaydon Knight and Riley Stark that saw the same stat line.
Jaixen Frost did his thing with three hits in four at bats, one walk and one run scored.
“There are some positives coming out of this,” said coach Huntington. “Look at how many balls we put into play, half the order was on base the whole game. This really came down to leaving too many guys on bases.”
Coach Maldonado had positive things to say about the team.
“A lot of these guys it was their first time pitching varsity, there’s a lot of youth,” said coach Maldonado. “We will get it back together and practice hard.”
Stats
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F
MA 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 5
Shen 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 6
Hitting
AB H R BI
Frost 4 3 1 1
Martin 4 2 0 1
Reynolds 4 1 1 0
Knight 4 2 1 0
Stark 4 2 1 0
Grose 3 1 0 0
Drake 4 1 0 0
Larson 3 2 1 0
Ehlen 4 0 0 0
Sackett 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 34 14 5 2
Pitching
IP H ER R K
Stark .2 0 0 1 0
Grose 4 2 0 1 6
Drake 1.1 1 2 4 1
Ehlen .1 1 0 0 0
Sackett .0 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 6.1 4 2 6 7
