Westwood’s Thomas Castles drives one into the gap against Dreher last week.
March 12 was a frustrating night for the Redhawks’ head coach Curtis Johnson, as only two Westwood batters were able to get on base. Chad Smith took first base on balls in the second inning and Kareem Wilson hit a single in the fourth. Dreher had a big third inning, scoring five runs, and closing the game out in the fifth inning when the 10th run came in to end the game early, 10-0 Dreher.
The Blue Devils scored early as John Stone hit a single and stole second in the top of the first. A sacrifice bunt by Ben Herring moved Stone to third and a single by Josh Herring drove Stone home for the first run of the game.
Westwood went down in order in the bottom of the first while Dreher tacked on another run in the top of the second. After Taylor Cotton drew a walk, Stone drove him home with a double into the gap. But the third inning was the inning the Redhawks would like to forget. A walk and a hit batter, along with some timely Blue Devils’ hitting, plated five more for Dreher, making the score 7-0 after two and a half.
In the top of the fourth inning, Herring roped a double, and the next batter, Alan Burnside, hit a clean single, scoring Herring for the eighth run for the Blue Devils. In the bottom of the fourth, Wilson got the Redhawks’ only hit, a single. After two strikeouts and a fly ball, Wilson was left on first as the inning ended.
In the top of the fifth and final inning, with runners at second and third, the Dreher batter was hit by a pitch and took his base. A hit to the second baseman was bobbled, allowing two Blue Devil runs to score. After the final out, Westwood had one final chance to score and avoid the 10-run rule. Unfortunately, they were not able to score in the bottom of the fifth inning, and the game was over.
Tuesday night, things didn’t get much better for the ‘Hawks. After two scoreless league games, Westwood managed to get a run, but ultimately lost at Camden, 10-1.
Will Abbott got the win for Camden, working five innings, with 66 pitches, 42 for strikes and a strike percentage of 64 percent. Abbott was relieved by Grey Hoke who threw 28 pitches for 21 strikes and a strike percentage of 75 percent.
Ray Branson was charged with the loss for Westwood, also working five innings. Branson threw 77 pitches for 46 strikes and a 60 percent strike percentage. Branson was relieved briefly by Chad Smith who threw 39 pitches for 19 strikes and a strike percentage of 49 percent. T.J. White closed things out for the Redhawks with four pitches for three strikes.
Down 1-0, the Redhawks got on the board in the top of the second after designated hitter Kareem Wilson singled, moved to second on an Abbott walk to DeAndre Jennings, then stole third. Wilson came around on a Camden throwing error to tie the game.
Camden bounced back in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs on three hits, four stolen bases, a walk and a Westwood error. The Dogs added five more in the sixth, due in part to two wild pitches, a passed ball and an error at second base.
