KERR_VANCE 8, OAKWOOD 5
The Spartans (4-0) traveled to Greenville to face Oakwood (2-2, 1-1) in a 1A Carolina Independent Conference matchup Friday evening, earning their first conference victory of the season to return to Henderson with their perfect record still intact.
While it took a few innings for the Spartans’ bats to come alive, Oakwood got something going in its first opportunity at the plate, scoring three runs in the fi rst inning to the delight of the home crowd. None of those runs were earned, however, and Spartans’ senior Jabe Montgomery (4.2 IP, 0 ER, 12 K’s) settled down after that, allowing just one unearned run over his next three innings of work.
Trailing by three runs, Kerr-Vance fi nally got to Oakwood junior Austin Goins (4 IP, 3 ER, 6 K’s) in the top of the third, platingthree runs to even the contest. The game didn’t remain tied for long though, as Oakwood answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning to claim a 4-3 advantage.
The Spartans’ bats came alive once again in the top of the fourth as they scored three more runs before Goins could get out of the inning, giving Kerr-Vance a 6-4 lead, it’s fi rst of the contest. Montgomer y (2-4, 2 RBI) performed extremely well at the plate, helping himself earn the win on the mound as he came around to score three of his squad’s runs.
Spartans’ freshman Colby Wilkerson (2-5, RBI), junior Wil Short (2-4, RBI), senior Banks Conde (1-3), seventh-grader Shane Garrett (1-2), sophomore Cam Murphy (1-4) and eighth-grader Tom Echols (1-3) also produced at the plate.
Oakwood added one more unearned run in the bottom of the fi fth to cut the Spartans’ advantage in half, but Wilkerson came on in relief and slammed the door for Kerr-Vance. The freshman hurler recorded the final out of the fifth and struck out five batters over 2.1 innings of work, allowing just one hit during his time on the mound. Montgomery was also brilliant on the mound, surrendering just two hits and four walks as he notched double-digit strikeouts Friday.
The Spartans did struggle in one phase of the game, however, committing way too many errors for head coach Todd Wilkerson’s liking, with all five of Oakwood’s runs being unearned.
“Our pitching was great again for us tonight, we had 17 strikeouts. Jabe [Montgomery] and Colby [Wilkerson] did a good job keeping them [Oakwood] off balance,” Wilkerson said. “We made too many errors behind them though, and we have got to eliminate the errors. We had a good night at the plate though, against a good team too.This was a big conference win for us and I’m excited about it.”
The Spartans (4-0) will return to action when they host Ravenscroft (3-3) in a nonconference
matchup Tuesday night.
The Spartans (4-0) traveled to Greenville to face Oakwood (2-2, 1-1) in a 1A Carolina Independent Conference matchup Friday evening, earning their first conference victory of the season to return to Henderson with their perfect record still intact.
While it took a few innings for the Spartans’ bats to come alive, Oakwood got something going in its first opportunity at the plate, scoring three runs in the fi rst inning to the delight of the home crowd. None of those runs were earned, however, and Spartans’ senior Jabe Montgomery (4.2 IP, 0 ER, 12 K’s) settled down after that, allowing just one unearned run over his next three innings of work.
Trailing by three runs, Kerr-Vance fi nally got to Oakwood junior Austin Goins (4 IP, 3 ER, 6 K’s) in the top of the third, platingthree runs to even the contest. The game didn’t remain tied for long though, as Oakwood answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning to claim a 4-3 advantage.
The Spartans’ bats came alive once again in the top of the fourth as they scored three more runs before Goins could get out of the inning, giving Kerr-Vance a 6-4 lead, it’s fi rst of the contest. Montgomer y (2-4, 2 RBI) performed extremely well at the plate, helping himself earn the win on the mound as he came around to score three of his squad’s runs.
Spartans’ freshman Colby Wilkerson (2-5, RBI), junior Wil Short (2-4, RBI), senior Banks Conde (1-3), seventh-grader Shane Garrett (1-2), sophomore Cam Murphy (1-4) and eighth-grader Tom Echols (1-3) also produced at the plate.
Oakwood added one more unearned run in the bottom of the fi fth to cut the Spartans’ advantage in half, but Wilkerson came on in relief and slammed the door for Kerr-Vance. The freshman hurler recorded the final out of the fifth and struck out five batters over 2.1 innings of work, allowing just one hit during his time on the mound. Montgomery was also brilliant on the mound, surrendering just two hits and four walks as he notched double-digit strikeouts Friday.
The Spartans did struggle in one phase of the game, however, committing way too many errors for head coach Todd Wilkerson’s liking, with all five of Oakwood’s runs being unearned.
“Our pitching was great again for us tonight, we had 17 strikeouts. Jabe [Montgomery] and Colby [Wilkerson] did a good job keeping them [Oakwood] off balance,” Wilkerson said. “We made too many errors behind them though, and we have got to eliminate the errors. We had a good night at the plate though, against a good team too.This was a big conference win for us and I’m excited about it.”
The Spartans (4-0) will return to action when they host Ravenscroft (3-3) in a nonconference
matchup Tuesday night.
