Arendell Parrott bests Bethel Christian in match of private school powers
Despite each team’s record, this game was dominated by nine errors that allowed several unearned runs. In the end, the Patriots were able to capitalize more when the opportunity showed itself as they dealt Bethel its first loss in an 8-4 contest.
“It was a sloppy game. Our defense was poor, but our pitching was excellent,” said Patriots coach Robert Kravitz. “We had some timely hits, but our approach to the plate was bad. We saw a lot of bad pitches, especially later on, that we swung at and should not have. We can be better than this.”
Bethel’s coach Kenny Sutton echoed similar thoughts. “It was sloppy on both sides. This was as bad as I’ve seen us play in two years. We have to play much better than this. Our defense was off. Our pitching was not as sharp as it has been. We got hits, but not always when we needed them.”
Parrott’s Connor Bright took the mound and quickly went to work. He struck out the side in the first inning. Bright also allowed only one base runner in the first two innings.
Zaccheaus Rasberry walked to start the bottom of the first for the Patriots. He was sacrificed over to second and then went to third on Colby McClawhorn’s single. Charlie King drove Rasberry in on a fielder’s choice grounder to the shortstop. One inning later, Alex Henderson launched a pitch to left center for an RBI double and a 2-0 APA lead.
Bethel’s bats came alive in the top of the third. Luke Stalnaker reached first safely on an error and Chris Blizzard slapped a single that made it through the left side of the infield. Hunter Stephens hit the ball to the first baseman, who in trying to make a double play, but overthrew second base. Stalnaker would score and Blizzard would score on an RBI i double by Ted Suggs. Williams helped his own cause when the pitcher crushed a single to centerfield and give Bethel a 3-2 lead.
It would be a short-lived lead. With runners on first and third and one out in the bottom of the third, John McLawhorn drove a ball to right field and knock in a run to tie it up. The next batter, Trey McClawhorn, smashed the first pitch he saw to the centerfield wall and broke up the tie with a two-run double.
“We were down and I wanted to deliver for the team,” said McClawhorn. “We made some errors and we had to get back into this game. We fought back, and with the help of our pitchers, we were able to come out with a win.
Williams again helped his own game out when, in the top of the fifth, he chopped a pitch over to the shortstop. The throw to first was overthrown, allowing Suggs to score from second. Bright was able to work himself out of the inning by striking out the next two batters. Bright would be pulled after going five innings, striking out nine and giving up four runs on six hits. Replacing him would be Charlie King, who would pitch two scoreless innings and give up just one hit.
“Connor and Charlie were the key to this game. If they hadn’t pitched as well as they did, we might have lost this one. They both kept us in the game,” said Coach Kravitz.
“We came out pretty strong in the first few innings and then they started to come back with hits and capitalized on our mistakes”, said Bright reflecting on his win. “We didn’t let it get to us and we battled back to win it.”
Josh Jackson broke the game open in the sixth after an insurance run was scored earlier in the inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Jackson lined a shot to centerfield scoring two. Williams was pulled, giving up eight runs, most of them unearned, with eight hits, five walks, and eight strikeouts.
“They had just walked three batters in a row. I had a 3-1 count and made contact with it right up the middle. I was just trying to give our pitchers a cushion to win this game,” said Jackson. “We had been battling with them all night and we came back and won it. Our pitching kept us in this game.”
Parrott 8, Bethel 4
R H E
BCA 003 010 0 4 6 4
APA 113 003 X 8 8 5
WP: (Bright 3-0)
LP: (Williams 2-1)
- By Scott Cole / Correspondent KINSTON FREE PRESS
Despite each team’s record, this game was dominated by nine errors that allowed several unearned runs. In the end, the Patriots were able to capitalize more when the opportunity showed itself as they dealt Bethel its first loss in an 8-4 contest.
“It was a sloppy game. Our defense was poor, but our pitching was excellent,” said Patriots coach Robert Kravitz. “We had some timely hits, but our approach to the plate was bad. We saw a lot of bad pitches, especially later on, that we swung at and should not have. We can be better than this.”
Bethel’s coach Kenny Sutton echoed similar thoughts. “It was sloppy on both sides. This was as bad as I’ve seen us play in two years. We have to play much better than this. Our defense was off. Our pitching was not as sharp as it has been. We got hits, but not always when we needed them.”
Parrott’s Connor Bright took the mound and quickly went to work. He struck out the side in the first inning. Bright also allowed only one base runner in the first two innings.
Zaccheaus Rasberry walked to start the bottom of the first for the Patriots. He was sacrificed over to second and then went to third on Colby McClawhorn’s single. Charlie King drove Rasberry in on a fielder’s choice grounder to the shortstop. One inning later, Alex Henderson launched a pitch to left center for an RBI double and a 2-0 APA lead.
Bethel’s bats came alive in the top of the third. Luke Stalnaker reached first safely on an error and Chris Blizzard slapped a single that made it through the left side of the infield. Hunter Stephens hit the ball to the first baseman, who in trying to make a double play, but overthrew second base. Stalnaker would score and Blizzard would score on an RBI i double by Ted Suggs. Williams helped his own cause when the pitcher crushed a single to centerfield and give Bethel a 3-2 lead.
It would be a short-lived lead. With runners on first and third and one out in the bottom of the third, John McLawhorn drove a ball to right field and knock in a run to tie it up. The next batter, Trey McClawhorn, smashed the first pitch he saw to the centerfield wall and broke up the tie with a two-run double.
“We were down and I wanted to deliver for the team,” said McClawhorn. “We made some errors and we had to get back into this game. We fought back, and with the help of our pitchers, we were able to come out with a win.
Williams again helped his own game out when, in the top of the fifth, he chopped a pitch over to the shortstop. The throw to first was overthrown, allowing Suggs to score from second. Bright was able to work himself out of the inning by striking out the next two batters. Bright would be pulled after going five innings, striking out nine and giving up four runs on six hits. Replacing him would be Charlie King, who would pitch two scoreless innings and give up just one hit.
“Connor and Charlie were the key to this game. If they hadn’t pitched as well as they did, we might have lost this one. They both kept us in the game,” said Coach Kravitz.
“We came out pretty strong in the first few innings and then they started to come back with hits and capitalized on our mistakes”, said Bright reflecting on his win. “We didn’t let it get to us and we battled back to win it.”
Josh Jackson broke the game open in the sixth after an insurance run was scored earlier in the inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Jackson lined a shot to centerfield scoring two. Williams was pulled, giving up eight runs, most of them unearned, with eight hits, five walks, and eight strikeouts.
“They had just walked three batters in a row. I had a 3-1 count and made contact with it right up the middle. I was just trying to give our pitchers a cushion to win this game,” said Jackson. “We had been battling with them all night and we came back and won it. Our pitching kept us in this game.”
Parrott 8, Bethel 4
R H E
BCA 003 010 0 4 6 4
APA 113 003 X 8 8 5
WP: (Bright 3-0)
LP: (Williams 2-1)
