Grace Christian Raleigh baseball still in first place, defeats St. David’s
By David Justice RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER
RALEIGH
Grace Christian Raleigh used a strong start to remain undefeated in the NCISAA Eastern Plains 2A Conference Tuesday afternoon, taking a 9-5 win over St. David’s.
The Eagles, 10-4 overall and 3-0 in the league, jumped ahead 7-1 after 2 ½ innings and then relied on pitching and defense to wrap up the win.
“We’ve had a good season so far,” Grace coach Charlie Murphy said. “But after the good start today, I thought we lost our focus, lost some intensity. That happens.”
Especially with a team as young as Grace, dominated by a sophomore class.
Sophomore Jackson Keen started on the mound and picked up his third win. He also had two hits. Sophomore catcher Mitchell Haughee led the offense with three of his team’s nine hits.
Two Warriors errors and base hits by Keen, Haughee and junior Jay Shive put the visitors on top 3-0 in the top of the first. In the second inning Keen singled, Haughee doubled, and another St. David’s error led to two more Grace runs.
Just like the season, though, St. David’s played better as the game went on.
The Warriors started the year 0-8 but are now 2-9 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
“I saw a lot of positives out there,” St. David’s coach Ron Davenport said. “I was pleased with how the guys battled back. And the pitchers threw strikes and let the defense play behind them.
“After an 0-8 start, I’ve seen this team get better every day in practice,” said Davenport, who played at Leesville Road and played several years at the professional level. “Grace is a good team, first place in our league, and we were just a couple of plays from being right there.”
Three to know
David Clark, St. David’s: The Warriors’ freshman started on the mound, had three of his team’s six hits, had a sacrifice fly and, as the shortstop, made three outstanding plays in the field to get the three outs in the top of the seventh.
“David’s battled arm problems and it’s great to get him back,” Davenport said. “He’s an asset wherever we put him.”
Mitchell Haughee, Grace: “Mitchell is probably hitting close to .500 and has been very reliable so far hitting cleanup,” said coach Murphy, of the sophomore who usually catches or plays leftfield.
Jackson Keen, Grace: Raised his record to 3-1, throwing five innings where he scattered four hits and struck out five batters.
What worked
The Eagles have a young, but deep pitching staff, led by Keen, sophomore Chad Allison and the junior Shive. “We don’t really have an ace there but we have confidence in all three,” Murphy said.
Unsung hero
Noah Taylor, Grace: Another Eagle sophomore, the lefty pitched the last two innings and keeps batters off balance with his curveball.
They said it
“I’ve coached a lot of years,” Grace coach Murphy said. “And I really love this team. It’s a great group of young men.”
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/high-school/article72790517.html#storylink=cpy
By David Justice RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER
RALEIGH
Grace Christian Raleigh used a strong start to remain undefeated in the NCISAA Eastern Plains 2A Conference Tuesday afternoon, taking a 9-5 win over St. David’s.
The Eagles, 10-4 overall and 3-0 in the league, jumped ahead 7-1 after 2 ½ innings and then relied on pitching and defense to wrap up the win.
“We’ve had a good season so far,” Grace coach Charlie Murphy said. “But after the good start today, I thought we lost our focus, lost some intensity. That happens.”
Especially with a team as young as Grace, dominated by a sophomore class.
Sophomore Jackson Keen started on the mound and picked up his third win. He also had two hits. Sophomore catcher Mitchell Haughee led the offense with three of his team’s nine hits.
Two Warriors errors and base hits by Keen, Haughee and junior Jay Shive put the visitors on top 3-0 in the top of the first. In the second inning Keen singled, Haughee doubled, and another St. David’s error led to two more Grace runs.
Just like the season, though, St. David’s played better as the game went on.
The Warriors started the year 0-8 but are now 2-9 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
“I saw a lot of positives out there,” St. David’s coach Ron Davenport said. “I was pleased with how the guys battled back. And the pitchers threw strikes and let the defense play behind them.
“After an 0-8 start, I’ve seen this team get better every day in practice,” said Davenport, who played at Leesville Road and played several years at the professional level. “Grace is a good team, first place in our league, and we were just a couple of plays from being right there.”
Three to know
David Clark, St. David’s: The Warriors’ freshman started on the mound, had three of his team’s six hits, had a sacrifice fly and, as the shortstop, made three outstanding plays in the field to get the three outs in the top of the seventh.
“David’s battled arm problems and it’s great to get him back,” Davenport said. “He’s an asset wherever we put him.”
Mitchell Haughee, Grace: “Mitchell is probably hitting close to .500 and has been very reliable so far hitting cleanup,” said coach Murphy, of the sophomore who usually catches or plays leftfield.
Jackson Keen, Grace: Raised his record to 3-1, throwing five innings where he scattered four hits and struck out five batters.
What worked
The Eagles have a young, but deep pitching staff, led by Keen, sophomore Chad Allison and the junior Shive. “We don’t really have an ace there but we have confidence in all three,” Murphy said.
Unsung hero
Noah Taylor, Grace: Another Eagle sophomore, the lefty pitched the last two innings and keeps batters off balance with his curveball.
They said it
“I’ve coached a lot of years,” Grace coach Murphy said. “And I really love this team. It’s a great group of young men.”
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/high-school/article72790517.html#storylink=cpy
