Chargers get last inning come from behind win over Nottoway

The Central Chargers Varsity Baseball team improved to 3-1 early in the season with a thrilling come  from behind victory over Nottoway last Friday. The win for Central came after a road win over Buckingham and has Central on top of the Conference 42 standings as the spring break week came.

Nottoway would get off to a great start in the game as they scored 5 runs in the first inning off of five hits and a walk. Jeffrey Goodwin would come in to relieve Christian Hall and get a fly ball to centerfield to end the scoring threat. Central answered back in the bottom of the first with LJ Watson and Nate Nowlin reaching base to start things off. A single by Chris Fowler would score those two and Fowler scored on a double by Hall. Ethan Hoover would then plate Hall with a hit to center and Central battled back to a 5-4 score.

Both teams would be kept off the scoreboard in the second inning with Nowlin being stranded after a lead off single. In the third inning, a pair of ground outs and fly ball would keep Nottoway off the scoreboard once again with Central tying the game in the bottom half of the inning, Goodwin would single to get things started and score on a Hoover single to tie the game up at 5-5.

Nottoway answered back with two runs in the fourth inning as David Fitzgerald and Nolan Snyder scored on a Thomas Parrish double to give Nottoway a 7-5 lead.

Central again answered as Josh Paynter doubled to start the inning. Goodwin would also reach base and both scored to tie the game up again at 7-7.

Nottoway would have a big 5 run offensive outburst in the fifth inning to once again move ahead. Central would continue to battle and chip away at the scoreboard.  Riley Hart would lead off with a hit to left field and Malik Foster would follow that with a single. A single by Paynter plated two more runs for Central to make the score 12-9.

Central would keep Nottoway off the scoreboard in the sixth inning and tie the game up as Hoover and Hart both reached base with two outs. Foster would then hit a three run homer over the left field fence to tie the game at 12-12.

Goodwin on the mound and his defense kept Nottoway off the board again in the top of the seventh. Central would come to bat needing one run to claim the win. Nowlin would reach base to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Paynter followed that up with a shot to shortstop with both runners being safe. Nowlin advanced to third on  a Chris Fowler single. With one out, Christian Hall then lifted  a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Nowlin to tag at third and beat the throw home to give Central the 13-12 victory.

Goodwin would go 7 innings and get the win on the mound while Central collected 17 hits as a team and made multiple comebacks to get the win.