Statesmen Beat Amelia and Heritage

CHARLOTTE COURT HOUSE – On Tuesday, March 28, the Statesmen started James River District action with a game in Amelia Court House. The Statesmen could not scratch a run across on the Raiders until the third inning when Andru Lee singled and an error by Amelia pitcher Payton Vaught allowed Lee to advance to second base. Next Ben Gibbs would double, scoring Lee from second base. With two outs, Jayden Gee singled, scoring Gibbs and bringing the score 2-0 Statesmen. On the defensive side, the Statesmen played a clean game with no errors and a combined 12 strikeouts on the mound. Luke Skelton got the start for the Statesmen. Skelton threw six and one third innings striking out 11. The Statesmen added to their 2-0 lead in the fifth inning when Ben Gibbs singled followed by a double from Junior Powell. Jayden Gee got an RBI on a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Gibbs. Three runs were enough in this contest as the Raiders only scored one run in the bottom of the seventh on a passed ball. “Whenever we come to Amelia we know we have to play well to win. Amelia is always a well-coached team that will make you earn every run. I was really proud of our guys for playing a clean game on defense and finding a way to push a few runs across to win the game,” said Coach Barmoy.

The next day, March 29, the Statesmen hosted the Pioneers from Heritage High School in a non-district match up. What looked like a run away after the first inning, turned into a tight ball game that Coach Josh Barmoy said “was disappointing.” The Statesmen scored five runs in the first inning off of a combination of walks, a few fielders’ choices, and a hit. The Statesmen did not add to their lead but the Pioneers tacked on two runs in the top of the fourth making it a 5-2 ball game with one out and the bases loaded. “We took our foot off of the gas after the first inning and allowed our opponent to stay in the game. As a program we have to keep the intensity up throughout an entire game. We were up five runs and did not add any more and the next thing we know we are in a tough spot in the fourth,” said Coach Barmoy. Brayson Arrington struck out the next two batters, minimizing the Pioneers’ offensive comeback to only two runs. The Statesmen would still lead 5-2. Ben Gibbs would come in to finish the game on the mound for the Statesmen. The Statesmen pushed across another five spot in the top of the seventh as Andru Lee walks, Ben Gibbs singles, Jayden Gee is hit by a pitch, and Luke Skelton walked, scoring a run. Next, Brayson Arrington doubled, scoring two runs. After that, Camden Tucker singled on a pop fly, scoring Skelton. Lastly, Kevin Eames hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Brayson Arrington, making the score 10-2. The Statesmen got three outs in the top of seventh to claim a 10-2 win.