By Stephen Henderson
A week full of road games proved a difficult task for the Patrick County junior varsity baseball team last week. They did beat George Washington of Danville by a score of 7-5, but fell to Christiansburg 6-1 and to Tunstall 9-1.
In last Monday’s game at Christiansburg, the team didn’t start crisp on defense. They allowed five runs in first two innings, but only one earned. “Against good teams, that will get you beat,” said Coach Donnie Rakes.
“Offensively, it was a game of missed opportunities,” he said. “We would consistently get people on base but just couldn’t get the key hit we needed. We had 16 people on base for the game, but only scored three runs,” Rakes said.
“The real positive, though, was after the second inning, we really played solid baseball. With more experience I think we are going to be a pretty good baseball team,” he added.
Wednesday’s game at GW was a “Good win for the kids,” Rakes said.
“They played really solid defense; I am very proud of effort and enthusiasm.
“We are starting to make all the routine defensive plays, and when you do that, you give yourself a chance,” he said.
Josh Cockram and Colby Vernon threw the ball well. Dylan Phillips was “lights out;” he went 4-4 with four RBIs and closed out the game on the mound in last two innings with five strikeouts.
In Thursday’s game at Tunstall, Rakes said that the score did not represent what the team did in the game. “We really competed well with Tunstall for five innings,” he said.
“We went toe-to-toe with what is the measuring rod for a baseball program in our area. With that said, we now need to strive to compete for all seven innings of a game,” he said. “I am encouraged by our progress.”
