Raiders take two from Bears

In a make-up doubleheader at Brewster last Thursday, the Raider bats came alive to take both games from the Bears. It was a turn around from last Monday’s 8-2 loss to the same team.

In the first game, Brady Black stayed on the mound for six innings, racking up three strikeouts and holding the Bears to two hits, allowing only one earned run.

Justus DeWinkler finished out the game, closing it with three strikeouts, knocking down the Bears in order.

“Defensively, our pitchers continued pounding the strike zone,” noted Head Coach Brandon Byers, “and our defense really buckled down after our Monday game by not really allowing them any extra outs.”

Offensively, the Raiders came alive with 13 hits, with eight of the starters contributing at least one. And Byers liked how the freshmen batters contributed.

“We received additional support from some of our new ballplayers,” Byers said, “with freshman Trey Nicholson recording a clutch two-out, 2-RBI single in the top of the seventh to stretch our lead back out from 3 to 5 — and he later came in to score.” The final score was LR 8, Brewster 2.

With the first game under their belt, the Raiders rode the momentum into the second game for the doubleheader sweep. The Raider bats continued to be hot, connecting for 15 hits.

Kramer Carlson had two singles and scored two runs to back up his performance on the mound, where, in six innings, he pitched six strikeouts and gave up only two earned runs.

DeWinkler closed for the Raiders again in the seventh, when he struck out one while not giving up a single earned run.

Tyler Garvin went two for two and scored three runs. Brady Black went two for three with a double and two runs scored. Tim Loch connected for three hits and scored two runs. Lee Williams and Dalton Boutain together hit five singles.

Their performance at the plate was almost soured by error-ridden defensive play as the Raiders committed five errors and gave up four unearned runs. But Byers refocused his players before the game got away from them. The final score was LR 12, Brewster 6.

Coach Byers saw a lot of growth from his players during the week.

“I was really proud with how the boys responded to the game one loss,” he said. “They really worked on the areas that impacted them during that game and the work showed up on the double header.

The Raiders travelled to Pateros last night for a 4:30 p.m. game one in the season series against the Billygoats. The Raiders will return to Greene Field on Friday for games two and three, starting at 3 p.m.

Boxscore for 4/2

Brewster 8 Runs 4 hits 0 Errors

LR 2 Runs 3 hits 6 Errors

Boxscore for game one 4/5

LR 8 Runs 13 hits 1 Errors

Brewster 2 Runs 2 hits 3 Errors

Boxscore for Game two 4/5

LR 12 Runs 15 hits 5 Errors

Brewster 6 Runs 6 hits 0 Errors