Gallery by Greg Barnett
Solid hitting and playing opportunistic baseball have been the keys to early season success for Independence.
Wednesday night it was more of the same for the Patriots at Bowen Field against regional rival Bluefield.
Aided by two crucial first-inning errors from the Beavers, Independence took a 4-0 lead and rode the early advantage to a 8-5 victory.
“We survived tonight. I thought early we put the ball in play really good,” Independence head coach Scott Cuthbert said. “In high school if you put in play good things are going to happen. That was both teams tonight. When both teams put it in play, it got kind of wild.”
After a lead-off walk to Atticus Goodson to start the game, Elijah Farrington hit a high chopper to third base.
Anticipating a close play, the throw sailed over the first baseman and Goodson never broke stride scoring the first run of the game.
Bluefield erased Farrington on Michael McKinney’s ground ball, but more trouble was in-store for the Beavers.
A solid single to right by Clay Basham rolled under the fielder’s glove, allowing McKinney to race all the way home from first base.
“One thing people overlook is that we run the bases really well. We have several kids that can run and are aggressive,” Cuthbert said. “We may not be aggressive stealing all the time, but going first to third or scoring, we try to be aggressive there.”
Carson Brown singled home Basham and scored two batters later on an RBI double from J.D. Monroe for a 4-0 lead.
“We did kind of beat ourselves tonight. Especially in that first inning where they scored four runs. It makes it an uphill battle when you are making errors,” Bluefield head coach Jimmy Redmond said. “You have to make the routine plays. In this ball park you have to keep everything in front of you and you have to make good throws.”
The home team showed some life in the bottom of the third inning.
A single from Will Youther and a hit batsmen set the table for hot-hitting Ryker Brown who smacked a solid single.
However, confusion on the base paths resulted in two players at third baseman and the second out of the inning after a rundown.
Hunter Harmon knocked in the first run for Bluefield, but a nice play by Michael McKinney ranging over behind second base ended a possible big inning for the Beavers.
The Patriots added to lead with an RBI single from McKinney in the fourth inning and one from Monroe in the fifth.
The score ballooned to 8-1 in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Basham and a RBI single from Carson Brown.
Although the Beavers looked down, they were not out.
After Ryker Brown had scored on a fielder’s choice from Kerry Collins, it was Indy’s turn to stumble in the field.
When a single from Caleb Fuller got under the glove of the left fielder, Collins raced home and Fuller was standing on third base by the time the ball got back in the infield.
A pair of walks loaded the bases with one out, but another solid opportunity slid by when Bluefield could only scratch across one run.
Trailing 8-4, Bluefield made one last run at the Patriots with it’s last out.
Ryker Brown hit a one-out single before Harmon reached on an error. A single by Collins scored Brown and Fuller followed with a single to load the bases.
However, the promising inning was snuffed out when the next two Beavers were caught looking for strikeouts.
The bottom four batters in the Bluefield order struckout nine times, five times looking at strike three.
“The good thing is they didn’t give up tonight, but we looked at way too many two-strike pitches. I told them if we want to beat (Independence), they have to step up,” Redmond said. “You can’t go up there looking at pitches. These bats are expensive, we need to be up there at least swinging.”
Even with the early lead, Cuthbert knew the game would be a fight to the last out.
“Our kids battled through some stressful situations. Bluefield battled and didn’t quit,” Cuthbert said. “Early on, they could have laid over. We are kind of used to that with these guys by now. We have played a lot of tough ball games with them.”
Weather permitting, Independence (5-0) hosts Charleston Catholic Thursday, Logan on Friday and Sissonville Saturday.
Bluefield (7-1) is scheduled to play Summers County Friday in the Coppinger Tournament.