Ringgold finishes off sweep of EF
By JOSE NEGRON
jnegron@yourmvi.com
In a battle that featured superb pitching, one big inning helped Ringgold prevail Tuesday afternoon.
The Rams struck for three runs in the third and held off Elizabeth Forward for a 3-1 Section 3-4A win at Wylie Field in Elizabeth.
The win gave Ringgold (7-7, 3-5) a two-game sweep of the Warriors (5-3, 3-3), a team it defeated by a 4-0 score on Monday.
“This was huge because we knew that if we could get a sweep here, we would control our own destiny with four section games left,” Ringgold head coach Don Roberts said. “We have two against Uniontown and two against West Mifflin now, so if we win those games, we should be in the playoffs. I think a lot of people counted these kids out when we started 0-4 and were struggling a bit at the beginning of the season, but these kids continue to work and continue to get better every week.”
With two outs in the third inning, Ringgold’s 2-3-4 hitters helped manufacture the team’s only runs.
Chad Behrendt and Eli Callaway drew back-to-back walks off EF pitcher Isaiah Hart before Hunter Mamie delivered with an RBI double into deep left field to make it 1-0.
One batter later, a mistake proved costly for EF (5-3, 3-3).
Hart struck out Gianni Cantini swinging, but a dropped third strike prompted a throw from catcher Luke Alvarez. His toss to first went awry, allowing Callaway and Mamie to score and make it a three-run lead.
“I have to tip my hat to (Hart) because he was phenomenal,” Roberts said. “One thing we’ve been stressing, though, is just getting the ball in play. When you put the ball in play, you put pressure on their defense and this is high school baseball, so there are going to be mistakes that are made. The more we put it in play, it’s going to allow us to score a lot more runs and I think that’s what happened today.”
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