The Centerburg baseball team opened up their season with a huge 14-2 win over Madison Plains, with Vinny Morgan smashing four hits and three RBIS to lead a 16 hit attack.
The rest of the week was tough for the Trojans, who followed the win with a 14-4 loss at Elmwood, 7-6 loss at Buckeye and a 16-6 loss to Bowling Green. They start the season 1-3 and look to get back in the winning column in their first conference matchup of the season against Danville on the road.
"I feel good about our offense as of right now," Coach Josh Moss said. "We hit the ball and scored enough runs to give us a chance to win some games. We need to get better on the mound and in the field. We are allowing too many free bases right now. Our pitching staff and defense need to step up and take the next step in order for us to be successful."
Moss has been impressed early by the play of Morgan, who went 7-for-12 with three walks and three steals in the early goings. He has been consistent getting on base and setting the table out of the leadoff spot. Mason Vallance was 6-for-14 with a double in Myrtle Beach, and did a good job working counts and battling in two strike scenarios. Daniel Lemaster was 6-for-12 with three doubles and three steals, and Grayson Reynolds went 4-for-13 with a double, triple, three walks and three steals.
Centerburg 14, Madison Plains 2
The Trojans jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. They tacked on a run in the second, two more runs in the third and then four runs in the fourth. Madison Plains scored two runs in the fifth inning, but the damage had already been done.
Morgan went 4-for-4 with a double, three RBIs, a steal and a run scored. Grayson Reynolds also knocked in three runs, and went 2-for-4 with a run scored. One of his hits was a triple.
Daniel Lemaster went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, a walk, an RBI and three runs. Jesse Rings scored three times and went 1-for-3, and also stole a base. Mason Vallance had two RBIs and a run, while going 1-for-4 with a double. Ryder Scott had an RBI double going 1-for-1 with a run scored. Jonah Gribben was 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI. Antonio Nichols also drove in a run.
Lemaster picked up the win on the mound, throwing three innings of shutout ball while allowing two hits and three walks. He struck out five batters in the start, as well. Scott pitched an inning and two thirds with two earned runs, one hit, three walks and two strikeouts.
Elmwood 14, Centerburg 4
The Trojans got in a 14-0 hole early and could never recover, taking a 14-4 loss to Elmwood on March 28.
The Royals put five on the board to start the game, and then they scored seven runs in the second inning to make it a 12-0 game. They tacked on two more runs in the top of the third on RBI singles by Landon Snow and Cadyn Stewart, who had each scored in the previous inning, as well.
Centerburg scored two runs in the bottom of the third, and then had runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback as the game was called in the fifth inning due to the mercy rule.
Reynolds was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. He also stole a base for the Trojans. Vallance also went 2-for-3, and came across to score a run. Gribben was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Buckeye 7, Centerburg 6
Centerburg had a 4-0 lead at the end of the top of the third inning, but Buckeye had back-to-back three run innings to take the lead and hold on for a 7-6 win on March 29.
Lemaster went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Ricky Faught tripled and drove in two runs, while also scoring one himself. Morgan was 2-for-4 with a run scored and Vallance had two RBIs and went 1-for-4.
Lemaster took the loss and went three and one-third innings, allowing only two hits but walking five. Of the five runs he gave up, three were earned. He also struck out two batters. Ryder Scott pitched two and two-thirds innings with two runs allowed, but none earned. He allowed three hits and two walks.
Bowling Green 16, Centerburg 6
Bowling Green went off for 12 hits and held Centerburg to only five in a lopsided 16-6 win over the Trojans on March 30.
The Trojans got the scoring started in the first inning when Vallance knocked in a run on a single. However, the bottom half of the inning was huge for Bowling Green, putting up give runs on three hits. Centerburg shot themselves in the foot, as an error cost them two runs.
The Bobcats tacked on another run in the bottom of the second, and then continued their onslaught with four runs in the third and five runs in the fourth. They added an insurance run in the fifth inning to seal the win.
Rings tripled for the Trojans, and went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs. He also stole a bag. Vallance was 2-for-3 with an RBI for Centerburg, as well. Reynolds walked twice, stole two bases and had an RBI.
Morgan wasn’t helped by his defense, as he allowed 10 runs but only two were earned in the loss. He allowed 10 hits and two walks, while striking out one.
"Going 0-3 at any point in the season is never something to "feel good" about," said Coach Moss. "We challenged ourselves this week with three tough opponents and the goal from our spring trip is to grow as a team. I think our boys really came together as a unit and our hope is to learn from the challenges and adversity we faced against three strong opponents."
