FAIRMONT – Four unearned Fairmont runs in the fifth inning preserved a 12-5 Three Rivers Conference baseball victory for the Tornadoes over West Bladen Wednesday night.
The Tornadoes turned a walk, an infield hit and a pair of throwing errors into a pair of unearned first inning runs.
The Knights answered with 2 runs in the third inning. Junior David Valenta walked, sophmore Braylon Williamson was hit by a pitch and both advanced on sophmore Dawson Bryan’s sacrifice bunt.
After sophmore Logan West walked, senior Scott Bowen lined a single to left that scored Valenta, and sophmore Jake Butler was hit by a pitch to force home Williamson with the tying run.
Randy Floyd walked to begin the Tornado third inning, and Seth Thorndyke walloped a 2-run homer to put Fairmont back on top 4-2.
Valenta drew a one-out walk in the Knight fourth, and Williamson ripped a single to leftfield. Bryan knocked in Valenta with a single to centerfield that trimmed the margin to 4-3.
Floyd’s 2-run double was the only hit in a 3-run Fairmont fourth inning that pushed their lead to 7-3.
Bowen reached base on an error to start the Knight fifth inning. Junior Dalton Pait swatted an opposite-field single to left. Senior Trey Storms’ fielder’s choice plated Bowen, and senior Kaleb Heup yanked a single to left that scored Pait and whittled the margin to 7-5.
An error, 2 singles and 2 walks produced 4 Fairmont runs in the fifth inning, and the Tornadoes tacked on another unearned run in the sixth.
Bryan, Bowen and Heup collected run-scoring singles for the Knights. Pait and Williamson also connected for a single each. Butler and Storms drove in runs, Valenta scored 2 runs, and Williamson, Bowen, and Pait scored a run each.
West pitched the first 4 innings for the Knights, striking out six and allowing 7 runs – 5 earned – on 4 hits and 4 walks. Sophmore Nolan Bryant pitched the fifth and allowed 4 unearned runs on 3 walks and 2 hits while striking out one. Sophmore Colby White pitched the sixth and allowed one unearned run on a walk while striking out one.
Throndyke who batted 2-3 with the homer and 4 runs batted in picked up the win in relief for Fairmont. Floyd batted 2-3 with a double and 3 rbi’s, and Halon Oxendine was also 2-3 at the plate.
West Bladen will play Hoke County at 4 p.m. Saturday in the opening round of the Robeson County Slugfest at Lumberton High School.
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