Ian Sykes pitched a two-hitter and allowed an unearned run as the West Bladen junior varsity baseball team remained unbeaten in Four County Conference play on Wednesday with a 6-1 victory against Pender at Knights Field.
Sykes struck out eight, walked one and hit two batters. The right-hander threw 80 pitches over six innings of which 52 were for strikes.
Trey Storms, Brandon Strange, Derrick Long, Drake Little, Jalen Drew and Jeremy Pait each had one hit for West Bladen. Jonathan Robinson, Storms and Drew each drove in a run. Sykes scored twice while Jonathan Ashworth, Cameron Peterson, Dalton Pait and Jeremy Pait each scored once.
West Bladen is 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the conference. The Knights are scheduled to play in the Jiggs Powers Easter Tournament on Monday and Tuesday at West Columbus High School.
Pender scored its lone run in the first inning, using a pair of singles and an error.
West Bladen countered with two runs in its half of the first. After walks to Sykes and Ashworth and a wild pitch put runners on second and third, both runners scored on ground outs by Storms and Robinson, respectively.
The Knights scored three runs without a hit in the second. West Bladen used three walks, two errors and a fielder’s choice for a 5-1 lead.
West Bladen’s final run came in the third. Peterson reached on a fielder’s choice, was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dalton Pait and scored on Drew’s hard single to left.
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