Tripp Westbrook dances between first and second, looking for the opportunity to advance.
Raiders to take on top-seed Greene Central in East Semis
The Midway Raiders staved off a late-game rally from No. 21 seed Bartlett Yancey on Monday night. The Buccaneers, who had already sprung an upset one round earlier against the fifth seed, couldn’t quite put together the effort to make a run at Midway and the Raiders hung on for the 3-1 victory.
The first inning passed by with limited offense as neither team scratched the scoreboard. With each team stranding runners, the game was 0-0 going into the second inning.
Bartlett Yancey repeated that effort in the second, again leaving a runner aboard, but things were on the up and up for Midway in the bottom of the inning as they connected for a run. Tripp Westbrook led the inning off with an infield single, beating the throw at first base to get himself aboard. Wyatt Scott followed suit with a single into the outfield and a bad throw-in allowed Westbrook to score the first run of the game. In the fray, Scott took second base and was scored two batters later on a hit into the outfield by Christian Gainey, putting the Raiders up 2-0.
The game moved right on through to the fourth inning where Midway found the scoreboard again for an insurance run. An error and a walk put Gainey and Luke Peterson on board, setting the stage for a Carson Tew RBI single to score Gainey to make it 3-0 Raiders.
Defensively, Midway was standing tall behind a solid pitching effort from Dale Martin. The fifth inning passed by with no scoring change and the game had reached the top of the sixth, where the Buccaneers made things interesting. A walk and a single put a pair of runners on base before a fielder’s choice scored one run for Bartlett-Yancey. The Raiders were still in a jam, but they regrouped and worked their way out of it to preserve the 3-1 lead.
Things got a little dicey again in the top of the seventh inning but the Raiders persevered. A single with one out and another with two outs put the tying run at first base. A ground ball toward first base was cleanly played by Gainey, though, who made the tag at first to end the game and secure the 3-1 victory.
Midway had seven hits in the game with Westbrook tallying two of them. Wyatt Herring, Carson Tew, John McLamb, Wyatt Scott, and Christian Gainey all had one hit each. On the mound, Martin went five innings and recorded four strikeouts against one hit and two walks.
The Raiders, now 20-5 overall, are set to face their biggest challenge yet. They will travel to take on No. 1 seed Greene Central on Friday night in the East Region Semifinal.