BREMEN – The Good Hope Raiders picked up a road win Saturday over the Eagles of Cold Springs in dominant fashion. The Raiders put it away in five innings with a 14-1 win.
Tyler Legg got the start on the hill for Good Hope and went all five in the win. Outside of two walks that led to a run in the third, he kept the Eagles’ bats quiet all day, allowing just one run on two hits and collecting four strikeouts.
Said Raiders Head Coach Mitchell Witcher, “I thought Tyler did a great job. He was a little inconsistent, didn’t have his best stuff today, but he found it and worked through it. The guys made plays behind him and that’s all we want is to throw strikes.”
The Raiders were able to take advantage of 10 walks from the Cold Springs’ pitching staff and came up with timely hits with multiple runners on. Legg knocked in the first run for Good Hope in the top of the first with a single through the infield. Legg was the standout on the mound and in the box for Good Hope, finishing 2-for-3 and leading the team with three RBIs.
The Raiders widened the gap over the Eagles in the second after two runs scored on bases-loaded walks, two runs came home on wild pitches, and Preston Bagwell brought in a fifth run on a sac fly to give Good Hope a 6-0 lead.
Good Hope added another run on an error in the top of the third, and in the bottom of the inning Cold Springs got on the board. Jake Abbot drove in Ayden Alexander to cut the Raider lead to 7-1. The Eagles weren’t able to get cut any deeper into the deficit as the game went on; the Raiders tacked on two more in the fourth on a sac fly from Matt Hancock and an RBI single from Harper Chiaranda.
Good Hope closed the doors on the Eagles in the top of the fifth, starting with an RBI single from Jager Burns that made it 10-1. Legg drove in two more on a single to left field followed by a Matt Hancock RBI single that made it 13-1. The Raiders got one more run home on an infield error and three quick outs in the bottom half of the frame to end the game at 14-1.
Witcher was happy with how his lineup capitalized on the opportunities at the plate and took what the defense was giving them throughout the day.
“I was happy with the guys, they had better approaches at the plate today and we were disciplined early, and they helped us out with some walks and hit batters,” he said. “We hit some balls hard; even though they made plays on some of them I thought we hit it harder today so we’re getting better every time we come out.”
As the second half of the season starts to get underway and area play approaches, Witcher likes the progress his team has made so far this year and hopes to see the progression continue.
“I think we’re settling in on a pitching rotation now for area play and that’s been big. Getting Matt Hancock back to where he can catch more innings has been big because it allows Tyler to pitch more and maybe play some third. Harper Chiaranda played great at third today and like I said I think we’re improving every time we come out and we’re excited about area play.”
The Raiders’ next matchup will be on the road against Addison Tuesday. The Eagles will be back in action Monday at 4:30 when they host Winston County for the area opener.
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