Eagles fall to Richard Winn in home finale

NEWBERRY — The win-less Newberry Academy Eagles varsity baseball team looked to change that in their final home game of the season. They took on the best team in their region hoping to pull off an upset, but that didn’t happen. Newberry Academy(0-9, 0-5 SCISA A region IV) fell 13-2 to Richard Winn Academy on Wednesday afternoon.

The Eagles of Newberry Academy and the Eagles of Richard Winn got together for the first time this season on Wednesday, April 9th on the campus of Newberry Academy. The same theme that’s been plaguing Newberry Academy all season reared its ugly head yet again in this game. They are able to get runners on base, but bring them in to score so it doesn’t show up on the scoreboard.

The seventh grade sensation Hudson Long got the start for the Newberry Academy and he had a rough opening to the game. Richard Winn got off to a strong start and put up four runs in the first inning to get an early lead. They followed that up by scoring another three runs in the second inning to take a 7-0 lead into the bottom half of the second inning.

The home team Eagles finally got things at the plate in the bottom half of the second inning and found themselves with bases loaded with just one out. They were able to get score two runs due to some good at bats. They left three runners stranded, but did cut into the deficit to make it a 7-2 game heading into the third inning.

Long pitched a masterful third inning, but his defense let him down. Two costly mistakes allowed to runs to score. Long was still able to overcome those mistakes and retire three of the six batters he faced in the inning.

Neither team could get anything going in the fourth inning. Long day would come to an end in the fifth inning because of the pitch count rule. Emory Pye took over in the fifth inning and he had a good outing in relief efforts. He pitched two innings and two strikeouts.

Unfortunately, Pye was also let down by his defense. Richard Winn was able to add a run due to a throwing error at the top of fifth inning. Then, the visiting team added three runs to their scoring total at the top of sixth inning due to three more errors. The Eagles had a hard time fielding routine pop-ups that led to extra base hits.

The home team left another two runners stranded at the bottom of the sixth inning and that was the ball game for Newberry Academy. Despite the lump sided score, Gabe Sligh made some great plays in the outfield and reach base twice in the game on a single and a walk. Long pitched well enough to win it and Pye had a strong outing in relief efforts. The Eagles had a lot of good individual performances, but they couldn’t put it together as a team.

“Hudson, is too good and has a whole future ahead of him. He is going to be a stud once he becomes a sophomore or junior. He gave us 75 pitches a night and that’s all we can ask for him. Emory comes in and pitches well. I wish I would’ve had him for several years,” said Eagles head coach Ronny Bannister after the game. “I told the guys that the second half of their season starts next Monday. We got another whole season to go. We have to win the last two ball games to keep our season going. We took Richard Winn to six innings and could’ve been battling here in the seventh if we got a hit in the right spot at the bottom of the second inning. The future is bright but we have to find a little bit more heart.”

Newberry Academy will have a few days off before closing out the regular season on the road. The first of the last two final regular season games will take place on next Monday, April 14th against Wardlaw Academy.