HiToms split twin bill at Martinsville
(from Daniel Frey with the HiToms Baseball Club)
Martinsville, Va. – The High Point-Thomasville HiToms (17-8) brought the energy in game two that lacked in game one to split a doubleheader at the Martinsville Mustangs (12-13) on Wednesday night.
The scheduled doubleheader featured two seven inning games at Hooker Field.
In the first game, Ivan Acuna sent a difference making two-run home run over the left field fence in the bottom of the third to put Martinsville ahead 2-0 early. The next inning in the fourth, Dontrelle Brown lined a single to center making it 3-0 Mustangs and it would prove to be more than enough.
Hunter Slater delivered an RBI sacrifice fly out to get the HiToms on the board trailing 3-1 in the top of the sixth.
The Mustangs held on to win 3-1 in game one. Robert Donnelly (3-1) lost his first game of the season but still went six innings. Marcus Reyes (1-2) went for a complete game and struck out eight HiTom batters.
The HiTom bats woke up for the second game immediately. Zac Almond continued to be clutch with a two-RBI triple to left center. Daniel Sullivan followed it up with an RBI groundout as the HiToms jumped in front 3-0.
On the first pitch he saw in the top of the second, David Fry blasted his third homer of the season over the left field wall.
Martinsville answered in the bottom of the fourth on a two-RBI double by Brian Beard and then Cameron Alldred came off of the bench for a pinch-hit RBI single. The Mustangs were back in it trailing 4-3 after four innings. Jacob Norman pitched 3 1/3 innings in the start but gave way to Andrew Dill (1-0) to finish off the inning with two strikeouts.
The momentum wouldn’t last long for the Mustangs after an RBI triple from Derek Scheible. Throw in a wild pitch to score him and a an RBI sac-fly by Fry gave the HiToms breathing room ahead 7-3.
The tying run came to the plate for Martinsville in the bottom of the fifth but Ryan Owens closed the door out of the bullpen and that was the last real threat by Martinsville in the 7-3 HiToms victory.
The HiToms after the split return to Finch Field on Thursday, June 30 to host the competitive Lexington County Blowfish at 7 p.m.