Raider Baseball advances to Far-West Regional

4 to 0 victory over Cuba-Rushford extends Raiders’ season

   Just 17 hours after a heart stopping victory over the Warsaw Tigers, in the Section V Class CC Championship game in Batavia, the Raiders were again back on the playing field, this time in Wayland-Cohocton. The game’s state qualifier opponent, the Cuba-Rushford Rebels, was the only Section V team left in way of the Raiders’ quest to move deeper into the NYS Championships. The qualifier game winner would secure a spot in the Far-West Regional Championship against the State’s #1 team, the Frewsburg Bears.

   The Raiders’ offense struck first, as they would jump on the Rebels in the bottom of the 2^nd inning. Sean Ancker opened the inning with a single to left field. Mike Anderson’s single would move Ancker over to second base. Ben Anastasi’s fielder’s choice would force Anderson out at 2^nd base but it also moved Ancker over to 3^rd base. Chris Peterson then delivered a clutch single, bringing home Ancker for the game’s first score. The Rebels, fortunately, escaped any more damage as they managed to get the final two outs in the inning, giving up just the single run to Cal-Mum.

   The Raiders were right back after the Rebels in the bottom of the 3^rd inning, keeping the pressure on. Regis Pollard opened the inning with a base-on-balls. Kevin Keenan moved Pollard over to 3^rd base with a single to right field. Eli Beard’s fielder’s choice drove in Pollard for the score, giving the Raiders a 2 to 0 advantage.

   Holding a narrow 2 to 0 lead going into the bottom of the 5^th inning, the Raiders finally gave themselves some breathing room. Regis Pollard reached 1^st base with a single to left field. Eli Beard then crushed an 0 and 1 fastball over the 340’ marker in left-center field, for a two-run homer. Beard’s blast gave Cal-Mum a 4 to 0 cushion and put the Rebels into a deep hole.

   Cody Hammond who pitched well all game for the Raiders, keeping the Rebels off the scoreboard, took Cal-Mum into the top of the 7^th inning. Hammond, who after closing out the final two innings of Friday night’s game against Warsaw, while throwing 32 pitches, plus going six more strong innings against Cuba-Rushford with an additional 90 more pitches thrown, began to show signs of a tired arm. With one-out and runners on 1^st and 2^nd base, Coach Todd Walker called on Sean Ancker to come in and relieve Hammond. Ancker’s fresh arm was enough to get the final two Rebels to ground out, ending the contest.

   The Raiders again will have little time for rest, as they will take on the Frewsburg Bears this Monday at Batavia’s Dwyer stadium with a 4:30 p.m. scheduled starting time.