Nolan Fothergill pitched a three-hit, six-strikeout gem for the Cowichan Valley Mustangs as they cruised to an 11-1 win over the Nanaimo Buccaneers in a midget AAA baseball showdown at Evans Park on Wednesday evening.
Fothergill pitched all five innings for the Mustangs, who scored their 11 runs over just four innings as they mercied the Bucs.
Jayden Hamm was 2-for-2 at the plate, with a solo home run and an RBI double, also reaching base when he was hit by a pitch. Tanner Cummings, Brayden Radcliffe and James McMahon also had a pair of RBIs apiece.
After letting a comfortable lead slip away in their first game against the Victoria Eagles last Saturday, the midget AAA Cowichan Valley Mustangs were unable to recover and suffered a blowout defeat in the second half of the baseball doubleheader.
“The team took the first-game loss hard,” head coach Mario Iannidinardo said. “It looked like we had it in the bag. Victoria just never let up. It was tough to recover and it showed in the second game.”
The Mustangs built a 6-3 lead over Victoria in the first game behind the strong pitching of Cole Anderson, who struck out five Eagles over four and one-third innings. Unfortunately, his team couldn’t hold the lead against a late-innings surge by Victoria, and had to settle for a 7-6 loss.
Seven different players had one hit apiece for the Mustangs, including Tanner Cummings, who was 1-for-1 and walked twice to reach base in every place appearance, and scored two runs. Brandon Langer was 1-for-2, and Jacob Montague led the team with RBIs.
Relieving Anderson on the mound were Dyson Kew, who pitched one inning and struck out one, and Jayden Hamm, who struck out two in one and two-thirds innings.
Deflated by the late-inning loss, the Mustangs came out flat in the second inning and ended up on the wrong side of a 17-6 final score.
Nolan Fothergill was a bright spot in the lineup, going 2-for-3, while Montague was 1-for-1 with two RBIs and Cummings went 1-for-2. Brayden Radcliffe started the game and struck out three in two and two-thirds innings. James McMahon, Fothergill and Kale Eddy handled the rest.
The Mustangs will welcome the Chilliwack Cougars to Evans Park for a
doubleheader this Saturday, playing at 1 and 3:30 p.m.
