Appomattox rallies back for a win over Chatham

An explosive second inning proved to be the difference in Chatham’s crucial Dogwood District matchup against Appomattox County Wednesday night …

APPOMATTOX, Va. — An explosive second inning proved to be the difference in Chatham’s crucial Dogwood District matchup against Appomattox County Wednesday night.

Chatham scored four runs in the second only to have Appomattox answer back with five and hold on for a 7–6 win over the Cavaliers.

After taking a 1–0 lead in the first, the ‘Cavs established some space in the second. Sophomore Alex Van Pelt worked a walk to lead off the inning and sophomore Kennen Lewis and senior Colby Owen knocked back-to-back singles to load the bases. Sophomore Payton Daniel made it a two-run game when he scored on an error and Owen scored on a wild pitch two batters later to give Chatham a 3–0 lead. Junior Jake Moore rounded out the rally with a two-run single to center field to give the Cavaliers a five-run cushion.

Appomattox (13–0, 7–0 Dogwood) bounced back with five runs in its half of the second to knot the score. Hunter Garrett got the Raiders on the board when he scored on a Cavaliers’ error and Trey Shock pulled Appomattox within three on his RBI single. Alex Caruso made it a two-run game with his run-scoring infield single and Ethan Walton picked up an RBI the hard way when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Nate Dillon rounded out the rally and tied the game at 5–5 when he scored on a ‘Cavs miscue.

Chatham (11–5, 6–2) pushed back in front with a run in the third. Senior Henry Hurt started things off with a lead-off double and followed with a steal to move over to third base. Lewis pushed the Cavaliers’ ahead with his RBI groundout that made it 6–5 heading into the middle innings.

The Raiders punched back with a pair of runs in the third to take the lead for good. Mannix Wilhoit scored on a pair of errors to knot the score and Jake Maner scored on a Cavaliers’ error to give Appomattox a 7–6 edge.

Moore led the ‘Cavs’ offense with a pair of RBIs while sophomore Zander Cornell smacked a team-high three hits and Owen finished with two.

Shrock, Caruso and Walton drove in a run apiece for the Raiders while Garrett, Shrock and Wyatt Sisk recorded a pair of hits apiece.

Sisk got the win on the mound, striking out five in 3.1 innings pitched.

Chatham returns to action Friday when it hosts Gretna in Dogwood action at 6 p.m.