ABAC Baseball

The Stallions traveled down to Palatka, Florida for a double header against the St. John’s River Vikings on Saturday the 28^th.  Looking to avenge the Friday night loss, Eric Ricks took the mound.  After a leadoff walk Ricks settled in striking out five of the next seven batters he faced.  As Ricks did his part to hold the Vikings he was matched on the other side as the ABAC hitters could only muster one hit a piece by Matt Fryman and Moe Arp through five innings.  In the bottom of the fifth with a no-hitter still in tact Eric Ricks had his first trouble of the day.  A leadoff walk, followed by a double and a groundout plated a run and left a runner at third with one out.   The next batter would sneak a hit up the middle to take a 2-0 lead.  The inning would go no further as Ricks retired the next two batters easily.  In the top of the sixth the Stallion bats woke up just long enough to take a one run lead.  Matt Fryman started the inning with a walk and was followed by Neal Gandee’s infield single.  Cedric Daniel roped a single down the left field line to score Fryman and push Gandee around to third.  With Daniel advancing on the throw in from the outfield the offense had two runners in scoring position for Will Hinson.  Hinson wasted no time and dumped a double down the right field line to give the Stallions a 3-2 edge.  With the lead heading into the bottom of the sixth Ricks gave way to Craig Worley for his college debut.  A pair of walks put two runners on base and what looked to be the start of trouble.  The freshman did not cave under the pressure as he was able to strike out two batters in a row to end the threat.  The offense stayed hot just long enough to add a much needed insurance run in the seventh as Hayden Kudela doubled and scored on Will Wilson’s single to left.  A defensive miscue led to a leadoff runner on base in the bottom half of the seventh.  The runner took second on a passed ball and moved up to third on a groundout up the middle.  Another strike out put the Stallions within one out of their first win of the season.  A two out single put the Vikings within a run and a stolen base gave them the tying run in scoring position.  As in the inning before though Worley would bend but not break as he reached back and fired the final strike past the St. John’s batter to end the game.

Eric Ricks (W 1-0) 5 IP, 6 K’s, 2 ER, 2 H
Craig Worley (S 1) 2 IP, 4 K’s, 0 ER, H
Neal Gandee 1-3, R
Cedric Daniel 1-3, RBI, R
Will Hinson 1-3, 2 RBI
Moe Arp 1-3
Hayden Kudela 1-2, R, BB
Matt Fryman 1-2, BB
Will Wilson 1-3, RBI