Charles City battles back in fourth, finishes game tied with Sussex Central

Charles City's John Loving slides into home plate safely to provide the Panthers their first lead of the game.

Robb Johnosn photo

The resurgence of Charles City High School’s baseball team after a four-year absence mirrored their actions in Monday night’s home opener against Sussex Central; fighting until the very end.

Charles City battled from six runs down in the bottom of the fourth to finish in a 16-16 tie against the visiting Sussex Central Tigers prior to the game being called due to darkness.

Early on, a passed ball and errors provided a slight advantage for Sussex. But the Panthers capitalized off several Tiger miscues in the opening inning. Despite only notching four hits on the game, a combination of base on balls and errors provided the hosts a 5-1 lead when the frame was complete.

But the Tigers took heed in the top of the second, blazing a dozen runs across the plate due to the Panthers’ inability to get much-needed outs and their aggressiveness on the mound.

Charles City trailed 16-10 as they headed into the fourth. The Panthers’ patience loaded the bases, as run after run made their way across the base. Aidan Stewart was hit by a pitch, allowing Ryan Montgomery to trot across home plate to tie the score with two outs.

However, Sussex was able to strike out Charles City’s John Loving to end the inning. By that time, darkness overtook the horizon and the game ended at the tie.

After the game, Charles City Panthers head coach Irving Bradby talked about the rally.

“In the fourth inning, we did a better job by getting the ball in play,” he said. “We had some resiliency coming back. We hoped it could have gone a little longer.

“Hopefully, we can go into our next game and get a win,” Bradby concluded.

Charles City’s record becomes 1-1-1 on the season.