New Kent takes down Warhill 6-3 in baseball action

New Kent pitcher Nate Kagey unleashes a power pitch in the final inning.

Robb Johnson photo

After struggling in recent contests when New Kent had a chance, the Trojans returned to the win column Tuesday afternoon.

Behind a strong pitching performance from Nate Kager, New Kent defeated Warhill 6-3 in the Bay Rivers District contest.

The contest didn’t come without a test from the visiting Lions. After getting the first two outs, two consecutive errors by New Kent resulted in Warhill’s Sammy Rochard crossing the plate. Moments later, the Lions Luke Gruendl singled home Reece Koon to give the visitors an early 2-0 advantage.

The Trojans answered in the bottom half of the opening inning. A double by New Kent’s Lamont Brandon positioned him to score off a single from teammate Nick Sorenson to cut the lead in half (2-1).

The game remained tight when the hosts positioned themselves to take the lead. Benji Boatwright and John Mehalko crossed home plate after teammates drew walks with the bases loaded to give New Kent its first lead at 3-2. Warhill elected to switch pitchers, but the hosts took advantage of the change, pounding in three more runs off Lions’ reliever Alex Cottrell. The visitors would add a late run to account for the final score.

After the contest, Trojan head coach Michael Kuper talked about his team’s fight after the early miscues in the contest.

“The first inning was tough, and we made a few mistakes,” he commented. “I can accept that it’s tough to get down like that, but we battled back and that is what makes me most proud of this group.

“Nate (Kager) was strong all day and solid the entire way through,” Kuper said, praising his pitcher. “He didn’t walk a lot of people and he was just able to put the ball in the right spots out there. That was critical for our success.”

New Kent improves to 3-6 on the season.