Grafton flourishes at plate, wins 14-4 over New Kent

New Kent's Jacob Stout makes a throw across his body to first base, eventually forcing an out.

Robb Johnson photo

New Kent’s Trojans looked to ride a wave of emotion after upsetting Jamestown earlier in the week. However, the visiting Grafton Clippers dashed all hopes for a repeat performance by the Trojans.

Despite a two-run home run by New Kent’s Riggs Ellis, Grafton outgunned the Trojans 14-4 in Friday afternoon’s contest.

The Clippers’ bats and baserunning took full advantage of a lackluster performance on the mound by the hosts. Seven runs crossed the plate in the first three innings before Ellis’ blast in the bottom of the third provided a little bit of hope for the Trojans despite trailing by five (7-2).

However, the Clippers continued to push runs across home plate, adding seven more and winning by the slaughter rule to bring the game to an end.

Trojan head coach Michael Kuper echoed his sentiments after the tough loss.

“Grafton is an excellent ball club and take nothing away from them,” the head coach said. “They are one of the best in the Bay Rivers [District] for a reason.

“Their bats were just hotter than ours today,” Kuper continued. “You’re going to have things like that happen sometimes in this district where anything can happen.”

New Kent’s loss drops them below .500 on the season with a record of 7-8.