New Kent bats explode as Trojans rout Bruton in baseball home opener

New Kent’s Michael Hetzel (left) applies a tag to Bruton baserunner Ryan Hazelwood (right) for an out.

Robb Johnson photo

After an exit from the regional playoffs that was earlier than expected, New Kent’s baseball team focus is now on rectifying that mistake with a fresh start in the 2023 campaign. A Mar. 15 contest against the visiting Bruton Panthers couldn’t have asked for a much better kickoff.

New Kent cruised to a 17-0 victory over Bruton in the Bay Rivers District opener for both teams.

With New Kent already ahead 3-0 in the first, Matthew Gentry’s base hit drove home Thomas Wilson to up the advantage to 4-0 for the hosts.

Meanwhile, Trojan hurler Carson Seely overcame a rocky second inning. After runners reached based, Seely calmed down by striking out Hunter Olinger. On the next play, a line drive from William Muller went back at Seely, who was able to snag it. With awareness, he threw it to first base for a double play and escape the inning unscathed.

Leading 6-0, the Trojans blew the game wide open in the third inning. With the bases loaded, Lane Boyette’s double drove in two runs for the hosts. Seely copycatted Boyette, with his own two-RBI double. Followed by an RBI triple from Tyler Warren and a Michael Hetzel base knock, New Kent coasted the rest of the way to victory.

After the contest, New Kent Head Coach Trevor Ronan spoke about the group’s performance.

“I think they did a great job,” he commented. “We still have a lot of work to do, and when we were in trouble on the base pads, we knew what we had to do as we work on those situations every day.

“We are young, but we are going to improve everyday,” Ronan concluded.

New Kent begins the year with a 1-0 record.