New Kent baseball squanders lead in championship game, falls to rival Grafton

New Kent's Andrew Staskiel (right) applies a tag to a Grafton runner in time for an out.

Noah Kennedy photo

New Kent’s baseball team saw a lead squandered late in the contest as they fell to Bay Rivers District rival Grafton 4-3 in the Region 3A Championship game.

After a scoreless first inning, New Kent scored a run in the bottom of the second. Adding to that lead was Grayson Hobson’s deep base hit, pushing two more runs across the plate to provide the hosts a 3-0 lead.

The visiting Clippers finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. But New Kent held strong for the next two innings as Dylan Bowman commanded the mound.

After New Kent kicked off the top of the sixth with a double-play, Grafton began to rally against the hosts. With two outs on the scoreboard, the Clippers rallied by pushing two runs across the plate to tie the game in the top of the sixth. Even with a pitching change by the hosts, it would be an error that allowed Grafton to add run number four to the board. Grafton’s pitching and defense would survive the next two innings of New Kent batting, sending their hosts to a loss and snapping their 12-game win streak.

After the contest, New Kent Head Coach Trevor Ronan spoke about getting his team refocused for the state quarterfinals.

“We need to stay focused and start preparing for the state tournament,” he said. “We are on the road and now it’s win or go home.”