Big sixth inning, stellar defense elevates New Kent to victory over Gloucester
New Kent’s Tucker Powell commands the mound as part of his four strikeout performance against the Gloucester Dukes.Robb Johnson photo
New Kent’s Trojans welcomed the visiting Gloucester Dukes in Bay Rivers District action for the first time Friday afternoon. And the Trojans showed the newcomer that navigating through the district wouldn’t be easy, especially going through New Kent.
Powered by three home runs and stellar defensive play, New Kent coasted to a 7-1 victory over the Dukes.
The bottom of the first kicked off with Lane Boyette blasting a ball over the fence to give New Kent a 1-0 lead. While the offense wouldn’t do anything more until the sixth inning, it was Tucker Powell’s command on the mound for New Kent that kept the visitors in check. Tucker struck out four batters and only allowed two hits in the contest as the Trojan defense kept Gloucester off the scoreboard for most of the contest.
New Kent’s offense reemerged in the bottom of the sixth inning. Aiden McLaughlin’s two-run base hit increased the home team’s lead to three. Andrew Staskiel’s RBI added run number four on the scoreboard for the Trojans. Dylan Bowman stepped up to the plate next, blasting a two-run shot over the right field wall to up New Kent’s advantage to 6-0. Moments later, Keegan Branch’s hit cleared the outfield wall as well, giving the Trojans a comfortable 7-0 lead as the inning ended.
Austin Uzzle came into the contest to close out on the mound for New Kent. Despite surrendering one run, he struck out two of the remaining three batters to end the game.
New Kent Head Coach Trevor Ronan discussed his team’s victory as they captured win number 11 on the season.
“Tucker (Powell) threw a great six innings in under 70 pitches,” the coach commented. “Aiden (McLaughlin) came in with a big hit and got everything going in a key part of the game.
“If they keep playing that way, we will be alright,” Ronan continued. “As far as everything goes, pitching is the key and we have to keep going forward with that.”
New Kent improves to 11-1 on the season.