Surry pulls away from CC in late innings

Charles City’s Avery Jones slides safely into third as the ball eludes Cougar third baseman Matthew Keller.

Andre' Jones photo

Charles City’s Panthers remained within striking distance as they trailed Surry County’s visiting Cougars 7-2 in the top of the sixth inning.

But with three runs in the top of the frame along with eight more in the top of the seventh inning, the visitors turned a close contest into a rout on the way to an 18-4 win and keeping the Panthers winless during last Friday’s contest.

Surry held a 3-0 lead in the top of the third when Charles City broke into the scoring column as B.J. Ragland’s single scored Thomas Kelly. The Panthers scored again in the fifth inning when Cruz Adkins’ line drive single to right field brought home Avery Jones.

Trailing 7-2 heading into the sixth, the hosts’ errors at inopportune times prevented any chance of a comeback. Passed balls allowed Cougar runners to advance on the base paths, resulting in three runs. Despite two additional runs in the bottom of the frame, the guests pushed together eight runs in the top of the next inning to put the game out of reach.

After the game, Charles City head coach Alan Jones expressed disappointment on the lack of concentration and not closing out the game.

“We have got to have more focus and we have to practice harder,” said the head coach. “We have to pay attention to the fundamentals of the game and stop making mistakes.”

Jones is also working towards the future of the team and hoping the younger players will learn and make a bigger impact.

“We have some ninth graders we are trying to incorporate and we just have to work harder so we can win ourselves a baseball game,” he concluded.

Charles City (0-9, 0-3 Tri-Rivers) continues to look for the win column while Surry County (6-7, 4-1) remains tied for the Tri-Rivers District lead.