Hitting, pitching, Smithfield miscues contribute to 5-2 New Kent baseball triumph

New Kent pitcher Blake Frye delivers to the plate on the way to stopping Smithfield on six hits and going the distance in a 5-2 win.

Alan Chamberlain photo

Timely hitting plus solid pitching coupled with opposition mistakes constituted a winning formula for New Kent’s Trojans on a frigid, windy afternoon on the baseball diamond. The host Trojans took advantage of those factors to hand Smithfield’s visiting Packers a 5-2 setback on Tuesday.

“It was rough and not very good baseball weather, but both teams had to deal with it,” said Trojan coach Michael Kuper, whose team improved to 5-2.

And the Trojans dealt with conditions the best from the beginning, getting a first inning double from Steven Carpenter and RBI single off the bat of Mitchell Metheny for an early 1-0 lead. Smithfield evened the count in the second, but Carpenter singled in the third before scoring on a Christian Hamby single.

The Packers again pulled even in the fourth, but Metheny led off the bottom of the frame with a double into the left field corner and moved to third on Bryan Brooks’ infield single. Hunter Pitts’ sacrifice drove in Metheny to put the hosts ahead to stay.

Smithfield then contributed to its own demise in the fifth as pitcher Jakob Ryan bounced a pitch off Jared Mitchell and walked Hamby. Metheny stroked a one-out single to right, driving in Mitchell. The ball eluded right fielder Diondre Brown, enabling Hamby to sprint home.

“Carpenter really started us off again,” said Kuper. “We jumped on them early. They made a couple of mistakes out there on their part, and we were able to take advantage and score those two insurance runs late.”

New Kent pitcher Blake Frye, meanwhile, went the distance, scattering six hits along the way while striking out four and walking only one. He weathered a sixth inning jam with Packers at second and third and only one away by ending the threat with a strikeout and ground out.

“Blake Frye had a fantastic outing,” Kuper said. “He’s been solid for us all year.”

The junior right-hander upped his season record to 3-0.