Final inning lifts Lafayette over New Kent

By Alan Chamberlain | May 19, 2016 11:20 pm

New Kent catcher Chris Wade fires to first base after fielding a Lafayette bunt in front of home plate. Pitcher Cameron Downer backs up the play.

Alan Chamberlain photo

New Kent’s Trojans wiped out a 3-0 Lafayette lead with a three-run fifth inning, but the hosts could never forge in front. The Rams scored three times in the seventh and held on in the bottom of the frame to post a 6-4 Thursday afternoon baseball win.

The Trojans managed just four hits off Lafayette pitching, starter Chase Bauer in particular. Half of those hits came in the final inning, after the Rams had moved in front 6-3.

“[Ram pitching] kept us off-balance,” said Trojan coach Michael Kuper. “Some things didn’t go our way, but you’ve just got to fight through those things.

“In the first and second [innings], we had some opportunities, but we were not able to push those runs across, and then we had to come from behind. We battled back, but we were not able to hold [Lafayette] down.”

The Trojans loaded the bases with one away in the first and had two runners in scoring position in the second, all to no avail. Lafayette, meanwhile, chalked up solo runs in the second, third, and fourth innings.

New Kent took advantage of two walks, Ram throwing errors, a Cameron Downer single, and Christian Hamby’s sacrifice to overtake the visitors in the fifth. Trojan errors, however, opened the door for Lafayette’s three-run seventh.

Hamby’s double to the gap in right-center led off the Trojan half of the seventh. He scored on Brennan Gray’s single between shortstop and third, but the hosts were unable to inflict further damage.

Downer started on the mound for the hosts, at one point striking out four Rams in a row and nine in all before being relieved in the seventh.

“Downer had a really good outing and pitched his heart out,” Kuper said.

New Kent is now 10-9 with one regular season contest to go (Friday at Smithfield). The Trojans host a first round Conference 25 game on Monday at 5 p.m. against an opponent to be named later.