Blues wait out rain for win over Lebanon

By DAVE COX/Staff
WARDELL- A 20 minute rain delay worked wonders for the Richlands varsity baseball team in its 13-6 non-district win over visiting Lebanon on Tuesday, April 1 at the Southwest Virginia Community Field at Wardell. It must have felt like a cruel “April Fool’s” joke to the Pioneers!
Although the Blues had just forged ahead by a slim one run margin at 7-6 just prior to the rain delay, the flood gates really opened on Lebanon (3-1) after play resumed with a pair of RHS runners on and nobody out. The delay really worked havoc on Lebanon starting pitcher Kody Miller. He walked Bradley Strong to juice the bases and then proceeded to issue free rides to both Christian Hearl and Jordan Barnett, forcing in two runs to make it a 9-6 game.
Miller departed in favor of Nick Vencille, but the destruction continued. Eric Stiltner knocked in two runs and Blayke Wilson picked up his second hit of the inning, a double, to plate two additional runs. By the time the bats cooled, the Blues found themselves ahead 13-6 with Jordan Barnett on the mound to make sure that the score held up. Barnett (2-0) picked up the pitching win in relief of Ethain Keene, who started the game on the mound for the Blues. Barnett scattered two hits and walked two batters in his 4-inning stint on the hill. He fanned eight batters.
“That’s one thing he’s done for the past two years,” said Brad Strong, Richlands head coach, of Barnett’s great relief effort. “We’re down. If we keep punching, punching away then he’s going to keep us in the ball game. He’s tough. We’re blessed to have him.”
Keene didn’t do too badly, except for one inning. That frame, the third, cost the Blues six runs and wiped out a 4-0 cushion. RHS picked up tallies in both the first and second innings and seemed to be cruising along until Lebanon got hot in the third stanza to move in front 6-4.
“Early in the ball game I thought we made a lot of mental mistakes on routine plays behind (Miller) that got him in trouble,” said Lebanon head coach Doc Adams. “He probably shouldn’t have been down 4-0 when we came back to score the (six) runs.” Keene gave up seven hits, struck out six and walked two in his three innings of work. He was responsible for all of Lebanon’s runs. At the plate, Keene doubled and scored a run for the Blues.
Five different Richlands batters collected two RBI each. They were Hearl, Barnett, Joel Elswick, Stiltner and Wilson. Ben Mulkey batted in one run for the Tornado.
The Pioneers didn’t help their cause with three errors while the Blues played error free.