Fort Chiswell defeats Narrows

By PAM MCGUIRE/Correspondent

The Fort Chiswell varsity baseball team traveled to Narrows on May 2 and picked up a 9-1 victory over the Green Wave.  The win gave the Pioneers an overall record of 14 wins and 3 loses for the season and it locked down at least a second place finish in the Mountain Empire District.
FC finished the game with 15 hits; however, it wasn’t the team’s best effort.  Earlier in the season the Pioneers pounded the Green Wave 21-7 in a five inning contest.
The game got off to a slow start in the top half of the first with the Pioneers scoring one run off of a Hody Viars double and a Blake Musick RBI single.
In the bottom half of the inning, Blake Musick took the mound for FC allowing three walks and two strikeouts to hold off the Narrows threat.
The top half of the second was more of the same for the Fort with by scoring one run on a single by Tyler Akers and an RBI single by Cody Poole.
Musick settled down on the mound in the bottom half of the second by sitting the Narrows batters down in order.
Fort Chiswell continued to struggle in the top of the third by going down in order.
Narrows repaid the favor by throwing up another scoreless inning to make the total 2-0 in FC’s favor after three.
After three sluggish innings, the Pioneers got it going in the fourth as they scored three runs on Drew White, Tyler Akers, and Cody Poole singles.  Poole, Josh McNeil, and Michael Dunford picked up RBIs in the inning.
Tim Jones Narrows broke up Musick’s no hitter in the bottom of the fourth with a two out single, but the next batter was retired on a fly ball to White in right field to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth the Pioneers continued their scoring attack with Musick, White, Poole, and Jake Underwood all picking up hits to score three more runs to make the score 8-0.
Jeff Collins and Mike Craft scratched out two hits for Narrows in the bottom of the fifth, but Musick stood strong, striking out two batters to end the inning.
FC added one more run in the sixth inning when Viars was hit by a pitch and later scored on a Mark Gallimore single to make the score 9-0.
Narrows scored its lone run in the bottom of the seventh on an error to make the final score 9-1.
Blake Musick pitched all seven innings for the Pioneers.  He ended the game with 10 strikeouts and raised his record to six wins and one loss for the year.
Cody Poole had a career day at the plate going 4-for-4 with two RBIs.  Blake Musick, Drew White, and Tyler Akers each went 2-for-4, and Josh McNeil had three RBIs on the day.