Statesmen Take One From Lancers

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, VA – The Richard Bland College Baseball team took on the Lancers of Lenoir Community College at home for games one and two of the series Friday afternoon, and traveled for game three on Saturday. After completion of the series, the Statesmen moved to 4-3 overall, 1-2 in conference play after recording the following scores against the Lancers; 3-5, 2-1, and 6-7.

In game one, strong hitting was not enough as Richard Bland fell to Lenoir Community College. Even though the Statesmen collected 10 hits to Lenoir's seven, they still fell 3-5 Friday afternoon. Lenoir opened the scoring in the first after a single scored one run. The Statesmen took the lead, 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth thanks to singles by Henry Stewart and Jordan Ramsey. The Lancers made the score 3-5 in the top of the sixth after a double scored two runs, a sacrifice fly scored one run, and a singled scored one run. Macho Santiago led Richard Bland with three hits. Jackson Hulcher stepped on the mound first for Richard Bland. The starting pitcher surrendered three hits and one run over four innings, striking out six and walking three. Marco Cafaro took the loss for the Statesmen. The hurler went two innings, surrendering four runs on four hits, striking out none and walking two.

In game two, Richard Bland defeated Lenoir in a pitcher's duel. Both teams were strong on the bump, but the Statesmen came out victorious 2-1. Richard Bland didn't take the lead until later in the game, in the nightcap. The Statesmen were down 0-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Carson Herod singled, scoring two runs. Herod provided pop in the middle of the lineup, as the lefty went 1-for-3 in the game. Connor Powell and Michael Duncan also collected one hit each. Jack Rucker started the game for Richard Bland and recorded 12 outs. Rucker allowed one hit and zero runs over four innings, striking out five and walking three. Ryan Paul collected the save. Michael Wingo appeared in relief for the Statesmen. Luke Sweeney earned the win, surrendering one hit and zero runs over one and one-third innings, striking out one and walking none.

In game three, the Lancers took home the win in walk-off fashion. The game was tied at six in the bottom of the ninth when an error scored the game-winning run. Both teams exchanged the lead back-and-forth in the game, but the Lancers had one more push over the Statesmen to earn the win. Richard Bland got on the board first, in the first inning when Michael Duncan drew a walk, scoring one run. The Statesmen took the lead in the fourth inning after Macho Santiago singled to center field, Myles Holmes walked, and Duncan lined out, each scoring one run. Michael Keyes took the loss for Richard Bland. Richard Bland collected nine hits in the game. Jordan Ramsey led the lineup with three hits in five at bats. The pitcher went one and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on two hits, striking out three and walking three. Nate Riggs started on the mound for the Statesmen. The righty gave up six hits and three runs over four innings, striking out one and walking two.

The Richard Bland College Baseball team next hosts Montgomery College (MD) on Tuesday, February 18^th. First pitch is set for 2pm.