Cotton candy clouds hung over the field as the sun began to set on what proved to be a perfect night for baseball at Silverdale Baptist Academy. Thanks to an unrelenting offense brought on by disciplined plate appearances, the Seahawks were off the field before the flood lights turned on. The mercy rule was brought into effect in the bottom of the fifth following a single from Brody Lamb that put his team up by the final score of 13-3.
“This whole week has been all about who we are as hitters. What pitches we can hit, and what we need to do as hitters with two strikes,” Coach Lance Rorex said. “Tonight, it was a pretty good arm that we saw, but we took our swings whenever we were in a positive count and when we got behind we fought hard and put balls in play. Our guys had a really good approach.”
With their offense firing on all cylinders, the Seahawks established the lead in the first inning with a four run outburst, never looking back. The Chargers hung around with runs in the second and third innings, but a grand slam from Ian Reagan in the fourth blew the game open for the home team. Ultimately, it was the composed manner that Silverdale brought to the plate that helped them break away for the win. Reagan’s grand slam was brought on by three straight walks from his teammates.
Reagan raked in runs from the plate, finishing three for four on the night with seven RBIs, three runs of his own, and two home runs. Brett Rogers also found his way back to home plate after each of his three at bats with three runs and an RBI.
“Our identity this season has a lot to do with energy, picking guys up, and being good people,” Rorex continued. “We’re learning quickly to relate what we learn in practice to how we execute out here on the field and tonight is an example of that.”
CCS’ offense brought some fight during the earlier stages of the game thanks to a home run from Jameson Hinton, but it was their woes from the mound that kept them from keeping things closer. Reagan Kay finished just three and a third innings, allowing eight hits, twelve runs, and three walks. Unfortunately for the Chargers, reliever William Wall did not fare much better against the offensive clinic put on by the home team. He walked four batters in an inning of work and allowed the run that put the game out of reach.
“Coming into the season, this team had a lot of people telling them what they should be,” Rorex explained. “We lost four really good players from last season so games like this one are huge in helping us figure out who we are in 2022-23.”
Chattanooga Christian 0 1 1 1 0 x x - 3 6 0
Silverdale Academy 4 0 3 5 1 x x - 13 11 1
Kay, Wall (4) and Tyler: Ervin, Oxford (5) and Reagan.