Rebels break five-year drought against Raiders

By MATT KING\Daily Journal Sports Writer

BONNE TERRE - The Central baseball team instantly climbed back into the MAAA Large-School conference race on Tuesday, and knocked off their toughest nemesis and the defending league champions on the road to do it.

The Rebels scored five runs in the sixth inning, including three with two outs to overcome a four-run deficit in a 6-4 win at North County. It was the first victory for Central over the Raiders since the 2001 season.

Central (6-4) collected just two hits through five innings against North County starter Josh Jaco before capitalizing on two errors and some timely hitting to suddenly reverse the momentum.

Ronnie Calvird started the decisive rally with a double, and scored on a bloop single by Justin Forsythe to make it a 4-2 game. After Todd Lee singled to put runners at the corners with one out, Brian Gross executed a squeeze bunt to draw the Rebels closer.

Aaron Bates kept the inning alive with an infield hit against reliever Tyler Beers, and Stevan Rodgers delivered a huge single up the middle to drive in the tying run.

Bates scored on a close play at the plate to put Central ahead 5-4 when a ground ball hit by Ryan McFarland was mishandled at third base. Another error at shortstop on Calvird's second appearance of the frame produced the final margin.

North County right fielder Adam Ketcherside made a strong throw to cut down a Central runner in the seventh, but the Raiders were unable to put the tying run on base during the home half.

Forsythe overcame a rocky start to earn the complete-game victory for the Rebels, allowing just two hits over his final five innings of work. The senior right-hander allowed six hits overall and struck out three.

“It's nice to get a victory against a good ball club like that,” said Central coach Bryan Wallen. “We didn't do a very good job playing behind Justin (Forsythe) early on. He battled all game and was a difference-maker. He was making good pitches and we needed to make plays for him.”

“We're a good team, but we have to go out there and show it,” added Wallen. “The kids could have buried their heads after falling behind 4-0, but they showed a lot of heart and character to come back, and I'm proud of them.”

North County (5-4) grabbed the early lead with one run in the opening inning, then added three unearned tallies in the second to build a promising 4-0 cushion. Chad Moss scored the initial run on a hit by C.J. Peterson after ripping a line drive that was misjudged into a triple. A brilliant diving stop on a ground ball by Bates at shortstop prevented more trouble.

Moss continued what turned out to be a perfect 3-for-3 afternoon at the plate with his second straight triple. The sharp liner found the right-center gap, driving in both Kyle Moses and Beers to make it 3-0. Moss then scored his second run of the day on a wild pitch.

Jaco struck out six batters in 5 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks in a no-decision for the Raiders.

“We knew what we needed to do to win the game. We did those things in the first couple of innings, but failed to execute after that,” said North County coach Kyle Yount.

Calvird finished the day 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored. Jimmy Thompson added a RBI single in the fourth to get the Rebels on the scoreboard.

North County dropped into a four-way tie atop the Large-School standings at 2-1 with two games remaining against Ste. Genevieve and Fredericktown. Central currently sits at 1-2 in league play with Fredericktown and Farmington remaining.

Central 000 105 0 - 6 7 2

North County 130 000 0 - 4 6 3

WP - Forsythe 7i 4r 1er 6h 3k 2bb.

LP - Beers 1 2/3i 2r 0er 2h 2k 2bb 1hb.

Hitting:

Central - Calvird 2, Forsythe, Thompson, Lee, Bates, Rodgers. 2b- Calvird 2.

North County - Moss 3, Peterson, Beers, Moses. 2b - Peterson. 3b - Moss 2.