The Rising Sun Shiners avenged its only Ohio River Valley Conference loss of the season with a 10-4 win over the South Ripley Raiders on Monday, May 14 in Versailles.
Rising Sun entered the final week of the regular season needing three wins to clinch a tie for first. The win improved the Shiners to 9-1 in ORVC play with road contests scheduled at Shawe on Tuesday and Jac-Cen-Del on Wednesday. Meanwhile, South Ripley is 10-1 in ORVC play with a remaining contest with Shawe on Wednesday. Both teams have defeated their remaining opponents by 10 run rule this season.
Rising Sun’s Brent Turner and South Ripley’s Luke Welch hooked up in what looked like was going to a pitchers dual.
Rising Sun couldn’t take advantage of a pair of Raider errors in the first.
Jacob Bovard singled and scored the first run of the game after an RBI single by Steven Jimenez in the third.
South Ripley evened the score in the bottom of the inning after Jackson Cornett reached on an error and scored on a double by Chad Turner.
The Shiners regained the lead as Colby Ritter and Caleb Valentine were hit by pitches. Peyton Bell put down a sacrifice bunt attempt and reached base safely to load the bases. Kameron Montgomery hit a hard ball misplayed at short to score courtesy runner Max Bowne. Bovard hit a fly ball to center that ended in a double play as Valentine tagged up and was stopped by coach Kevin Wirsch as the throw to the plate was on the mark. Catcher Chad Turner threw out Valentine going back to third to end the inning.
Rising Sun took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of fourth.
After an infield single, Bryer Franklin reached on an error. The Raiders tied the game on errant throw back to the mound. They took their first lead on a ground out off of Turner’s glove to Bovard at short.
Jimenez singled and went to second on an outfield error. He scored on an RBI single by Brayden Bush but Landon Cole was out at the plate
The host team regained the lead as Bush came in relief in the fifth. He hit two batters and the bases were loaded by another Shiner error. The go ahead run came on an illegal pitch by Bush who was called for using the hybrid pitching stance (non pivot foot not on the plane of the pitchers plate).
Valentine opened the big five-run sixth with his second hit of the game. Bell put down another sacrifice bunt. Montgomery reached on an infield hit and Bovard singled to load the bases. Brent Turner grounded to first base but the Raiders got the runner at the plate. Jimenez got a bases loaded walk to tie the game at 4-4. Cole singled in the go ahead run then Bush cleared the bases with a single and another Raider error.
Bell walked to start the seventh. Montgomery bunted the ball hard to the mound and the throw to first went down the line. Bell scored from first. Bovard singled in the final run.
South Ripley had eight errors i the game and Rising Sun had five.
But the Shiner defense was at its best in the seventh. After a lead off walk, Jaydin Parsons got the force at second. Then catcher Colby Ritter gunned down Avery Halcomb trying to steal.
Bush secured the win, striking out six batters including a final called third strike.
Both teams questioned the strike zone. RS struck out nine and walked four while four South Ripley pitchers recorded six strikeouts and two walks.
Five of the 10 Shiner runs were unearned. Four of South Ripley’s five runs were unearned.
Rising Sun had 14 hits to five for the Raiders. Montgomery and Bovard had three hits each. Jimenez, Bush and Valentine had two each.
The Shiners open sectional play Wednesday, May 23 at 5 p.m. against North Decatur at Jac-Cen-Del. Rising Sun dropped from second to fourth in the final coaches poll after losses last week to Lawrenceburg and South Dearborn.
