Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

CHESAPEAKE — Keeping it close.

The Fairland Dragons kept the game close and kept close in the Ohio Valley Conference race with a 5-4 win over the Chesapeake Panthers on Wednesday.

Fairland (5-4, 4-1) remained just one game back of Rock Hill.

Kyle Raines got the win as he struck out 11 and walked four. He also went 2-3 at the plate. Evan Russell also went 2-3 and Josh Ross 2-4.

Chesapeake (5-5, 3-2) had 11 hits. Joe Bias was 2-4 with a triple and Mikey Walters 2-4 with a double.

Fairland jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Kyle Sowards and Josh Ross doubled for a run and an error sent Ross to third base where he scored on a ground out.

The Dragons got a run in the top of the second on singles by Raines and Evan Russell and an error.

The Panthers got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a triple by Bias and a hit by Dakota Hutchinson.

The Dragons made it 4-1 in the third. Ross singled and went to third on a two-base error. Brandon Burcham put down a squeeze bunt to score the run.

Each team got a run in the fourth.

Collin Damron was safe on an error and scored on Raines’ triple. Chesapeake got the run back on a double by Mikey Walters, Dennis Sanchez’s infield hit off Raines and a passed ball.

Chesapeake rallied in the bottom of the seventh only to come up short.

With two outs, Walters singled, Sanchez walked and Kobe McWhorter had an RBI single. Quinton Harris singled in the second run and Bobby Arthur was hit by a pitch to load the bases. But a ground out to shortstop ended the game.

Fairland 211 100 0 = 5 8 1

Chesapeake 010 100 2 = 4 11 4

Kyle Raines and Garrett Scheibelhood. Blake Lester and Derek Morris. W-Raines (K-11, BB-4). L-Lester (K-0, BB-0). 2B-Fairland: Kyle Sowards, Josh Ross; Chesapeake: Mike Walters. 3B-Fairland: Kyle Raines; Chesapeake: Joe Bias. Hitting-Kyle Sowards 1-4, Matt Aliff 1-4, Josh Ross 2-4, Kyle Raines 2-3, Evan Russell 2-3; Chesapeake: Jacob Henson 1-5, Joe Bias 2-4, Mikey Walters 2-4, Kobe McWhorter 1-4, Derek Morris 1-2, Dennis Sanchez 2-2, Quinton Harris 1-1, Dakota Hutchinson 1-1.