SF earns well-rounded win vs. Spartans
WARFORDSBURG - Two batters into Friday night's baseball game, and it looked as if Southern Fulton may have trouble with its Sideling Hill/Inter-County Conference foe, McConnellsburg.
The Spartans led off with Landon Richards reaching base on an error, then Chase Novak was walked.
But it was all down hill from there for McConnellsburg, which suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of its rivals.
"We had an opportunity in the first inning with two guys on, but we didn't get the bunt down," Spartan coach Brian Ramsey said. "(Carl Potter) made that diving catch, then turned a double play. It was an opportunity to get on top early, and we didn't take advantage of it. Then (Trent Rider) pretty much shut us down from there."
Facing off against the defending P.O. Player of the Year, McConnellsburg (2-3, 2-3 SHL, 2-2 ICC) simply couldn't figure Rider out. Matt Huston smacked a single in the top of the second inning, but the Spartans never got on base again.
"(Trent) is just a stud," Indians catcher Tanner Elbin said. "He knows what he's doing. He has his routine, and we try to stick to it. He mixes his pitches and always does well."
Elbin was also a big factor in the win for SF (4-1, 4-1 SHL, 4-0 ICC).
In the third inning, he smashed a double that drove in Dylan Gordon, and in the fifth frame, Elbin gave SF all the insurance it needed with a two-RBI single.
"He's been hitting the ball well," Southern Fulton coach Dustin Fischer said. "We moved him up to third in our order (from fifth). He's seeing the ball well. He's putting the bat on the ball, and we gotta put hitters where they're going to drive in runs."
Elbin said, "Obviously my job is just to get them in any way you can, so I just tried to make solid contact. If you have two strikes, you have to protect and put it in play."
He definitely did his job; Elbin finished 2-for-3 with three of the Indians' four RBIs. Rider also drove in a run.