The Salem High baseball team split two games on back-to-back days last week. The Spartans lost a walk-off game to Lord Botetourt in Daleville Friday, 5-4, before bouncing back with a 9-6 win over Pulaski at Salem’s Billy Sample Field Friday.
Spartan sophomore Brayden White had a big day against LB, smacking two home runs and making some spectacular plays at shortstop. He got the Spartans on the board first with a bomb to right in the top of the first only to have LB score three in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-1 lead.
That’s the way it stayed until the top of the sixth when White struck again, this time with a man on base to tie the game at 3-3. Salem then took the lead in the top of the seventh when Chase Rutledge hit a bullet down the third base line, scoring Kolton Hedge who was running for Ben Keffer after Ben was hit by a pitch.
Jack Stroud started for Salem on the mound and was relieved in the fifth by Rutledge. Chase was one out away from picking up his first win but with two outs and a runner on second LB’s Gavin Walker doubled in a run to tie the game and Brady Kish snuck a grounder through the third-short hole to send Walker home with the winning run.
On Friday at home the Spartans got off to a quick start again, scoring three first inning runs with two outs. Mason Hale singled in Carter Black, Keffer doubled past a diving left fielder to score Hale and Trace Monroe and Thomas Millard reached on back-to-back infield singles to plate Keffer.
Pulaski hitters responded in the second, drawing a walk, two singles and a big three-run homer to take a 4-3 lead. Pulaski changed pitchers in the bottom of the second and, with one out, Black and Rutledge worked walks. The “white hot” Brayden White doubled over the right fielder, driving in two runs, and Keffer collected his second hit, lining a ball to center to score Brayden. Pulaski committed two infield errors in the inning and Salem ended up scoring six total runs and didn’t trail again.
Black got the win on the mound, going five innings and fanning six. The Cougars scored two unearned runs off Carter in the fifth but he got out of the inning with no further damage by striking out a pair and inducing an inning-ending ground ball. Monroe threw two one-hit, shutout innings to pick up the save.
With the win Salem improved to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in the district. They had a non-district game at home with Northside on Wednesday, too late for press deadlines, and on Friday they’ll host Cave Spring in a big River Ridge District jayvee-varsity doubleheader at Kiwanis Park.
PHOTOS BY BRIAN HOFFMAN
