PHOTO BY BRIAN HOFFMAN
The Salem High baseball team will have two games this week as the Spartans try to clinch a spot in the Roanoke Valley District championship game. The district does not have a tournament, but has the top two regular season teams playing in a post-season game.
Coming into the week Salem had three RRD games remaining and a 7-2 district mark. The Spartans had a game with Christiansburg rained out on Tuesday and rescheduled for Wednesday. They’re home to Patrick Henry on Friday at 5:30 pm and at Pulaski next Tuesday.
Salem is battling Hidden Valley and Blacksburg for a spot in the championship game. The Titans are 6-1 in the district with five games remaining while Blacksburg is 7-2, like Salem, with three to play. Blacksburg and Hidden Valley still have to play each other.
Salem could have all but locked up a spot in the post-season game with a win at Hidden Valley last Friday but the Spartans came up empty, dropping a 6-3 game on the HV diamond. Things started out good for the visitors as Salem scored two runs in the top of the first on four straight singles by Carter Black, Trace Monroe, Brayden White and Ben Keffer.
The Titans answered in the bottom of the inning with four unearned runs off starting pitcher Zack Bocock. Salem committed three costly infield errors and never had the lead again.
Salem struggled to score after the first inning despite putting runners on base every inning and collecting 10 hits. Monroe finished the day three-for-four at the plate and Keffer was two-for-four.
Salem is 12-6 overall and is battling 14-3 Blacksburg and 11-5 E.C. Glass for seeding in Region 4D after undefeated Jefferson Forest. The Spartans helped themselves with a 10-6 win over Glass in Lynchburg last week.
Salem put a runner on base every inning and gave Hilltopper pitcher Tyler Ruhl his first earned run of the season on a sacrifice fly by Black, scoring Mason Hale in the fifth. The Spartans put up three more runs in the top of the seventh on a Carter Black single to right center field, scoring Mason Brown. Monroe then hit a fly ball down the right field line that tipped off the right fielder’s glove, driving in two runs.
Black picked up the win on the mound, pitching a complete game. He struck out six in picking up his fourth victory of the season.
