INMAN, S.C. – As the cold front continued to move through the southeastern United States on Friday night, one player took it upon himself to turn up the heat.
Banks Atkins’ strong outing, along with a multi-run inning, helped Chapman defeat the Broome Centurions 5-1 in Region III-3A action. Atkins was in control on the mound throughout the night and tossed a complete game. He held the Centurions to one run on four hits, while striking out 11 Broome batters. “I wanted to attack early and pound the strike zone,” Atkins said. “I settled in and let the defense make plays behind me. Ricky had a great start on Tuesday night, so I wanted to try and match it. The bats got going tonight and that helped me settle in even more and have confidence on the mound, knowing that there was a little bit of a margin.” “It’s unbelievable,” Chapman head coach Steven Fusaro said, referring to his pitching staff. “I can’t be more proud of Banks, Ricky (Montalvo), and Gavin (Humphries). You can keep going down the list on our staff. We have other really good pitchers that haven’t had a chance to throw over the last three weeks because of how good these starters have been. We are so blessed to have them and as coaches, we’re so blessed to coach them.” After a Dylan Ramirez RBI single staked Broome to an early 1-0 lead, Chapman answered in their third turn at bat when Drew Settle took off in an attempt to steal third base. The throw down to third sailed high, allowing Settle to score and tie the game at one. In the fourth inning, the Panther took their first lead of the contest when Ricky Montalvo hit an opposite-field single to right, which allowed Atkins to score from second base. Another run scored on a double steal when Johan Rodriguez took off for second, which drew a throw from home plate. Montalvo then made a break for home and slid in safely. “When we threw the ball away, they really took the momentum,” Broome head coach Ben Waddle admitted. “You can’t make mistakes against them – you have to play clean. The first game was completely different. Tonight, they took third when we had the guy caught, but we miscued. I tip my hat – I thought (Atkins) kept us off-balance all night. When you draw blood as a boxer, you’ve got to hit it and they did it.” A couple of batters later, Settle put down a sacrifice bunt on the first base side, scoring Rodriguez and giving the Panthers a 4-1 lead. Jarren Metcalf tacked on a run in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly to center, which scored Landon Solesbee. “I just wanted them to settle down,” Fusaro said. “We have high character kids who want to be great, who want to be successful, and to help their teammates. Tonight, I saw them settle down and relax. It was fun to see them fight and make it happen." Chapman (13-6, 6-0 Region III-3A) will make the trip down to Greenwood to face the Emerald Vikings in Region III-3A play. Game time is scheduled for 7 PM. Broome will make the trek over to the Timken Sports Complex on Tuesday evening to face Union County. Game time is slated for 7:30 PM. -Justin Mathis Comments are closed.
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