GREENWOOD, S.C. – As the season has progressed, Chapman head coach Steven Fusaro has been quite emphatic about one of the strengths for this year’s baseball team and one of those said strengths starts on the mound.
Ricky Montalvo was dominant on the hill and also helped his own cause at the plate, as the Panthers shut out the Emerald Vikings on Tuesday evening, 6-0. Montalvo found the zone early and often, sitting down five of the first seven Emerald batters on strikes. That also included striking out the side in order during the second inning. The junior held the Vikings to two hits and finished with a baker’s dozen (13) strikeouts in seven innings of work. “That’s who we are – pitching and defense,” Fusaro said. “We have a really good baseball team with high character kids. I think we’re starting to understand who we are. If we’ll just go compete and play the game the right way, we’re as good as anyone. It was a lot of fun to come out here and get good pitching, defense, and timely hitting tonight.” The Panthers broke the scoreless tie in the third, sending 11 up to the plate and scoring six runs. Devin Roe and Landon Solesbee led off the frame with a single and walk, respectively. Jarren Metcalf put down a bunt that loaded the bases with none out for Banks Atkins. The next two batters, Atkins and Walt Waddell, each notched a two-run single of their own to left field, giving Chapman a 4-0 lead. Montalvo also smacked a RBI single to left, allowing Waddell to touch home plate. Drew Settle plated a run on a RBI groundout, allowing Johann Rodriguez to score and build a 6-0 advantage. “We’ve had to do a bunch of different things to manufacture runs,” Fusaro stated. “We’ll do whatever we have to do on a given day to win a baseball game. Tonight, we were able execute a few things and then I just let the boys swing the bats. It was a lot of fun to see the guys come through at the plate.” Chapman (14-6, 7-0 Region III-3A) will visit Woodruff on Thursday for a non-region contest (6 PM start), which will be played at Woodruff Middle School. The Panthers will then host Emerald on Friday evening in Region III-3A play. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 PM. -Justin Mathis Comments are closed.
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