BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. – For the first time in 357 days, it was finally time for baseball in the Upstate as Chapman clashed with Walhalla in the first game of the Steve Sanders Preseason Tournament.
A trio of Chapman pitchers stole the show, tossing a combined one-hitter on the way to a 7-0 victory over the Razorbacks. Right-hander Ricky Montalvo set the tone early on for the Panthers, striking out six of the first nine Walhalla hitters that he faced. Montalvo tossed five solid innings, notching a game-high 10 strikeouts for the Panthers. “Everybody knows that we have a young team,” Chapman head coach Steven Fusaro said. “We’re not using that as an excuse because we have some guys that can play the game. It starts with Ricky – he came out there and gave us an unbelievable outing today that set the tone.” “I felt really good out there,” Montalvo stated. “I talk to myself a lot about pounding the zone with strikes, being consistent, and then go from there. It was great to finally play baseball again.” Banks Atkins tossed a flawless sixth inning, which sent it back to the top of the Walhalla order in the seventh. With one out in the seventh inning, the Razorbacks broke up the bid for a perfect game with a double to left field. Chapman reliever Jacob Cogdell answered by tallying a flyout to second and a strikeout to end the contest. At the dish, second baseman Jarren Metcalf went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles in his first varsity start, which fittingly occurred in the tournament that his grandfather (Bill Metcalf) helped create. Jacob Murray also scored two runs and Johann Rodriguez drove in two runs for Chapman. Mauldin 5, Boiling Springs 0 In the nightcap, it was a scoreless duel until the top of the fifth inning, when the Mavericks sent eight men to the plate and drove across three runs. Mauldin added two more runs in the sixth innings. Boiling Springs had a pair of early scoring opportunities, once in the first inning and another in third inning, but couldn’t convert, stranding five combined runners in those two frames. Southpaw Tristan Smith settled in and tossed four scoreless innings for the Bulldogs. Here is the Saturday schedule for the Steve Sanders Tournament at Boiling Springs HS: 9 AM – Chapman vs Boiling Springs 11:30 AM – Chapman vs Mauldin 2 PM – Walhalla vs Boiling Springs 4:30 PM – Walhalla vs Mauldin Comments are closed.
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