Staff Writer Cade Harris
The Richland Thunderducks baseball team (2-0) kicked off their 2022 season at home with a pair of wins in their Jan. 26 afternoon doubleheader against DFW Postgrad by a score of 6-2 and 9-1, respectively.
The Thunderducks got off to a quick start in Game 2 offensively, plating two runs in the bottom of the first inning. DFW Postgrad scored one run in the top of the fourth inning and then were shut out the rest of the game. Richland answered by scoring seven more runs unanswered, highlighted by a five-run bottom of the fourth.
Parker Perez and Jadon Fratus led the Thunderducks offensively, recording two hits each. Jack Battistelli went 1-for-1 with a double, a walk and two RBIs. Russell Etheridge also tallied an RBI. Thunderduck hitters were patient at the plate all game tallying nine walks.
Battistelli got the bats going early, doubling in the leadoff hitter, Perez, to give the Thunderducks a 1-0 lead. Kole Mayberry singled to right field to knock in Battistelli and increase the Thunderduck lead to 2-0 at the end of the first inning. Richland capitalized on four walks and two hit-by-pitches to plate five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to stretch their lead to 7-1. An RBI double to the right-center gap by Thunderduck catcher Will Bombersbach helped extend the lead to 8-1 in the fifth inning. The Thunderducks added one more run in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single from a pinch-hitting Donny Schroeder.
The Thunderducks totaled nine runs offensively on nine hits and nine walks, striking out six times.
Reid Carrick got the start for the Thunderducks. Carrick worked through two innings allowing zero runs, one hit, one walk, tallying a strikeout and earning the win. Christian Keller took over in relief to pitch two innings allowing one earned run on one hit and five walks, while fanning three.
Cam Diaz pitched the longest, coming on in relief in the fifth inning. Diaz pitched a perfect three innings, striking out five of the nine batters he faced.
Carrick got into a little trouble early, giving up a two-out triple, but was able to get the next batter to pop-out to end the inning. He also picked off a DFW Postgrad baserunner to help him get over a leadoff walk in the second. Keller was able to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fourth, only letting one DFW Postgrad run come in.
The curveball was working well for Diaz in his perfect three innings. Diaz was efficient on the mound, throwing 23 strikes of his 31 pitches.
The pitching staff only allowed one run on two hits while striking out nine.
DFW Postgrad sent six pitchers to the mound. Cole Prasse pitched an efficient inning, allowing no hits and walking one, striking out two Thunderduck hitters. Andrew Lyon and Jace Doelitch each recorded a strike-out in their one inning of relief work.
Offensively, DFW Postgrad had a hard time scoring on the Thunderduck pitching staff. Timothy Johnson knocked in the lone run, singling to left field. DFW Postgrad totaled just one hit, striking out nine times.
At press time, Richland was scheduled to be back in action Jan. 28 hosting Frank Phillips College in Game 1 of a three-game weekend series.
