Relief pitcher AJ Manus (6) talks over strategy with catcher Thomas Demartelaere after taking over on the mound. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
CHAPEL HILL — Errors and untimely miscues ultimately proved costly for Cascade as the No. 1 seeded Forrest Rockets were able to rally past the Champions to take the District 9-2A championship game with Wednesday nights’s 7-2 win.
Cascade seemingly grabbed the upper hand in the top of the first inning with Xykaiah Dixon hammering a one-out double to center field.
Caleb Crouch then stepped to the plate and laced a line drive to right, scoring Dixon for the 1-0 Champion lead.
But in the third inning, two walks, a base hit and a Cascade error allowed the Rockets to leapfrog out in front with the 2-1 lead.
After Forrest drew back-to-back walks off starting pitcher Wickey Parker, the second of which coming with the bases loaded and scoring another Rocket run, Forrest held a 3-1 lead.
Even falling behind by a pair of runs by the third inning, Cascade
Caleb Crouch watches his base hit find the gap in the top of the first inning, scoring the first run of the night. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
continued to put runners on base into the third with Elijah Wessenberg being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.
Jordan Childress then smacked a base hit to center field, putting two on with nobody out.
But starting Forrest pitcher Reid Gentry settled in and recorded three-straight outs to end the Cascade threat and strand two runners on base.
In the bottom of the third, Forrest took advantage of two more walks by reliever AJ Manus and scored three more runs off two Cascade errors to take a sizable 6-1 lead.
Two innings later, the Champions again put their lead-off man aboard off a Jaxson Milliken single to center field
He later scored off a Forrest error in the outfield, cutting the Forrest advantage to four runs.
Having trimmed the lead, Cascade looked to cut even more into the lead in the top of the sixth when Thomas Demartelaere was hit by a pitch and Jayden Hathcock reached via Rocket error, putting two on with one out.
But the Forrest defense flashed the leather and turned a 5-4-3 double play to end the Cascade threat.
The Rockets then scored the final run of the night in the bottom of the inning on a RBI single for the final margin of victory.
Parker went 1 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on one hit before Manus took over and also pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up three unearned runs.
Wessenberg took over on the mound in the third inning and pitched 3 1/3 innings and was able to stabilize things on the mound for the Champions.
He turned in a quality effort and gave up just one run on three hits while punching out three Rocket batters.
At the plate, Kykaiah Dixon led the Champions with his first-inning double, while Jordan Childress, Crouch and Milliken also singled.
With the loss, Cascade will now play in the consolation game on Thursday to determine the District 9-2A runner up.
For the second time in three days, Cascade will face cross-county rival Community, who defeated Cannon County 7-4 on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Cascade defeated Community 7-1 to advance to Wednesday’s championship game.
Cascade 100 010 0 — 2 5 3
Forrest 033 001 x — 7 4 3
Cascade: Jordan Childress 2-for-4, Xykaiah Dixon 1-for-4, Caleb Crouch 1-for-3, Jaxson Milliken 1-for-3.
WP: Gentry
LP: Parker
