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Raiders resume dominant play on area fields
By Tom Williams
MINERAL RIDGE
Perhaps the only thing that last week’s trip to Myrtle Beach didn’t prepare the South Range High School baseball team for was Tuesday’s frosty conditions.
But not even Mother Nature could stop the Raiders’ unbeaten streak against Ohio teams. Andy Lacefield struck out nine batters and scattered three hits as South Range defeated Mineral Ridge, 9-2.
“He kept our batters off-balance with a pretty good curveball,” Rams coach Andy Barker said.
Because of the cold, wet and even snowy conditions, Lacefield said he struggled with getting a solid grip.
“Other than that, I was just trying to throw hard and hit spots, knowing that my fielders could help me out of any jam I got into,” Lacefield said.
Taking the mound with a 2-0 lead boosted his confidence.
“That always helps,” said Lacefield who enjoyed many victories with the varsity soccer and basketball teams. “I love having a team like this because everyone can hit the ball, one through nine and even the bench.”
With one out in the first inning, Bill Goodall drew a walk off Rams starter Dino Digacomo and Gary Miller reached on an error. Both scored on Tom Delullo’s double to left-center field.
“It really wasn’t too bad,” Delullo said of the overcast sky that made the ball hard to spot at times. “I just had to focus on the pitcher. It was 2-0 so I was just looking for a good pitch that I could drive and I found one lower, probably outside half and got it through the infield.”
Two errors by the Raiders helped the Rams’ Don Ferguson score in their first at-bat. The Rams’ other run by Ferguson also was unearned in the fourth inning.
In the Raiders’ three-run fourth inning, Miller had a two-run single and then scored on Mason Miller’s two-out hit.
Lacefield’s double in the sixth inning sparked two more runs for the Raiders (6-3, 4-0 Inter Tri-County League). Delullo and Mason Miller delivered the RBIs.
“He was just a bulldog today,” South Range coach Jim Hanek said of Lacefield. “He’s been solid, consistent. He pounds the strike zone but has good off-speed stuff. His breaking ball has a lot of movement on it.
“Cold, ugly weather, but obviously both teams were playing under the same conditions,” Hanek said, “Considering the conditions, it adds to the victory.”
Barker, whose Rams are 5-4, 4-2, said weather wasn’t a factor.
“After being spoiled by an early spring, getting back to normal stinks, but both teams had to play in it,” Barker said.
Lacefield said the South Carolina trip was “absolutely amazing, I’ve never experienced anything like that in any of my sports.
“This is one of my favorite teams to play with,” said Lacefield. “Playing baseball well in nice weather, having fun and bonding, it’s really what we needed as a team.”
After a week in Myrtle Beach, Hanek said Tuesday’s temperatures mean it’s “back to reality.”
The Raiders went 1-3 on the trip.
“It was a good experience for the kids,” Hanek said. “We played very good baseball against big schools, all of our losses were one-run games in the last inning.”