BAY VILLAGE, Ohio -- In finalizing a two-game sweep of their War-by-the-Shore neighbors to the west, the Rocky River Pirates pulled off a swashbuckling pillage in the Village. Propelled by 14 walks and junior third baseman Kelsey Murphy hitting for the cycle, the Pirates defeated the Bay Rockets, 21-8, on Tuesday.
The five-inning, rule-rule triumph on the road came a day after River had beaten Bay, 7-4, at the Corner of Northview & 90. Tuesday's affair, although tightly contested early, would be nowhere near as close. With the Pirates sending 14 to the plate in a conga-line third, the Pirates hoisted an 11 on the board to open a 14-2 lead. The Double-R also posted crooked numbers in the fourth and fifth innings, going on to log more than 14 runs in a game for the sixth time this spring.
Murphy singled and homered in Rocky River's 11-run third inning. Her round-tripper was a grand slam. The Pirates' all-time home-run leader (13) bracketed her third-frame exploits with a double, a triple, and a walk. She finished the afternoon 4-of-4 with eight runs batted in.
Katie Mommers added two hits on a day that saw the Pirates (12-6, 7-3 Great Lakes Conference) outhit their hosts, 11-4. Mommers (three innings), Maggie Hill (one inning), and Colleen Meese (one) combined to pitch River to its fourth straight victory and its 12th in the team's last 13 games. Mommers allowed one earned run in lowering her ERA for the season to 3.64.
The Pirates are scheduled to take on Elyria Catholic in a GLC home game on Thursday.
CANNON FIRE ...
APPROACHING 50: With her cycle-and-a-walk, Kelsey Murphy upped her on-base percentage to a robust .627 for the season. Murphy is batting .589 (33-of-56) with eight doubles, three triples, and eight home runs. She has also walked eight times. With her eight RBIs Tuesday, Murphy now has 46 on the season.
PIRATE TREASURE: With its 21 runs at Bay, Rocky River has now scored 207 runs on the season. River's 11.5 runs per game have been built on a .349 (161-of-461) batting average, 6.0 walks per game, and 60 extra-base hits.
by Skip Snow
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