NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio (April 29, 2023) -- Rocky River put a halt to an eight-game losing skid with an 8-2 Great Lakes Conference West Division triumph over North Olmsted Saturday.
Behind sophomore starting pitcher Michael Perry, the Pirates (5-10, 1-3 GLC West) kept the host Eagles off the scoreboard until the seventh inning. By that point, River had logged a couple crooked numbers and a couple solo markers. The Maroon & White broke from being shut out their last two games to scoring in 4-of-7 frames Saturday.
The Buccaneers wasted a leadoff double by Josh Mommers to start the game, but they did not waste a Perry two-bagger leading off the second. Perry came around to score on a Rees Heigle RBI single to lift the Pirates to an early 1-0 lead. River pressured North Olmsted again in the third but came up empty.
A Mommers triple keyed Rocky River's fourth inning; three Pirates cycled the bags to lift the visiting nine to a 4-0 lead. The Pirates got three more in the sixth when Hudson Wissman cleared the bases with a double to left. Rocky River's eighth-and-final run came in the seventh; that one was more of the opponent-miscue variety on two walks, a wild pitch, and a passed ball.
Perry did well to make clutch pitches and leave Eagles in scoring position in the first, third, and fifth innings. He exited after 5-1/3 innings and did not allow any runs. Perry yielded two hits and three walks; he fanned seven. Julian Patti (1-2/3 innings, two runs on two hits) closed out the victory.
The Pirates were tagged with three errors in the game; one of the Patti runs in the seventh was unearned.
Mommers finished 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Hudson Wissman was 2-for-3 with a walk. River outhit North Olmsted 9-4. The Pirates' eight runs marked a breakthrough for a team that had scored just five runs over it previous five games.
The victory also marked a measure of retaliation for the Pirates, who had lost to the Eagles 3-1 at home on March 28.
The Sons of Blackbeard are scheduled to play five times the week of May 1. That stretch opens with a Monday home game against Elyria Catholic.
by Skip Snow
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