ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (May 2, 2024) -- The Baseball Buccaneers once again defended their home turf at the Bus Yard, as they turned aside the Valley Forge Patriots in a Great Lakes Conference crossover contest Thursday. Rocky River managed just six hits off solid Valley Forge pitching, but the Pirates batted .400 with runners in scoring position and they won the sun-splashed game at Rocky River Field by a final score of 6-1.

River took a 3-0 lead on a key Patriot error and a double by Henry Tovissi in the bottom of the second inning. Valley Forge got one run back in the top of the third, but starter Michael Perry (six innings, four hits, one run, two walks, 10 strikeouts) and reliever Jack Petrus (one scoreless inning) allowed little drama -- and no runs -- the rest of the way. They retired the Patriots lead-off batter in each of seven innings.

Perry lowered his season ERA to 1.98; his 10 strikeouts marked a season-high. The right-hander has given the Double-R six-or-more innings in four of his last five starts.

The Pirates (17-2) -- now 9-0 at home -- scored an unearned run in the third, a solo run on an RBI double by Griffin Hill in the fifth, and one run in the sixth on a two-out RBI single by Rees Heigle. For the game, the Sons of Blackbeard outhit Valley Forge 6-4.

Rocky River is slated to play two road games over the weekend (Friday at Benedictine, Saturday at Avon Lake).

by Skip Snow

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