BY GENE DELORENZO
RUTLAND — After leading 7-5 into the bottom of the sixth inning, the OV baseball team saw its lead vanish in the final two innings as Rutland rallied to win 11-8 on Tuesday, May 10 at Rutland’s Georgetti Park.
The Otters had put together good offense and a solid defense through the first six innings following the strength of right-hand pitcher Jordan Beayon, who held Rutland to only four hits through five innings. He had struck out 10 and hit four while walking only two batters. Only one of the runs scored against him was recorded as an earned run. Beayon threw 94 pitches.
Coach Mike Howe elected to go to his other ace, Fraser Pierpoint, to close out the final two innings. Pierpoint has similar stuff to Beayon and has proven to be an excellent co-ace for Otter Valley, but on this day, he didn’t have it.
Leadoff hitter for the Raiders, Tyler Weatherhogg, singled and stole second. Liam Navin was hit by a pitch. After a pop-up, cleanup hitter Chris Maguire singled to cut the lead to 7-6. Then, Chase de Castro singled to score another run, Chaska Stannard singled, and Cam Rider smacked a long double to left to score two more. The Raiders would go on to add two more to extend the lead to 11-7.
The Otters would rally for a run and had a mini rally in progress, but Rutland’s closer Jevan Valente struck out the side to finish the game. Valente, the starting third baseman for Rutland, had had a rough day up until the seventh. He had gone 0 for 4 at the plate with three strikeouts. In the field, he had not fared well with four errors – all in the four-run third inning for the Otters. He gained some redemption with his three big strikeouts in the final frame.
For Rutland, Maguire and Navin had two hits apiece, and Cam Rider had the big double to break the tie in the sixth. Starting pitcher Anders Lowkes picked up the win, while Pierpoint took the loss.
For Otter Valley, Beayon had two hits in support of his own pitching effort, while Ben Adams had two hits including a booming double of his own. Beayon reached base four times.
Rutland may have done themselves a big favor by walking the sweet-swinging Pierpoint three times. He did not score a run. With the loss, Otter Valley dropped to 4-7 on the season.
