BLADENBORO – The West Bladen Knights defeated the Clinton Darkhorses for a 7-0 victory last Friday evening in a SAC 6 Conference clash. The Knights got a complete-shutout performance from senior pitcher Brady Durden from the mound and they were lethal inside the batter’s box to claim their third conference victory of the season. Clinton defeated the Knights a few days prior in a 4-3 affair at their place and they matched their opponents might in the hitting department with eight team hits. However, the game last Friday turned out much different as the Darkhorse lineup struggled to find the answer to Durden’s potent delivery from the mound.
Durden held the visitors to four hits on no runs and he struck out six of the 26 batters he faced on the day. West Bladen junior JT Hepler stood out in the line-up with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate, as well as an RBI and he scored an infield-home run in the bottom of the sixth. The host held a 3-0 lead going into the third inning and the Darkhorses attempted a response at the top of the inning.
The at-bat started off horrid from Clinton’s perspective after two straight groundouts to the first-basemen. Senior Grayson Williams swung on the first pitch and was able to single to put a runner on base for the visitors. Junior Henry Bass was locked into out battle at the plate but was able to get the best of Durden with an infield single to put two runners on. West Bladen held firm in the face of pressure and they exited the top half of the inning unscathed as Jaxon Smith lined out to right-field for the final out.
Hepler led-off for the Knights to start their half of the third and he began the at-bat by blasting a single to the outfield. Clinton was able to get a fly out against the next opposing batter but they would get into some trouble a few moments later after hitting a batter with a pitch. West Bladen senior Allister Russ smacked an RBI-single and Hepler crossed home plate for the fourth run of the evening. Senior Aiden Russ would slap a sac-fly to the right-field fence to bring around Hunter Hester to make the game 5-0.
Clinton was able to scrap their way out of the third inning to keep runners stranded at first and third as they went into the fourth behind on the scoreboard. Senior Cooper Sessoms got the visitors on base with a single to center-field for a much needed spark, but the Darkhorses failed to capitalize after three straight outs concluded the at-bat. The visitors kept the Knights scoreless in the fourth inning and Smith’s right-arm held the Knights to one hit from the mound.
Durden made quick work of the side in the following inning as he struck out two batters to preserve his shutout through five. Hester began West Bladen’s next at-bat by cracking a double towards the outfield to give the host some momentum. Allister Russ brought Hester home with an RBI-single to help put the Knights ahead 6-0 and the DarkhorsesFelected to make a pitching change.
Clinton junior Roady Carter was tasked with helping to get the visitors out of the fifth inning and they did just that with three hard fought outs after facing four batters. Durden began the top of the sixth inning with a strikeout and he got help from his defense with the next two outs. Carter took the mound at the top of the sixth and he got the Darkhorses an early out by sitting down the first batter faced. Hepler stepped into the batters box next and he drilled the ball over the center fielder’s head before sprinting around for an infield-homer to give the Knights a 7-0 lead.
Hepler earned his second home run of the season and his second home run in two weeks. West Bladen moves to an overall record of 8-2 and they are currently tied for first-place in the conference standings with Midway at 3-1. Clinton falls to an overall record of 8-4 and they currently sit in third-place in the conference standings with a 2-2 record. The Darkhorses will take on the Red Springs Red Devils at home for their next game in conference this Tuesday.
The Knights are slated to clash with the Midway Raiders this Tuesday at home and they’ll close the week out against the Raiders this Friday. Midway defeated the Fairmont Golden Tornadoes for a 9-5 victory last Friday to put them neck-and-neck in the standings with their upcoming opponents. Junior Wyatt Scott has been leading the way in the slugging department for the Raiders this season with 18 RBI’s so far. Scott was responsible for two RBI’s on a 2-for-3 evening at the plate against Fairmont last Friday.