Riverside keeps bats going in win over Garner
Freshman Varney Whitaker was swinging a hot bat on Wednesday night, and so were plenty of his Riverside teammates.
The catcher led the way with a two-run double, a sacrifice fly, a stolen base and scored twice, leading the Pirates to a 9-5 non-conference road victory over the Trojans and a sweep of their season series.
The win improved PAC-6 member Riverside to 11-8, while Garner of the Greater Neuse River conference dropped to 9-9.
Riverside had won their earlier meeting 11-4 back on March 3 in Durham.
The Pirates banged out 11 hits from eight different players, while Garner finished with six.
“We’ve been scoring runs,” Riverside coach Doug Simmons said. “When we have good at-bats and put the ball in play good things happen. We just want to force our opponents to make plays instead of striking out, and we’re doing well at that. And our guys are throwing strikes. High school hitters get themselves out.”
Freshman Ray Palma was the winner in relief for the Pirates, while freshman Garrett Capaforte took the loss.
Turning point
Leading 5-4 going into the sixth inning, Riverside got five hits from its first six batters, with Whitaker’s two-run double to make it 8-4 the centerpiece of the rally.
They said it
“Every year we try to schedule the toughest non-conference schedule we can,” Garner coach Derik Goffena said. “This keeps us prepared for conference play and helps us down the road if we make the playoffs.”
Three to watch
Varney Whitaker, Riverside: The freshman caught and played third base and had the game’s biggest hit.
“I could have done better,” Whitaker said. “Sometimes I get a little anxious and get out front and hit little dinks. We played pretty well in the field tonight, and we were able to drive the ball instead of hitting so many fly balls.”
Kimball Toone, Riverside: The junior made only his third start of the season, going three solid innings and helping his cause with two singles and a pair of runs scored.
“I was pretty confident on the mound,” Toone said. “I wanted to get first-pitch strikes and let my defense do the work. At the plate I just stayed loose and threw my hands through the bat.”
Tyler Gillespy, Garner: The junior went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBI, accounting for half his team’s hits.
“I was really focused on hitting my pitch and not giving up an at-bat even when we were down four,” Gillespy said. “But we were disappointed not to win. We’ve played well, but we still have room for improvement.
“We know we have to grind and fight if we want to make the playoffs.”
By the numbers
6: Batters with multiple-hit games, four of them from Riverside.
7: Total strikeouts in the contest.
10: Fly outs by Garner batters.
18: Total hits in the game.
Looking ahead
Garner finished its two-game Knightdale series on Thursday, and takes on GNRC rival West Johnston in a key two-game set starting Tuesday.
Riverside hosts Hillside on Friday before traveling to Jordan on Tuesday, both in PAC-6 action.
This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Riverside keeps bats going in win over Garner."