Clover Hills Takes Game 2, Leads 2-0 in Series

By Nolan Potts
Clover Hill scored four runs in the fourth inning and then added another in the fifth and two in the sixth as they pulled away from Bridgewater and took Game 2 of the RCBL Finals by a final score of 9-4 and now have a 2-0 lead in the series.

Bridgewater scored first when they put up two runs in the second inning courtesy of a Malachi Simmons RBI groundout that drove in Noah Cornwell, and Ryan Williams reaching on an error that brought in Grey Sherfey.

The Bucks would respond in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Brooks Bowman that scored Lucas Bauer, and an RBI groundout from Issac Sumpter that scored Kevin Navedo.

Sherfey would hit an RBI single in the top of the third to drive in Chris Huffman and put Bridgewater ahead, 3-2.

In the fourth, Josh Eberly hit an RBI double to tie the game, and then the Bucks would take the lead for good later that inning on a Bryce Suters RBI single, followed by RBI singles from Luke Shiflett and Bauer.

Huffman drove in a run in the fifth to make the score 6-4 in favor of Clover Hill, but in the bottom of the fifth, Eberly would hit another RBI double to extend the lead back to three.

Clover Hill went with three different pitchers to start the game going two innings each. Cole Freeman got the start before turning it over to Clay Guyer in the third (who was credited with the win), who then turned it over to Tyler Hill in the fifth. Grant Thomas pitched the final three innings to pick up the save.

At the plate, every Clover Hill starter had at least one hit, and the team got three hits from Suters, as well as two hits each from Eberly, John Siciliano, and Navedo.

For Bridgewater, All-RCBL team pitcher Nick Griffin took the loss on the mound, with Eric Yankey and Pat Burke also getting work out of the bullpen. Offensively, the Reds had seven hits as a team and got two hits each from Huffman, Sherfey, and Corbin Lucas.

Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Wednesday night at Ray Heatwole Field at 7:00 PM.

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