White Co. baseball falls to Clarke Central at home

The White Co. Warriors baseball team managed just three hits in a 7-4 loss to Clarke Central on Friday, March 6, in Cleveland.

The Warriors (4-6) were led at the plate by Riley Norton, who was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a double on the day as the only player to have a multi-hit game.

Norton’s double came in the bottom of the third inning with White Co. trailing 2-1.

After Billy Carder struck out to start the bottom half of the inning, Jake Johnson drew a walk and then stole second base. Dylan Sargent was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second as Norton stepped to the plate.

J. Ben Haynes came on as a courtesy runner for Sargent before Norton smacked a 2-2 pitch into left field. The line drive drove in Johnson and Haynes and put White Co. up 3-2.

Clarke Central answered two innings later with a run in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 3-3, before blowing things open in the top of the sixth with four runs to go up 7-3.

White Co. managed to add a run in the bottom of the sixth when Blake Kelley scored on a fielder’s choice ground ball hit by Sargent, putting the score at 7-4.

That was all the Warriors could muster in the inning as they left two runners stranded.

Johnson finished the night 1-for-1 with two runs scored and three walks, while Sargent added an RBI, and Riley Higgins drew to walks for the Warriors.

White Co. is next slated to visit Riverside Military Academy at 5:30 p.m., Monday, March 9.