Midway relief pitcher Tanner Williams drives toward the plate with a seventh inning pitch. Williams worked two scoreless innings and closed out the Jaguars in Midway’s second round win on Friday.
Mike Carter|For the Independent
Raiders use big fifth inning to stay alive, advance to third round
John McLamb slides safely into third, well ahead of the Jaguar throw during the fifth inning.
Mike Carter|For the Independent
Wyatt Lucas connects with the ball for a base hit, fueling Midway’s fifth inning offensive explosion.
Mike Carter|For the Independent
Raider shortstop Tripp Westbrook charges a grounder, looking the ball into his glove as he zeros in on a fourth inning put out.
Mike Carter|For the Independent
Midway’s Carson Tew (2) fires the ball to first base as John McLamb (29) awaits its arrival.
Mike Carter|For the Independent
The Midway baseball team overcame some adversity on Friday night, rallying from behind to take down a scrappy Farmville Central team to advance to the third round of the NCHSAA 2A State Baseball Playoffs. After the lead flipped a couple times, the Raiders used a big fifth inning to surge past the Jaguars and capture the 9-5 victory.
Both teams left a pair of runners stranded in the first inning but Farmville Central broke through for the first run of the game in the top of the second. Having loaded up the bases on two separate occasions, the Jaguars missed an opportunity to deal significant damage and only scored one run for the 1-0 lead.
Jumping to the bottom of the third, the Raiders finally mustered up an answer. Consecutive singles by Wyatt Herring, Carson Tew, and John McLamb helped tie the game up at 1-1 and leave additional runners in scoring position. Two batters later, Tripp Westbrook put a sacrifice flyball into center field to tack on another run, putting Midway ahead 2-1.
The Jaguars countered in the top of the fourth inning, though, getting three runs to retake the lead at 4-2.
The Raiders, though, kept their composure and got one run back in the bottom of the fourth. Tanner Williams drew a walk and Christian Gainey and Luke Peterson each got a single to load up the bases. Wyatt Herring hit into a double-play, but Williams scored to make it 4-3.
Then, in the bottom of the fifth, the Midway really cashed in. McLamb led off with a walk and Wyatt Lucas hit a single into right field that produced extra bases. Westbrook singled into left field, scoring McLamb to tie the game up at 4-4. Wyatt Scott was hit by a pitch then Williams hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Lucas to put the Raiders back ahead at 5-4. Gainey hit a single into left field to score Westbrook then Herring doubled to score Williams and Gainey to make it 8-4. Midway’s hitting spree continued as Carson Tew got a hit, setting the state for McLamb to come back around and deliver an RBI single to score Herring, making it 9-4.
Farmville Central finally stopped the bleeding and got out of the inning but the damage had been done. Though they got one run back in the top of the sixth, and threatened more runs, the Raiders shut down the threat and advanced to the third round of the playoffs.
Leading the effort at the plate for Midway was McLamb and Gainey with three hits apiece. Herring and Tew each had two hits and Peterson, Westbrook, and Lucas, all had one hit.
Next up for Midway is a date with Bartlett-Yancey. That game was originally scheduled for Tuesday night however the threat of inclement weather moved it to Monday. A full rundown from that game will be featured in Wednesday’s edition.