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Valley opened its baseball season up in dominant fashion on Thursday as the Rams downed Clay Central 9-2. 

Jackson Sanders picked up right where he left off last year as he shut the Volunteers down during his short outing. Sanders got the start on the mound and pitched three innings, struck out nine batters, walked three and allowed no hits. 

Valley’s bats were just as good as their pitching on Thursday night. Sanders got the scoring started for Valley as he drove in two with a double in the bottom of the first inning. Sanders finished with two doubles and two RBIs in the game. Seth Hammock added on with a sacrifice fly to give the Rams an early 3-0 lead. 

The Volunteers had a chance to get back in the game in the second inning as Sanders walked the bases loaded with two outs. Sanders quickly worked his way out of the jam with a strikeout. 

The Rams added on three more runs in the bottom of the third inning. Sanders started the inning with a leadoff double, and two walks and a sacrifice fly pushed Valley’s lead to five. Braylon Carter hit an RBI single to round off the scoring in the inning. 

Valley continued scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning as Mason Mcdonald found his way to home on an error. Valley added its last run in the bottom of the sixth as Sanders scored on a ground ball from CJ Chambley. 

Mason Mcdonald was Valley’s most steady bat in the game as he went three-for-four on the night and scored two runs. 

Bryson Monteith and Clayton Sanders each pitched in relief on Thursday. Monteith pitched one inning, allowing no runs and striking out two. Sanders pitched three innings and allowed two earned runs. 

The win puts Valley at 1-0 to start the season. The Rams will look to stay undefeated as they travel to face Callaway on Friday.