Rams sweep Elberta in tale of two games in the first round
Published 11:56 pm Friday, April 19, 2024
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The Valley Rams looked down at times, but it was a tale of two games as Valley pulled off a miraculous sweep of Elberta to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
Game one: Valley – 8 Elberta – 7
The comeback kids did it again in game one against Elberta as the Rams rallied to win 8-7 in a walk-off.
Valley came into the bottom of the seventh inning down 7-3, but the Rams were not to be denied. Bryson Monteith got things started as he drove in Seth Hammock with a single to cut the lead to three. Matthew Mcdonald kept it going with an RBI single to make it 7-5. CJ Chambley drove in the next run with another single before TY Monteith took a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at seven.
Carter Green came up to bat with one out and the bases loaded, but he would not even have to swing the bat as the first pitch went to the backstop and Jackson Sanders scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch.
It was a defensive battle more than halfway through before Valley finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rush Nelson scored on a balk before Byson Monteith hit a sacrifice fly to give the Rams a 2-0 lead. Hammock later scored on a passed ball with two outs to make it 3-0.
The Warriors rallied and scored two in the top of the sixth before seemingly taking control of the game in the top of the seventh inning. Elbeta scored on an error to tie the game at three before two more runs scored on a single. What seemed to be the back-breaking blow at the time came on a two-run triple to give the Warriors a 7-3 lead.
Jackson Sanders got the start on the mound for Valley and allowed three hits, three earned runs and two bases on balls while striking out nine batters. Carter Green replaced Sanders in the seventh inning and allowed three hits and two earned runs.
Game two: Valley – 23 Elberta – 2
The second game of the night told a completely different story for Valley as the Rams needed just five innings to beat the Warriors 23-2.
Ty Monteith got things started with a bases-loaded walk before Mason Yarbrough drove in two runs with a single. Green drove in two more runs with a single of his own. Another bases-loaded walk gave the Rams a 6-0 lead at the end of the top of the first inning.
Valley continued to dominate as Green drove in another run with a single before another bases-loaded walk made it 8-0. Braylon Carta ripped a single through the infield to make it 9-0 before Seth Hammock scored on a wild pitch.
The top of the second inning continued to be fruitful for the Rams as Sanders drove in three more runs with a double. Then, Ty Monteith made it 14-0 with an RBI single.
Nelson scored on a wild pitch before Bryson drove in another run with a single. The Rams added four more runs in the top of the third inning and led 20-0 before Valley added three more runs in the top of the fourth.
Elberta added one run in the bottom of the fourth on a single and the final run came on a single in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Chambley took the start on the mound for Valley and allowed just two hits while striking out two batters in three innings. Seth Hammock pitched the last two innings, allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out six batters.
Sanders led the way at the plate for the Rams as he went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and four runs. Bryson added two hits, one RBI and three runs.
The sweep pushed Valley’s record to 22-4 on the season. The Rams won the area last year, just like this year, but fell in the first round. Now, Valley will is set to face St. Paul’s Episcopal in the second round.