Published: April 24, 2008 11:21 pm            

Big plays lift Rams

RACELAND — In a game with a lot of crazy hops, Raceland made three outstanding defensive plays in the final three innings to beat Ashland 8-6 on Thursday night.

Third baseman Josh Reed — an eighth-grader — speared two line drives and left-fielder Dillon Keeton made a diving catch along the foul line to boost the Rams.

With Raceland up 5-2, Ashland’s Caleb Rigsby led off the fifth inning with a walk before Reed made a diving stab to his left on Nick Jackson’s hard shot and threw on to first base for a double play.

“It was instinct, pure reflex,’’ said Reed, who started the season on the junior varsity squad but soon made his way into the lineup. “I’m just glad to get the opportunity.’’

Ashland scored four runs in the sixth to go up 6-5, but Keeton prevented a third consecutive Tomcat extra-base hit by robbing Alex Bonnette with a full-extension catch for the third out.

Reed walked to start Raceland’s decisive three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth for an 8-6 lead, then came up with another defensive jewel. After Ashland’s Dylan Delaney singled to put runners on first and second with one out in the seventh, Reed went to his knees to snag Wes Griffith’s liner.

Raceland pitcher Shawn Reynolds wrapped up his complete game by getting a grounder from dangerous leadoff man Josh Miller, who had two hits.

“Josh Reed had a heck of a ballgame over there,’’ said Raceland coach Randy Vanderhoof. “He made an error early in the game but didn’t let that get him down. He came back with some unbelievable plays, and Dillon had a great catch at a key time when Ashland had a lot of momentum.

“Ashland made a couple of big plays in the outfield, too. If ESPN had been here, they would have had all the Web Gems they needed.’’

Tomcat center-fielder Josh Miller had two dandy catches on an evening when several balls that did hit the ground took wicked bounces.

One of them happened before the game. Raceland second baseman John Scott Carver had a front tooth knocked out on a bad hop during infield practice.

Carver made a quick trip to a dentist and returned to the field in the third inning to help his team to the victory.

“John Scott showed a lot of toughness the way he came back,’’ Vanderhoof said. “That’s kind of the way we played today, with a lot of determination and grit.’’

Vanderhoof called it a big win for the Rams, who improved to 6-9 on the heels of a 3-2 loss at Paintsville on Tuesday in the All “A’’ sectionals.

“That was a heartbreaker because the winner got to go to Applebee’s Park,’’ Vanderhoof said. “It’s great that we were able to bounce back against a very good Ashland team.’’

The Tomcats (13-5) collected 12 hits and roared from behind in the sixth. Rigsby hit a three-run double and Jackson followed with an RBI double to put Ashland in front.

“We take the lead and you would think we would get more fired up, but we didn’t have much enthusiasm,’’ said Tomcat coach Jeff Wilcox. “Give Raceland all the credit in the world. They made some great plays and put the bat on the ball. We had a couple of bad hops, but that could happen anywhere.’’

Reed reached on a high-kicking grounder to help trigger Raceland’s five-run second inning. Josh Wilson later supplied a two-run single. Chandler Johnson — Ashland’s third pitcher of game — came on to get the final two outs of the second inning. He did not allow a run before exiting in the sixth after issuing a walk and Peyton Martin’s single.

The Rams tied it at 6 on a Chase Adkins wild pitch. Sophomore Daniel Jones delivered the game-winning hit, a one-out line drive that hit in front of Ashland’s right fielder and took a sharp bounce to the left as Martin and Keeton scored.

Wilson and Loren Huffman each had two of Raceland’s nine hits. Reynolds battled Ashland’s lineup all the way and stranded at least one Tomcat base-runner each inning.

“Shawn didn’t have great stuff tonight, but he gutted it out,’’ Vanderhoof said. “(Assistant coach) Drew Hall had him charted for 75 percent first-pitch strikes.’’

Ashland’s Rigsby and Adkins finished with three hits apiece.

Raceland dedicated the game to Paul Rose, who died on Tuesday. Rose, 68, served on the Raceland-Worthington Board of Education member for 20 years and had a passion for athletics.

“Paul loved the kids in this community,’’ Vanderhoof said.



ASHLAND 011 004 0 — 6 12 2

RACELAND 050 003 x — 8 9 2

Rigsby, Hunter (2), Johnson (2), Adkins (6) and Duvall; Reynolds and Jones. W—Reynolds. L—Adkins. 2B—Bonnette (A), Rigsby (A), Jackson (A), Jones (R). 3B—Miller (A).

        

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