The Halifax County Middle School baseball team picked up a pair of convincing wins over Amelia County and Nottoway to win the Will Hill Invitational Saturday afternoon.
Halifax started the day with a 9-0 route of Amelia County before concluding its stay with a 14-2 slaughter-rule victory over Nottoway in the nightcap.
Pitching was the key for the Lions in the opener as starter Brycen Bowen and Mason Terry teamed up for a one-hit shutout. Bowen tossed four innings of hitless ball while striking out eight and walking one. Terry finished it off in the fifth. Bowen got the win on the bump.
After giving up a walk in the second inning, Bowen retired seven straight batters, including a string of five straight after fanning the side in the third and two of the three he faced in the fourth.
Amelia County didn’t get its first hit until the fifth and only had two base runners all game.
The Lions’ offense was equally as deadly as they plated nine runs on seven hits. Cale Bowen and Camdyn Chappell drove in a pair of runs apiece while Cale Bowen, Colin Hatcher and Caiden Brooks added an RBI apiece as well.
Halifax struck first, plating five runs in the first to take the early advantage. Hatcher started the scoring with his RBI double to left field and Brooks doubled down on the Lions’ lead when he scored William Payne with single to left. Chappell kept the train rolling two batters later when he singled to short and Brycen Bowen followed with a run-scoring single that made it a 4-0 contest. Caleb Bowen concluded the rally with his RBI base knock to left.
After being kept off the board over the next two innings, Halifax added four in the fourth to take a nine-run lead. Chappell worked a bases-loaded walk to start things off and Caleb Bowen followed with another RBI walk to push the Lions’ lead to seven. Brooks scored on an error on Tyler Throckmorton’s groundball and Dawson Compton made it a 9-0 contest with his RBI fielder’s choice.
The Lions experienced déjà vu in the nightcap as they rode a combination of effective pitching and explosive offense to the title. Starter Ryder Milam got the win on the bump, throwing three innings of one-hit, two-run ball while striking out five. Jacob Allen closed out the fifth.
Brooks, Compton and Hatcher paced Halifax’s offense with a pair of RBIs apiece while Milam, Luke Ashwell, Colton Milam, Layne Satterfield, Austin Comer and Throckmorton drove in a run apiece.
The Lions scored a combined four runs in the first two innings to take control early. Hatcher started the scoring in the first with his RBI groundout to first and Halifax put up a crooked number in the second half, scoring three runs, to take a 4-0 lead.
Hatcher got the rally started in the second with his bases-loaded walk and Brooks followed with a two-run double to left that capped the rally.
It was the third that made the difference, though, as the Lions scored seven runs in the frame to all but seal the deal. Throckmorton’s bases-loaded walk started the scoring and Compton followed with a two-run double to center that pushed Halifax’s lead to seven. Ryder Milam’s RBI groundout gave the Lions an eight-run cushion and Compton scored on a wild pitch to keep the rally rolling. Colton Milam’s run-scoring base knock gave Halifax a double-digit advantage and Satterfield pushed the Lions’ lead to 11-0 with his RBI sacrifice fly to center.
Nottoway avoided the goose egg with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to pull within 11-2.
The Lions sent the game to its early end with a trio of runs in the fourth. Ashwell got things rolling with his RBI walk and Payne kept it moving when he scored on a passed ball. Comer ended the scoring the hard way when he plated Ashwell after getting plunked by a pitch.
Halifax returns to action March 20 when it takes on George Washington at Bonner Middle School.
Davin Wilson is the sports editor for The Gazette-Virginian. Contact him at dwilson@gazettevirginian.com.
