HobbsDailyReport.com
DENVER, N.C. – Strike another item from the haven’t-done-in-a-long-time list for Bandys High’s baseball team.
Getting strong pitching again and collecting nine hits, the visiting Trojans edged East Lincoln 4-2 on Friday night in a South Fork 2A battle, snapping a 12-game losing streak in their series with the Mustangs.
MARKED IMPROVEMENT
A look at the last five Bandys High baseball teams’ average runs scored and average runs allowed through the season’s first seven games:
Year Runs Opp. Runs Record
2018 6.1 1.8 7-0
2017 3.5 6.0 0-7
2016 4.4 5.4 2-5
2015 5.5 8.2 3-4*
2014 3.5 9.0 1-6
*–Actual averages, officially, would be 1.7 scored and 6.4 allowed and 0-7 record as Trojans forfeited (1-0 losses) games they won 10-1 over South Iredell, 10-9 over Shelby and 7-6 over West Caldwell due to inadvertently using an ineligible player.
SOURCE: HobbsDailyReport.com research and files.
Bandys (7-0, 4-0) had also beaten East Lincoln only once in their 20 previous match-ups, and the win has head coach Frank Porter’s Trojans still sharing the conference lead with North Lincoln.
Bandys is off to its hottest start since 2005 – when it won its first 13 games in a 19-win season – and the Trojans have two league games this coming week – Tuesday at home against West Lincoln (7 p.m.) and Friday at Lake Norman Charter (4 p.m.) – before facing North Lincoln on March 27 at Bandys at 7 p.m.
On Friday night, the Trojans had a 3-0 lead that they stretched to four runs with a run in the top of the seventh inning.
Winning pitcher T.J. Rasar, who threw five innings, gave up three hits, walked two and struck out nine. And when it came time to close the door, reliever Elijah Carr delivered again.
The Mustangs (0-6, 0-4) scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning to get with two runs but Carr got two ground ball outs and then struck out Tavin Johnson to earn a save and keep Bandys undefeated.
The Trojans had nine hits – including two each from Andrew Patrick and Jared Crowe – and Allden Horne led East Lincoln with three hits.
Bandys took a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Cy Spencer doubled in Ivan Huffman and Rasar’s sacrifice fly scored Travis Russell.
Russell singled in Carr in the fourth inning, putting Bandys ahead 3-0, and Crowe drove in a run in the top of the seventh inning.
Bandys led 12 runners on base and the Mustangs stranded 10.
Derek Martin took the loss for East Lincoln, off to a winless start and outscored 40-9 in its first six games.
The Mustangs have a home non-league game on Monday against Forestview.