Chargers score five in first, top Irish 9-2
It didn’t take long for the visitors to get comfortable.
Chattanooga Christian’s fiverun first inning proved to be plenty for the Chargers in a 9-2 District 7-AA baseball victory Tuesday night at Notre Dame.
“A five-spot in the first definitely settles everyone down a little bit and gets the offense going,” CCS coach Ben Wharton said. “I think district games are always a little bit more focused when they happen because they mean a little bit more, so we played loose and free, but we just wanted to make sure we were ready for the district tournament.
John Rhodes’ three-run homer to right center got the Chargers (14-2, 9-1) on the board early. They added two more runs in the first, but Notre Dame retaliated with two outs in the bottom half of the inning. Evan Cheney’s tworun single to right field closed the gap to three.
That gap widened in a hurry, though, after Rhodes added an RBI triple to dead center, scoring Amos Davenport and extending the lead to 7-2.
Nathanael Kapp’s RBI groundout coupled with Justin Wheeler’s sacrifice fly in the fifth inning capped off the scoring. The Irish were unable to generate runs and were held scoreless after starting pitcher Joseph Wharton settled in, allowing no runs and striking out seven from the second inning on.
“He has pitched really well for us this year,” Coach Wharton said of his brother. “He gave up more baserunners than he’s used to, but he battled after a rough first inning to keep them within striking distance. I think he got stronger as the game went on, and I think it was good for him to face a little adversity.”
The younger Wharton pitched six solid innings, striking out eight and allowing the two runs on six hits. Besides Rhodes going 2-for-3,
“I was just going up with the same approach as always and I knew we had runners on so I just went up there and did my job and got a good pitch to hit.”
– JOHN RHODES, CHARGERS
Aaron Anand also delivered two hits and drove in a run, and he pitched a scoreless seventh.
Calvin Sims went 2-for-4 for Notre Dame.
“We have been playing really well lately so I knew our pitching would be there and our hitting is reliable,” Rhodes said. “I was just going up with the same approach as always and I knew we had runners on so I just went up there and did my job and got a good pitch to hit.”