LaFayette nine win three of four to start new season

Two pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout and the LaFayette Ramblers opened the 2021 baseball season with a dominating 17-0, fiveinning road victory at Chattooga on a chilly night this past Wednesday.

Dylan Deering got the start for LaFayette and pitched three hitless innings. The senior struck out five batters and walked just one. Nick Radtke allowed two hits over two innings of relief. He struck out three batters.

Nick Adams had a double, scored three times and drove in four runs for the Ramblers. Garrison Fults went 2 for 3 with a stolen base, a sacrifice and three RBIs, while Davis Richardson also went 2 for 3. He scored three times and knocked in three runs.

Deering had a pair of hits and was credited with two RBIs. Blake Mann had one RBI and scored three runs, while Radtke and Case Davis also picked up single RBIs.

LaFayette 16, Bradwell 1

Playing in much warmer temperatures in Savannah on Friday, the Ramblers exploded for 11 runs in the top of the first inning in a dominating win.

LaFayette tacked on five more in the second, while Bradwell Institute’s only run came in the bottom of the third off of a Rambler error.

Skylar Cepada and Cody Davis combined on the threeinning no-hitter. Cepeda gave up just one walk and struck out five batters in two innings of work. Davis walked one and struck out two in his inning of relief. The run he allowed was unearned.

Richardson went 2 for 2 with a triple, three runs scored and four RBIs. Deering and Cody Cook each had one hit and drove in two runs, while Blake Mann went 1 for 2 and scored three times.

Fults had an RBI and scored two runs. Adams went 1 for 2 with an RBI and three runs scored, while Zain Smith and Case Davis each collected one RBI.

LaFayette 3, Ridgeland 2

Richardson’s two-run walkoff double in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Ramblers to a victory over their Walker County rivals in a game played late Saturday afternoon at Benedictine Military School in Savannah.

Ridgeland would get the first run of the ball game in the top of the third inning, thanks in part to two LaFayette errors. Jacob Klein brought in Hudson Couch with a sacrifice fly.

LaFayette would answer with a solo run in the bottom of the fourth. Deering led off the frame with a double and was bunted to third by Cook before scoring on a bunt by Case Davis.

Another Rambler error in the top of the fifth would put Isaac Pitts at second base and a pair of wild pitches would bring him in with the go-ahead run.

But down to their final at-bat, the Ramblers would come through. Cepeda began the inning with a single, but was forced out at second on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Mann. Smith followed up with a single, moving Mann to scoring position, before Richardson laced the gamewinner to center field.

Cepeda got the win on the hill with three innings of relief. He gave up one walk and two hits with six strikeouts, while the run he allowed was unearned. Radtke pitched the first four innings for LaFayette. He allowed one unearned run on two hits and a walk and finished with three strikeouts.

Deering was 2 for 3 and was the only Rambler with multiple hits.

Couch and Curtis Wells each had a pair of hits to account for the Panthers’ four hits in the game. Hayden Brewer gave up eight hits in 6.1 innings. He allowed three earned runs and two walks and finished with eight strikeouts.

Ridgeland (0-2), who lost to Ringgold on Thursday night, was also scheduled to face Benedictine on Saturday, but results of that game had not been reported as of press time.

Benedictine 7, LaFayette 1

In a game played earlier on Saturday, the Cadets pounded out 11 hits and handed the Ramblers (3-1) their first loss of the season.

LaFayette’s lone run came in the top of the seventh as Fults delivered an RBI-single to score Deering, who had singled earlier in the inning. Davis had a double in the loss, while Cook also added a single.

Richardson pitched the first four innings and was saddled with the loss. He gave up six earned runs on eight hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Radtke pitched two innings of relief, allowing one earned run on three hits and one walk. He struck out one batter.

The Catoosa County Communities in School’s 23rd Annual GraduRUN 5K is set for March 20, starting at First Volunteer Bank (5102 Alabama Highway) in Ringgold.

Registration on the day of the event will begin at 6:30 a.m. The 5K run will begin at 8 a.m., while a 1-mile fun walk will start at 8:05.

To register early, go to active.com or ciscatoosa.org or stop by the First Volunteer Bank branch in Ringgold.

The event will be held following CDC guidelines.