Appo baseball rides the wind to defeat Cape 17-4
“It was a launching pad,” said Cape head coach Ben Evick as he described the strong wind and powerful Appoquinimink bats April 12 at Chris Short Field.
The Jags’ batters, assisted by a stiff wind blowing straight out to center field, went yard four times in the game.
Appo senior John Jones started off the slugfest with a two-run homer in the first. He also slammed a four-bagger in the top of the fourth inning. Gabriel Dermott and Jacob Conover also hit homers.
Luke Smailer went 2-for-3 for the Vikings with a run scored. Timmy Vitella hit a blast off the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth for the Vikings. Ryan Gibbons was the only other Viking with a hit, as he went 1-for-3 from the plate.
“They’re a good team all the way through the lineup,” said Evick. “”Offensively, we couldn’t put a bunch of things together. We were able to capitalize on a few mistakes.”
Appo committed six errors in the game, while the Vikings made five.
Jags pitcher Mason Keene took the victory, going six innings and striking out 13 Cape batters.
Senior Mason Fluharty took the loss for the Vikings, giving up just three earned runs and striking out five Jaguars. Parker Brown pitched 2.1 innings in relief, and Robbie Baxley came in to strike out two in the seventh.
Cape moves to 6-3, while the Jaguars are undefeated at 7-0.
The Vikings will travel to Woodbridge, Wednesday, April 17, then take an extended trip to Hawaii for four spring break games.
They will return home to Chris Short Field to face Northern Division rival Caesar Rodney Tuesday, April 30.
