IR baseball uses big sixth to down Sussex Academy
The Sussex Academy baseball team opened its 2024 season with a 26-6 victory over First State Military Academy, while its March 26 opponent, Indian River, kicked its off with blowouts of Dickinson and Odyssey before beating Laurel 4-3. That set the stage for a potential offensive showdown.
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, IR implemented a no-fly zone over its diamond on a blting-cold spring day, grounding the young team en route to a 9-1 victory.
“That's a good baseball team at River; I think they're very well coached,” said Sussex Academy coach Doug Nowell. “Their players play the game the right way – with a ton of energy. We knew we had to come out and we had to commit to playing strong early. We didn't do that.”
IR scored in the first inning, but Sussex Academy buckled down in the second to stave off the home offense, then got their bats going in the third. A two-out rally, sparked by singles from Victor Goodhue and Matthew Brittingham, had the Seahawks threatening to tie the game. Mason Glover was plunked on a pitch to load up the bases for Derek Sachs, who registered two doubles in the opener. The first baseman put the ball in play, but it was a pop-up to the second baseman for the third out.
“We have to capitalize on our successes; we have to capitalize with runners on and things like that,” Nowell said.
IR took advantage of the momentum to pile on three more runs and take a 4-0 lead in an error-filled bottom half of the third for Sussex Academy. The Seahawks responded following a double by Doug Horton and skillful base running by the junior to score their first run.
On the bump for the Seahawks was sophomore Matthew Brittingham, who was praised by his coach for his five-inning, four-strikeout performance. He totaled 70 pitches through five, so the coaches elected to preserve the lefty’s arm and handed the ball to Goodhue for the sixth.
Doubling twice in the bottom half of the sixth inning, IR plated five in the sixth to seal the deal.
Despite the loss, Nowell said he’s encouraged by the performance of the young team, noting they were able to take away IR’s running game while also managing the offense as best they could.
Brittingham and Horton collected two hits each in the losing effort. Horton, the centerfielder, and Mason Glover, the catcher, both made highlight-reel catches in the field.
