By Molly Seales
Tuesday, April 13, was a beautiful day for baseball, and the Riverdale varsity baseball team took full advantage of it, getting a big 13-3 win over Central School. All of the boys on the team saw playing time in the game. 8th grade pitcher Aston Hester was stellar on the mound, striking out 12 batters. His defense was strong behind him and committed only 2 errors in the game.
The team was stronger at the plate than they have been all year, tallying 15 hits. Senior Matthew Seales was 3 for 3 on the day, including a double and an RBI. Seales also stole 2 bases and scored a run for the Rebels. Aston Hester was 3 for 4 with 2 RBI’s and a run scored. Senior Brennan Edie was 2 for 4 with 3 RBI’s, 2 runs scored, and a stolen base. Junior Denver Williams was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s and a run scored. Senior Garrett Wilhite was 2 for 3 with an RBI and 2 runs scored, while senior Noah Wren was 1 for 3 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Senior Paul Messenger was 1 for 2 with a stolen base and a run scored. Sophomore Mason Murray was 1 for 2 with a run scored and a stolen base. 8thgrader Colton Caskey was put on base 3 times with 3 walks and converted two of those into runs scored for the Rebels.
With the bench cleared in the top of the 5th inning, the Pioneers had scored 3 runs and seemed to have a momentum shift that put the Rebels on edge. Seales re-entered the game at shortstop after Murray injured his ankle on a play. With 1 out and runners on the corners, Hester delivered a pitch that a Pioneer drilled in the direction of Seales at shortstop. Seales fielded the ball, stepped on second base, and threw to his first cousin, freshman Hayden Hillman, who had subbed in for him at 1st base. Hillman caught the throw to complete the double play and end the game with a final score of 13-3.
Matthew and Hayden’s grandmother Mary Cowser, and Hayden’s Nana Donna Hillman both said, “They wouldn’t have taken anything for it,” referring to the play that had been made. This was probably the only game the cousins will ever play in together.
Following the varsity game, Riverdale’s JV team took on a team composed of Central’s JV, along with 4 of Central’s varsity players (the did not have enough to field a full JV team.) The JV Rebels played a great game, but the final score was 8-5 in favor of the Pioneers. 9th grader Kyle Guillory started pitching for the Rebels and struck out 3 batters. 7thgrade lefty Shea Nettles also pitched for the Rebels and did a great job, followed by 8th grader Colton Caskey, who struck out 2 batters.
The JV batters also did a great job at the plate. Colton Caskey had a double and scored a run for the Rebels. Aston Hester also had a hit, an RBI, a stolen base, and scored a run. Kyle Guillory hit a triple that resulted in an RBI. Guillory later stole home to score a run. 9th grader Jaxon Gates had a hit, and Levi Shaver had a hit and an RBI that drove in Gates. 9th grader Caleb Dabbs had a hit and an RBI, which knocked in 7th grader Ben Moseley, who had been hit by a pitch earlier in the inning.
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