The Plant City Raiders Varsity Baseball team entered Tuesday’s game with a 6-9 record, looking to snap a 2-game losing streak. They took on the Brandon Eagles, who were on a 10-game losing streak entering the game. The Raiders are also looking to stay hot at home as they’ve won their last two when hosting, defeating Spoto and Blake High School.
Wyatt Tackitt drew the start for Plant City as pitcher. He started the game by allowing a single to center field, followed by a single to the pitcher that he could not grab. A hit-by pitch loaded bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly to Logan Teeden got Brandon an out and a score. A double play led by Sal Jaramillo got Plant City out of trouble, limiting Brandon to just one run. To start the bottom of the first, Colin Pellicer led off for the Raiders and instantly tied it up with a solo shot homer. Drew Cothren was next up for the Raiders and he singled. Aiden Bean was up with no outs and he popped out foul for the Raiders first out. Brandon’s pitcher tried to catch Drew Cothren lacking on first and ended up throwing it in the outfield. Cothren rounded the bases and ended up scoring on the Eagle’s error. Wellington Hehn struck out for the Raiders, making it two outs. Sal Jaramillo doubled to center field for the Raiders and then Brenham Hay was up with a runner in scoring position and grounded out, making it 2-1 in favor of the Raiders at the end of the first.
Tackitt started the second inning strong, striking out the first two Brandon batters. The Eagles responded with a single up the middle. A groundout to Brenham Hay sent it to the bottom of the 2nd, with the Eagles not scoring. Wyatt Tackitt was up to start the bottom of the second for the Raiders and grounded out to third. Parker Scott was up next and drew a walk. Logan Teeden was at bat with one on, one out and he doubled, advancing Scott to third. Colin Pellicer was back up for the second time in the lineup and singled, bringing in both runners. While Drew Cothren was up, Pellicer stole second. Pellicer once again goes for the steal and is safe at third. Cothren gets a double for the Raiders, bringing Pellicer home, and extending their lead. Aiden Bean was up with one out and got on base after an error in left field. Wellington Hehn struck out for out number two. Sal Jaramillo was at bat with 2 outs for the Raiders and flies out to end the inning. The Raiders are up 5-1 after two.
It was an impressive top of the third for Sal Jaramillo, the Raider’s third baseman as he recorded all three outs against the Eagles. Brenham Hay led off the bottom of the third for the Raiders and started the inning with a single. Wyatt Tackitt flies out to center field for the first out. Parker Scott was up for the second time in the game. Brenham Hay stole second during Scott’s at bat. Scott drew his second walk of the game, putting two runners on with one out and Logan Teeden up. Teeden doubles, bringing in Hay, advancing Scott to third with one out. Colin Pellicer was at bat for the third time in the lineup and doubles, bringing in both runners. Still with one out, Drew Cothren singles, bringing in the Raider’s fourth run of the inning. Aiden Bean got on first, but Cothren got out at second in the process. Hehn grounded out to end the inning and the Raiders were up 9-1.
Brenham Hay scooped up the ground ball to start the fourth, recording the first out. Tackitt struck out the Eagle’s batter for the second out of the inning. A wild pitch advanced the two Eagles runners with two outs. A fly out to center field left two on for the Eagles, scoring no runs three innings in a row. It’s the bottom of the fourth for the Raiders and Sal Jaramillo led off, drawing the walk. Max Cieslo subs into the game and struck out. Tackitt was up with one out and Sal stole second base. He singles, bringing in Jaramillo. Judah Bendorf subbed in and popped out for the Raider’s second out. Hagen Keen subbed in and grounded out to end the inning, the Raiders were up 10-1.
Cooper Cowen relieved Tackitt as pitcher to start the top of the fifth inning. Cowen walked his first batter, followed by a single. The third batter in the fifth grounded out to Brenham Hay for the first out of the inning. The Eagles got a double, scoring their first runs since the first inning. The Raiders got back-to-back ground outs to end the inning, leaving a runner stranded on second, but not before the Eagles scored two runs. Colin Pellicer was up for the fourth time through the lineup and struck out. Drew Cothren drew the walk but reached second by rounding first after the pitch got past the catcher. Josh Machado subbed in for the Raiders and got on base after a drop from the Eagles left fielder. Hunter Carbaugh subbed in and got on first. Keegan Wilkerson subbed in with the bases loaded and one out, and hit a sacrifice fly, bringing in Cothren. With two outs and two on, Brenham Hay was up and drew the walk. Cooper Cowen was up with bases loaded for the Raiders with two outs and got walked, bringing in a runner. Judah Bendorf was back up for his second attempt, the bases were loaded and he hit a fly out to end the inning. The Raiders were up 12-3 to end the fifth.
Cooper Cowen was back on the mound to start the sixth. The Eagles started the sixth with a leadoff double. Keegan Wilkerson scooped up the ground to third, getting the first out of the inning. The Eagles got a single, bringing in a runner and scoring in back-to-back innings. Cooper settled in and struck out the Eagle for the second out of the inning. A fly out to right field sent it to the bottom of the sixth. To lead off, Hagen Keen drew the walk. Colin Pellicer was back up for the fifth time through the lineup and Keen stole second. Pellicer was hit by a pitch and got the free base. Drew Cothren was up and Keen stole third. The Eagles pitcher tried to get Pellicer out on first but overthrew it, scoring Keen and moving Pellicer to third. Cothren drew a walk on a full count. Josh Machado was back up and hit a sacrifice fly, ending the game in the bottom of the 6th, 14-4.
The Raiders have now won three in a row at home. They travel to Durant today for a huge rivalry game.