The Preston Pirate varsity fall baseball team improved to 9-0 on the season with a pair of run-rule wins last weekend.
The Pirates notched a 16-4 home win over the Cameron Yellowjackets last Thursday, then earned their ninth win of the 2023 campaign this past Saturday with an 8-0 victory over the Ripley Warriors at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.
The Preston diamond squad was scheduled to return to action Tuesday at home against New Lima and will travel to Dale on Thursday and host Braggs on Friday.
In last Thursday’s home meeting with Cameron, the visitors opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first.
The Pirates plated six runs in the home half of the inning for a 6-1 advantage, then added four in the second for a 10-1 lead after two innings of action.
Cameron made it a 10-4 contest with three runs in the top of the third, while the host Preston squad ended the game on a run rule, 16-4, with six runs in the bottom of the frame.
Hunter McElhannon was the top offensive performer for the Pirates in the run-rule win, finishing 2 for 3 with a single, triple, and 3 RBIs. One of McElhannon’s RBIs came on a run-scoring groundout in the first.
Luke Hankins (2 for 2, single, double, 2 RBIs, walk) and Noah Wilson (2 for 2, 2 singles, 2 RBIs, walk) also recorded multi-hit games against Cameron with two hits each.
The final base hits for Preston in the home contest came on a single by Pepper Gallup, RBI singles by Easton Shaw and Bradley Winford and an RBI double by Kellen Dean, who also had an RBI groundout in the first.
Other baserunners against Cameron were Shaw (RBI walk), Winford (RBI walk), Jayden Herring (walk), Kaden Dean (walk), and Kellen Dean (walk).
Braxton Kennedy drove in one of the six runs in the first with an RBI groundout.
Herring got the start on the mound for the host Pirates and earned the pitching win. Herring allowed three runs on two hits with three walks, three strikeouts, and two hit batters in two-plus innings of work.
Gallup entered out of the bullpen with two on and no outs in the third, giving up one run on no hits, striking out three, walking one, and hitting two in his inning of relief work.
In Saturday’s shutout win over Ripley, the Pirates opened the scoring with three runs in the top of the second, then added a run in the six and four in the seventh for the 8-0 decision.
The top hitter for Preston against Ripley was Noah Wilson, who finished 2 for 4 with two singles.
The other Pirate base hits in the road win came on singles by Hunter McElhannon and Braxton Kennedy, a double by Kellen Dean, triples by Kaden Dean and Easton Shaw, and a solo home run in the sixth by Luke Hankins.
Other baserunners against Ripley were Hankins (2 hit by pitches, RBI), Shaw (walk), McElhannon (RBI dropped third strike), Kennedy (2 walks), Kellen Dean (walk), and Jayden Herring (3 walks).
Shaw got the start on the bump for Preston and went the distance to earn the pitching win. Shaw struck out eight, while allowing just four hits in seven shutout innings of work.
— Thursday, August 17 Preston 16, Cameron 4
Cameron:1-0-3 4-2-5 Preston: 6 – 4 – 6 16 – 10 – 2 WP: Jayden Herring LP: Burks HR: None — Saturday, August 19 Preston 8, Ripley 0
Preston:0-3-0-0-0-1-4 8-8-1 Ripley: 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0-4-3 WP: Easton Shaw LP: Hood HR: Preston: Luke Hankins
