Raiders suffer shutout loss to Wayne County in district tournament

By Steve LeMaster
stevelemastersports@yahoo.com

MONTICELLO – The McCreary Central Raiders’ postseason run ended in the opening round of the 48th District Baseball Tournament. Host Wayne County eliminated McCreary Central from the postseason, shutting out the Raiders 13-0 in five innings in the 48th District Baseball Tournament on Monday.
With the loss, McCreary Central ended its season 12-13.
Wayne County improved to 17-11 and advanced to the 48th District championship game with the win.
The Raiders were limited to one hit in the season-ending setback.
Gabriel Ruiz was the winning pitcher for the Cardinals. Ruiz pitched two innings, allowing zero hits and zero runs while striking out three and walking zero. Two other pitchers, Jacob Jackson and Brandon McGinnis, worked out of relief roles for the Cardinals.
Connor Campbell started the game on the mound for the Raiders. Campbell surrendered six runs on four hits, striking out one and walking one. Grant Hamner and Blake Corder worked out of relief roles for the Raiders, throwing three and two-thirds innings and one-third of an inning, respectively.
Kameron Gehring, Caleb Bridgeman and Braden Dobbs led the Wayne County offensive attack with two hits apiece. Dobbs delivered a game-high four RBIs while Gehring and Bridgeman drove in two runs apiece for the Raiders.
Nathaniel Griffis connected for McCreary Central’s lone hit.
Wayne County overcame two errors to notch the win.
McCreary Central committed three errors in the season-ending setback.
Veteran coach Marc Taylor guided McCreary Central to its dozen wins during the 2018 season.