The Raiders struggled to find their timing against a slow arm and a sweep looked shaky. Then came an advantageous pitching change that brought in an arm closer to what the Raiders are used to. Three Rivers rallied in the nightcap against Williams Baptist JV's bullpen and swept the Eagles, winning 10-7 in the opener and 4-2 in the late game at Roger Pattillo Field. "It gave us problems for sure. We didn't consistently square balls up and you get in a situation like that, baserunning becomes important," Three Rivers coach Stacey Burkey said. "We didn't do a very good job of trying to hit behind the runner with a man on second and nobody out. The little fundamentals get to be pretty huge when you are not squaring the balls up very well." Williams Baptist's starting pitcher in the nightcap was throwing about 80 percent breaking pitches, Burkey estimated, further lowering his velocity below what the Raiders are used to in both games and batting practice. Christian Deen scored in the second inning after some small ball and an RBI single by Garyn Stewart. Three Rivers (12-16) batted one over the minimum over the next three innings, and the Eagles took a 2-1 lead on a dropped fly ball.
Heading into the bottom of the sixth, Three Rivers had two hits. Williams Baptist made a pitching change anyway. Matt Robbins led things off by reaching on an error, Landon Vaughan singled and Deen moved them into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Stewart pulled a two-run double that landed just short of the left-field fence. Ryan Hunter followed with a single to right that scored Stewart and put the Raiders ahead 4-2. Toby Miller (1-1), who pitched the final two innings in relief, picked up his first win of the season after allowing one hit and no walks with two strikeouts. He retired the side in the seventh inning.
"Toby threw well to finish it up. He came in and threw strikes. He has been really consistent with his command and I think the guys feel confident behind him," Burkey said. The Raiders took advantage of the slow delivery to the plate and stole five bases on two hits and six walks. In the opener, Three Rivers led 4-0 after the first inning and doubled that margin going into the seventh. Williams Baptist put together a five-run rally, capped by a three-run home run, but was unable to roll things over to the top of the lineup. "Give them credit, they were up there hacking. They didn't concede that 10-2 lead by any means and got back into the game by swinging the bat," Burkey said. "I'd like to see our pitchers be really aggressive and confident in those situations. Fortunately, we were able to pull it out, but we need to be better in those situations."
Hunter and Gordon both had two hits and two runs for Three Rivers in the opener. Robbins, Deen and Grant Miller also had two hits and each scored once. Tyler McLevain (4-1) pitched four innings in the win and allowed four hits and no walks with four strikeouts. "Our focus and staying engaged in the game wasn't where it needed to be. This past weekend was excellent. I felt like we let down, for whatever reason, mentally," Burkey said.
After having not played since Saturday, Three Rivers used most of its injuryshortened bullpen against the Eagles. "I'm glad we got to play today, just to get into game situations," Burkey said. "It is good to get most of them out there." Fernando Burgos and Adam Brown got time in the opener and gave up a few hits each. Burgos pitched two innings and struck out five but walked four. Brown pitched the seventh inning and allowed one walk with one strikeout. Parker Dent picked up an inning of work in the nightcap in between starter Lane Crowley and Toby Miller. Dent allowed two hits and a walk with no strikeouts.