SEDALIA, Mo. — Riley Hickerson scored five runs Friday to lead the Raider offense in the sweep. In the opener, he was 1 for 3 with two runs as Three Rivers won 5-1. Then in the nightcap, he was 1 for 5 with three runs as the Raiders outhit State Fair to win 9-6. On Saturday, Three Rivers split with State Fair.
The Raiders lost the opener 5-3, and rallied from three runs down in the sixth to win the nightcap 7-6. Including his two hits, Hickerson reached on a walk, a fielder's choice and an error to score his five runs Friday. Tyler McLevain (3-1) limited State Fair to four hits in the opener, gave up no walks and struck out six in a completegame win. It is the third straight win and third straight complete game that McLevain has given the injury-hampered Raiders.
The Raiders (11-15, 7-5 XVI) gave up two quick runs in the top of the first inning, after Ty Gordon drove in Williams Stalling and Hickerson with a single. Dylan Kater and Christian Deen later led off the fourth with hits and scored on a single by Garyn Stewart, and Hickerson scored again in the fifth to give McLevain a 5-0 lead to work with. Parker Dent (2-3) got the win in relief in the nightcap.
Lane Crowley started and threw three scoreless innings, but then gave up five runs to start the fourth without getting an out. Dent allowed one more run before getting out of the fourth with the Raiders tied at 6-6. He and Toby Miller, who pitched three innings for his first save, didn't allow a run after the fourth. Dent finished with two hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Miller allowed one hit with five strikeouts. Matt Robbins had a leadoff single in the fifth and Stewart drove him home, and gave the Raiders the lead with a groundout to second. Hickerson and Robbins added insurance runs in the eighth. Hickerson doubled and Robbins walked, and the duo touched home on Miller's single. After giving up four runs in back to back appearances during the Raiders' Gulf Coast road trip, Miller has been near perfect in two Region XVI appearances.
Against St. Charles, he came out of the bullpen and struck out five with one hit and no walks over 1 2/3 innings. Add Friday's three innings, and he's struck out nine with no runs, one walk and two hits over his last 4 2/3 innings. He's thrown 23 2/3 innings for the season over 10 appearances and has a 3.80 ERA, second on the team behind Mclevain's 2.45, and 29 strikeouts