Chargers conclude conference season
Published 5:24 pm Tuesday, May 7, 2019
By James J. Lidington
ISLE OF WIGHT
Isle of Wight Academy wrapped up its Metro Athletic Conference regular season with a 22-2, five-inning matchup with Denbigh Baptist Christian here on Thursday.
Zack Stroud was a perfect 4 for 4 with 3 RBI’s and scored twice; Senior Noah Colyer 3 for 3 with two doubles, driving in a pair. Junior reserve Ethan Willette was 3 for 4 with 2 RBI and scored twice and Bryce Daniels 2 for 3 with a triple, scored twice and drove in as many.
Josh Savage and Tyler Watkins combined to limit the Minutemen to two hits and two earned runs in five innings, striking out seven Denbigh (0-12, 0-7 Metro) batters, as the Chargers (13-5, 7-1 Metro) rapped out 22 hits.
•••
The Chargers capped a regular-season sweep against Portsmouth Christian with a 10-1 win last Wednesday at the Wilson Little League fields in Portsmouth.
Aidan Williams’ route-going performance on the mound set the stage for the Chargers and Kody Kosiorek was 3 for 5 with four RBI’s and two doubles. Hunter Hayden was 2 for 4 with two runs scored.
•••
IWA defeated Denbigh Baptist 16-2 on April 30.
Holt was the winning pitcher with three innings pitched, striking out eight and facing the minimum number of Minutemen batters in that outing.
Holt and two teammates combined to no-hit the Denbigh, who still managed two runs on three walks and two wild pitches in the fourth inning.
Cole Praither was 2 for 5, scoring three times and driving in a pair of runs. Hayden was 3 for 3, scoring twice and driving in two runs. Colyer, Daniels and Stroud each had two hits for the Chargers.
•••
Atlantic Shores avenged an early-season loss to IWA with a 12-2 drubbing on April 29 at Isle of Wight.
IWA retained a hold on the sixth spot in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association’s Div. II Poll. Three schools who defeated IWA earlier this season are ahead of the Chargers in the poll: Nansemond-Suffolk Academy is fourth; Highland is third; and Greenbrier Christian is second.
•••
Four Charger players are among the most recent Metro Top 10 hitting rankings of players with at least 20 at-bats.
Ryan Boyce is in third, hitting .526. Daniels in fourth at .514; Holt is ninth at .396; Praither is 10th at .391.
•••
The IWA softball team was ranked third in the April 29 VISAA Div. II Poll.
The Chargers are eight points behind second-place Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, who IWA defeated 4-1 on April 30.
•••
IWA softball and baseball teams begin play this week in their respective Metro Conference Tournaments.
Baseball played a non-conference game on Monday at Fuqua; softball faced the Falcons at IWA on Tuesday.
•••
The IWA Golf Team defeated Hampton Christian/Atlantic Shores on April 30. Sydney Grimes was medalist.
The team also defeated Broadwater Academy on May 1 by 50 strokes. Grimes, a senior, was medalist with an even-par round of 36, followed closely by junior Jed Davies with 38 shots.
The Metro Championship was played on Tuesday at Sleepy Hole Golf Course.
Top teams receive bids to the state championship on Monday, May 13, at Williamsburg National Golf Course. Their performance throughout the season affects tournament seeding.
JAMES J. LIDINGTON is a teacher at Isle of Wight Academy. Contact him at at 357-3866.