Sports
Riverwood Trounces Druid Hills, Wins Seventh Straight
Raiders cruise to victory after picking up six runs in final at-bat
momentum shows no sign of slowing.
Even with a playoff spot secure, the Raiders were firing on all cylinders in a 10-2 trouncing of Druid Hills at John Devore Field, Wednesday night.
The visitors scored six runs in the seventh inning in the rout, which snapped a three-game winning streak for the Red Devils and earned Riverwood (17-3, 10-2 Region 5-AAA) a seventh victory on the bounce.
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It leaves Druid Hills (10-10-2, 7-4-2 Region 5-AAA) needing to beat Grady or Cedar Grove in the rescheduled completion games, which were abandoned earlier in the season due to lightning and darkness with the scores tied.
The Raiders, who remain firmly in third place, out-hit Druid Hills 15 to seven. Lee Miller pitched six innings with six strikeouts, and doubled in Kevin Arnold in the first inning for the opening run.
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“Miller did a good job on the mound and kept really battling up there, threw a lot of good pitches and our defense helped him out quite a bit,” said Riverwood coach Mike Santoro. “And with our hitters, give them enough time and they’ll eventually break out a little bit.”
Riverwood picked up a run in the second inning, with David Whitmer scoring.
Druid Hills responded in the same frame when Foster Thomason’s blooper drove in Darren Stokes. The hosts’ final run, tying the score 2-2, came in the third inning, which started with three-straight hits and Max Bowen scoring.
The Raiders re-took the lead, 3-2, in the third inning, a Dylan Vainer double easily brining home Whitmer, who had a standup triple.
An insurance run in the sixth inning, scored by pinch-runner Rives Edwards, on for Nick Dias, preceded an eight-hit final at-bat for the Raiders.
Druid Hills starting pitcher Manny Zaldivar was replaced after Riverwood went up 9-2. Arnold, Miller, Dias and Zach Meads all picked up RBIs.
“We swung the bats well,” said Santoro, who feels his team is showing good form ahead of the postseason. “We like our chances in a best-of-three series with anybody.”
Riverwood returns to the diamond today for a home game against neighborhood rival North Springs. First pitch is slated for 5:55 p.m.
