TORONTO - Ralph King was dealing from the mound for the Toronto baseball team Wednesday at the Knight Baseball Complex and led the hosts to an 8-2 win over Weir High. King went six innings and surrendered only two hits. At one point in the contest, King sat down 10 straight Red Riders.
"Ralph worked really hard in the off season to become a better pitcher," Toronto head coach Brian Perkins said. "He's a senior, and he developed a lot of confidence. He's put a lot of time in. And we're now seeing the results this spring. He's had a lot of good outings for us. He's really stepped up and pitched some good games for us."
The Toronto bats gave King all the runs he required in the first inning.
Tyler Owens provided a leadoff single to open Toronto's offensive effort. Owens advanced to second base after a wild pitch and Austin Lucas singled him home. Spenser Sninchak followed with a long fly single which allowed Lucas to chug past home plate from first base. Sninchack then advanced to second and third base due to a pair of wild pitches. John Romey was able to put the ball in play allowing Sninchak to score.
Toronto held an early 3-0 advantage. A wild pitch in the bottom of the second inning followed by a Chez Glenn single brought Evan Johnson home.
The only time Weir was able to tag King was a long shot to left-center field by Harley Mills in the third inning. The ball settled at the base of the fence line, and Weir's starting pitcher legged out a triple. Mills scored on a Ryan Duke grounder.
King didn't surrender another hit until the sixth inning.
Toronto generated three more runs in the fourth inning. King opened the frame with a single. Glen got on base due to a fielder's choice and then stole second base. An error put runners on first and third for the Red Knights. Lucas singled home a run. A Sninchak double plated another tally. Goddard rounded out the inning with a sacrifice fly.
"That's part of our game," Perkins said of his team's ability to manufacture runs. "Our kids love to get on base. We liked to get on and then create things. We're not going to sit back, and we had opportunities in this game. We were fortunate enough to take advantage of them."
Weir ruined the shutout in the final frame. Kamari Washington singled. He advanced to third base courtesy of a pair of wild pitches. A Josh Russell single warranted a RBI.
"We're a very young team," Weir skipper Bob Rosnick explained. "We're trying to get better every day. Our problem all year has been a lack of understanding with the game and our fundamentals. This game was a little better than our last few. But, it's not a moral victory. I hate to lose. We had a lot of mental errors, but we didn't have any physical errors. It's one step at a time."
Toronto 8, Weir 2
Weir 001 000 1 - 2 4 2
Toronto 310 310 x - 8 8 2
WEIR (4-12): Mills (LP, 2K, 3BB); J.Russell (3IP, 1K, 1BB) and Curtis; Duke S, RBI; Washington S; C.Russell S, RBI; Mills T.
TORONTO (11-4): King (WP, 5K, BB); Stewart (1IP, 1K) and Solomon; Owens S; Lucas 2S, 2RBI; Sninchak D, S, RBI; Goddard RBI; Romey RBI; Johnson S; King S; Glenn S, RBI.
