The CVC Cavaliers earn their second league win with a 7-1 blow out victory over rival Exeter Monarchs
VISALIA – Central Valley Christian’s starting pitcher Bryce Crook threw five strikeouts in three and a half innings during the Cavalier’s 7-1 defeat of the Exeter Monarchs.
The Cavaliers defeated the Monarchs 7-1 on March 30 for their second league win of the season. The Cavaliers are a young team that hadn’t quite come together as a team, but against the Monarchs they played a very consistent and complete game. With zero errors on defense, they only allowed a single run from the Monarchs the entire outing and it was in the midst of a pitching change. On offense, they scored seven runs on only five hits. The Cavaliers will hope to carry this level of play into the rest of their league games.
“It was probably our best game that we’ve played yet this year,” CVC head coach Shane Marshall said. “A real focus today was on winning every inning and I think the guys did that from the start.”
CVC’s starting pitcher Bryce Crook led the team, allowing only one run on four hits over three and a half innings. For the first three innings, Crook was a tough opponent for the Monarchs. He had at least one strikeout in each of the first three innings, then threw two more strikeouts as the fourth inning began. As Crook dominated on the mound, the rest of the Cavaliers in the field didn’t make a single error on defense.
On offense, the Cavaliers scored after only three at bats. Junior Brent Kroeze hit a single to get on base and advanced to second when Crook grounded out. Junior Brandt Munger’s single sent Kroeze all the way home to put the Cavaliers up 1-0 in the first inning. Then in the second, the middle of the batting lineup put in the work to score three more runs for the Cavaliers. Despite the score, the Monarchs’ starting pitcher, Miles Munger, stayed in until the fifth inning.
“Today Munger threw well enough to stay in the game,” Exeter head coach Kevin Kirkman said. “We’re just struggling right now. Hopefully we can get some confidence back and turn things around.”
On the Exeter side, Aidan Robertson played a particularly good game. He led Exeter with two hits and recorded the only run of the game for the Monarchs. Since the team only had six hits the whole game, that means Robertson made two-thirds of them. Though he is also a pitcher, Robertson stayed in the outfield, where he was notably accompanied by a goose that decided to land in left field and stayed for the first inning.
The Cavaliers had three relief pitchers come in to finish up the game after Crook. Landon Holloway, Case Anker and Brandt Munger all took the mound to ensure the Cavaliers remained in the lead. In particular, Holloway came in for Crook in the middle of the fourth and immediately struck out Zack Williams. Then Holloway threw two more strikeouts in the fifth before Anker came in for the sixth inning.
“[Holloway] has been phenomenal this season at throwing strikes and getting us out of jams,” Marshall said.
The Cavaliers are now 2-1 in league play and are in second place in the Tri-County Sequoia League behind the undefeated Immanuel Eagles. This weekend they will play in a tournament before facing the Eagles again next week on April 12, hoping to unseat them from the top spot.
The Monarchs also have a tournament this weekend and are looking to use it to get their confidence back after a string of losses in league play. They are 0-4 in league games so far and will need a boost before facing Washington Union on April 12.
