The Atlee Raiders made a statement on a rival’s home field on Friday night, holding a high-powered Hanover Hawks (8-3) to a single run while running up eight on the board themselves for their ninth consecutive win.
The Raiders’ (10-1) 8-1 victory was captained on the mound by senior Evan Salapka, who pitched six innings, struck out nine batters, and gave up only five hits to a lethal Hanover offense. Atlee also had a closeout performance from senior Chase Blumberg, who stepped in for the final inning and pitched a strikeout on his second batter faced, while Jayden Dillane caught a fly out in right field and shortstop Maxwell Baedke scooped up a ground out to end the game.
After three scoreless innings, the Raiders finally were the one to take the lead after three straight singles from Tyler Rutman, Andrew Miller and Brayden Robinson. It was Robinson that got them on the board with a run, driving in Rutman with a grounder past pitcher Brayden Shreffler. They ended their appearance in the fourth up 2-0, with Miller making his way home off of a Ryan Costanzo sacrifice fly.
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Atlee catcher Ryan Costanzo delivers a fourth-inning sacrifice fly to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead in their 8-1 win over Hanover Friday night.
Hanover cut into the lead immediately after, scoring off a Brayden Skeel bunt that got Gabriel Corey home.
In the top of the fifth, the Raiders began to pull away, riding the momentum previously established in the fourth with consecutive base hits, starting with a 2-RBI single from Miller and a 2-RBI triple from Robinson, who drilled a shot down right field on a 1-2 count.
The Raiders further added to their lead with runs on a Baedke bunt and an error. Baedke’s bunt got William Haynie home, while Barrett Bucholz made it 8-1, taking advantage of a catcher’s error. Salapka then finished his day pitching with three up and three down in the bottom of the sixth, striking out Corey, while Grayson Reece grounded out and Jackson Bates hit a lineout.
Hanover didn’t let the Raiders push the lead any further in the top of the seventh thanks to a double play between Reece and Tucker Fodill, which was immediately followed by a pop out, also caught from Fodill, to end the top of the frame with the deficit still at 8-1. The Raiders, in return, kept them from scoring to close out the game, adding another quality win to a sizable win streak.
The Raiders haven’t lost a game since March 23, when the Godwin Eagles (12-2) beat them, 9-2. They have since outscored their next nine opponents 61-16. They’ll look to build the streak to 10 when they take on Highland Springs (3-5) on Monday, April 27 at home. Later in the week, they’ll host Mechanicsville (7-3) on Friday, providing another big matchup between talented Capital District foes.
Hanover will be on the road twice this week, first taking on Cosby (7-3) on Monday night, and later Patrick Henry (6-5) on Friday.
In the Region 4B standings, Atlee sits at third with a .909 win percentage and 351 points, just behind top-seeded Courtland (10-2) and Dinwiddie (13-2). Hanover is currently holding onto the sixth spot in the standings with nine games to go, with a .727 win percentage and 329 points.
