Williamsburg sweeps South Tama on Cancer Awareness Night

WILLIAMSBURG — Henry Simmons came into Monday night with a total of five hits on the season. That nearly doubled in a doubleheader against fellow WaMaC West South Tama.

Simmons hit a 2-run HR, two doubles, and a hard hitting single in the two games. He was also able to get on base in his other two at bats via error off of line drives in the infield.

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“It was good to see the hits finally come for Henry,” Williamsburg head coach Nathan King said.

“He’s been making solid contact all season and has had a good on-base percentage.”

Simmons finishes off a strong 1-2-3 punch at the top of the order for the Raiders with fellow teammates Nile Sinn and Cael Moore.

Last night’s doubleheader was also Williamsburg’s Cancer Awareness night presented by Compass Memorial Healthcare.

This has become a yearly tradition for the Raiders, and the team wore special purple uniforms for the occasion.

The goal is to bring awareness to the Hope Fund which unites all Hometown Current area schools to help raise money for families who have been affected by cancer.

Things got off to a shaky start for the Raiders in the first game, with South Tama scoring four runs in the top of the first.

After a few walks, South Tama’s Tyrus Clegg hit a two RBI double and then was hit in on a sac fly by Miguel Medina.

The Trojans added one more off a wild pitch.

It was all Raiders after that.

After a one run bottom of the first, the Raiders added five in the second.

The bats of Sinn and Simmons led the charge. Sinn drove in two runs on a single and Simmons hit a 2-run HR over left center field.

In the fourth inning, a pitching decision had to be made.

“We only wanted Nile (Sinn) to pitch around 65 pitches, but with the game still being close (two runs) we decided to keep him in,” King said.

Going into Monday night, Sinn was second on the team in innings pitched with 17 total.

Sinn ended up pitching 5 1/3 innings in the game with 111 pitches.

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The Raiders added two more runs in the fourth and three in the sixth to make it 11-4 heading to the seventh.

Logan Rethwisch hit an RBI triple in bottom of the sixth to complete the team cycle for the Raiders in the game.

South Tama added one run in the seventh off an RBI double from Daniel Wiese to make the first game final 11-5.

In the second matchup of the night, the Raiders got off to a similar start, but great defensive plays were made to prevent any runs from scoring for South Tama.

“We didn’t throw the ball well in either first inning tonight, but we settled in after that,” King said.

Raider pitchers Carson Grier and Carter Capper allowed one total hit in the second game.

Connor Westcott made a great throw from the outfield to the catcher Simmons to tag out a runner at the plate.

In the bottom of the first, Sinn hit a leadoff solo HR for the second of the night for the Raiders.

The Raiders scored a run in every inning played in the second game.

RBI hits from Sinn, Moore and Capper put this one out of reach after three innings.

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After three more runs in the fourth, the game ended with a 15-0 final score.

The Raiders will look to continue this momentum with matchups against Fairfield tonight and a doubleheader against West Delaware Thursday.

“We’ve improved at the plate and are hitting the ball hard,” King said.

“We just have not been able to put together big innings.”

The Raiders certainly did that Monday, scoring multiple runs in seven innings between the two games.

AT WILLIAMSBURG

Game 1

South Tama 400 000 1-5 6 3

Williamsburg 150 203- 11 7 2

Game 2

South Tama 000 0-0 1 4

Williamsburg 264 3-15 11 0