ARCANUM – Behind a dominant performance on the mound from Regan Christ and timely offense in the middle innings, Arcanum earned a 4-1 non-conference win over the Covington Buccaneers.
Christ was nearly unhittable, striking out 17 batters over six innings of work while allowing just two hits and one unearned run. The right-hander also walked one in a commanding outing.
“Regan was lights out pitching – he was on today,” said Arcanum coach Randy Baker. “He had a good slider today, had a good changeup, which is huge.”
Covington scratched across its only run in the top of the fourth inning, taking advantage of an Arcanum error and a wild pitch to grab a 1-0 lead.
“We had an error and a passed ball in the same inning,” Baker said. “That’s how they scored their run.”
The Trojans responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Bryce Kramer sparked the rally with a single to center, followed by an Ethan Kearney double to deep left. Luke Stephens delivered the big hit, driving a two-run single to center to give Arcanum a 2-1 advantage.
“We’ve been off since Tuesday, so it took a little bit to get the bats going,” said Baker. “We had an answer once they scored a run, we answered, and we have been doing that all year. That’s a statement to our team, having an answer when they score.”
Arcanum added to its lead in the fifth inning with two insurance runs. Caleb Baker led off with a single, and Landon Brewer followed with an RBI double to left. A Buccaneers error and a sacrifice fly from Christ pushed the Trojans’ lead to 4-1, a margin that would hold the rest of the way.
Bishop Cartwright came on in relief and closed the door with a scoreless inning, allowing one hit while striking out one and issuing no walks.
“He was put in a tough spot,” Baker said of Cartwright. “He didn’t get any warmups, and that’s on us as a coaching staff. We put him in that situation, but he came out and did a good job, even though he wasn’t loose, he got us out of that – that was neat.”
At the plate, Stephens led the Trojans with two RBIs, while Kramer went 2-for-3 to pace Arcanum in hits.
Arcanum now turns its attention to a busy stretch ahead with four games scheduled next week against St. Henry, Ansonia, Preble Shawnee, and Newton.
“Our pitching staff is going to be tested next week, so we have to be ready to go,” Baker stated.
BOX SCORE:
123 456 7 R H E
000 100 0 1 3 2 Covington
000 220 X 4 7 1 Arcanum
