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Atholton's Kory Britton threw a complete game, allowing one earned run over seven innings and striking out six in the win.
Atholton coach Kevin Kelly praised sophomore Jonathan Thews for his lights-out work out of the bullpen as the team's most "pleasant surprise of the spring". After treading new waters with a start on the mound against River Hill last week, Thews took on yet another role as the team's designated hitter and further turned heads with his 2-for-3 offensive showing.
He was just one of Atholton's top performers on the day, as they combined for twelve hits and beat the Centennial Eagles 5-2 to get their tenth win of the season.
Atholton fell into early trouble, and for the third time in as many games, they failed to bring runners home in crucial situations. The Raiders were shut down in the first inning despite two straight hits by pitcher Kory Britton and left fielder Corey Stirmer.
At the bottom half of the inning, the Eagles would capitalize, as centerfielder Richard Duffy hit a single and swiped second, to later be brought home by shortstop Dan Powers' RBI. Centennial jumped on board early 1-0.
The Raiders, who had dropped their two straight previous games after trailing early on, answered back in the second when Thews took a pitch to opposite field for a single and was brought home by Jared Hand to tie it up at 1-1.
In the top of the third, Atholton took their first lead in three games with the help of Paul Beers' leadoff single. With bases loaded, courtesy runner Nick Donohue came home on a wild pitch to make it 2-1. With two men in scoring position and one out, Eagles' pitcher Alec Baum put a halt on the Raider bats and got out of trouble.
Centennial would tie it back up in the fourth on Kevin McDowell's base knock that brought home Baum, but the Raiders immediately put runs back on the board.
First baseman Chris Acker got his second hit of the game with a one-out single, but was called out at home on his attempt to score on a passed ball. However, Thews picked up the slack with a two-out hit to score shortstop Wes Hand and right fielder Jake Yasenka, making it 4-2 at the inning's end.
The team would add one more insurance run in the sixth with Beers' eleventh RBI of the season, as pitcher Britton closed out the game with three scoreless frames.
Britton got the win, tossing a complete seven innings and striking out six. He allowed two runs; one of which was earned.
"He pitched really well," said Coach Kelly. "He threw a lot of strikes; a lot of first pitch strikes, unlike the last two games where our pitchers were getting behind in the count."
To compliment Britton's efforts on the mound, offense was in full supply. Beers, Acker, and second baseman Jared Hand all had two hits apiece, with Thews collecting two RBIs and scoring a run of his own.
"I just picked out good pitches for me to hit and took them the other way," said Thews. "They threw me some curveballs but I waited for the fastball."
With the win Atholton has snapped their two-game losing streak and improved to 10-4.
Centennial's Baum threw five innings, striking out four and walking only one batter, but took the loss. The Eagles are now 5-8 with their defeat at the hands of Atholton..
"[Britton] did a great job, he pitched a great ball game and had good velocity, and our guys struggled a little bit in key hitting situations," said Centennial Coach Denis Ahearn. "Their team did a great job of executing the little things. They put pressure on the defense and that made a difference for them."
Atholton sits neck-and-neck with Marriotts Ridge, battling for second place in the division. With four games remaining, the Raiders will need a strong finish as they take on the down-on-their luck, 0-12 Oakland Mills Scorpions in the next game. Centennial needs to get an upset with a tough contest tomorrow against the 12-1 Hammond Bears.
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