GRAYSON —
East Carter coach Jeremiah Shearer isn't ashamed to admit it; he relies on senior shortstop Connor Robinson for much of his team's offense.
It took Robinson until the sixth inning of Monday's home opener against Fleming County, but he came through. His three-run double helped the Raiders beat the Panthers, 7-2, at J.P. Kouns Field.
“He was probably our top hitter last year,” Shearer said. “He's been in the middle of the order the past three seasons. We lean on him heavily.”
Robinson's double to center field off Desmond McAdams led an East (1-1) offense that scored five times in its last two at-bats. He hit his second double of the year — he has knocked in five runs so far — which made up for being thrown out when he slipped and fell between second and third and was tagged out in a rundown.
“I was thinking about going for (third base),” Robinson said. “I rolled my ankle and missed the bag. I believe in my team; I knew we were going to win anyway.”
Robinson also pitched a scoreless seventh inning, striking out one.
What Robinson did wasn't the only reason East prevailed. Junior Chandler Duncan struck out five over three innings for the win.
Duncan considers himself a fastball pitcher, but it was his off-speed repertoire that bedeviled the Panthers in the sixth inning. With a runner on third, he: retired first baseman Brady Saunders looking at a low outside slider; struck out second baseman Nick Johnson on a low inside slider; and went low and outside again to fool designated hitter Cody Stewart.
“I'm hoping our offense will come around,” Fleming County coach Blake Price said.
Duncan credits new pitching coach — and former Marshall University hurler Grant Harper — for teaching him a different grip on his breaking ball.
“I just threw where my coaches tell me,” Duncan said. “I started throwing my slider. (The new grip) gives more break to the outside, more spin.”
Shearer said last week the new metal bats that cannot create as much of a trampoline effect when a ball is hit — which forces the player to supply more of the power — would require his team to rely less on power and more on walks and stolen bases.
That's what happened Monday. East had only three hits (left fielder Conner Staton's infield bunt single in the first inning and Dylan Genung's infield single in the sixth).
In East's season-opening loss Friday at Johnson Central, the Raiders' downfall was an eight-run fourth inning in which six were were unearned. Consequently, Shearer hoped starting pitcher Cole Boggs had good control.
“(Boggs') command is a work in progress,” Shearer said before the game. “... When he's on, he's as good as anyone around.”
Boggs mostly complied with Shearer's desire in the opening two innings — six first-pitch strikes over the first 10 batters he faced with two strikeouts.
Fleming County wasn't as fortunate in the first — after an error put Genung on second, Staton followed with his single when no Panther covered first base. The Raiders scored again on a wild pitch and an error on which Staton scored from second.
Different story by the third inning: Fleming County (0-1) tied the game at 2-2. An error in the second sent McAdams home, followed by center fielder Cole Clark scoring on Boggs' wild pitch in the third.
In the fourth, Duncan replaced Boggs, and the Panthers left the bases loaded. East chased Fleming starter Heath Burnett in the fourth, but McAdams stranded two Raiders.
Duncan also turned in the defensive play of the game in the fifth when he caught pitcher Darrin Brooks off first. East extended its lead to 4-2 when Genung scored on McAdams' balk and Robinson walked and ultimately scored on an error.
The Raiders managed just three hits, and they committed three errors. Fleming County had just one hit with four miscues.
“It was a mid-March win,” Shearer said. “I thought we took advantage of mistakes well.”
FLEMING CO. 011 000 0 — 2 1 4
E. CARTER 200 023 x — 7 3 3
H. Burnett, McAdams (4) and M. Burnett. Boggs, Duncan (4), Robinson (7) and Wells. W-Duncan. L-McAdams. 2B: Robinson.
Local Sports
Robinson double lifts East past Fleming
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Locals struggle to make impact
Some days you are the windshield and some days you are the bug.
It is a saying that proved to be all too true for Rowan County on Friday night at the KHSAA Class 2A State Track and Field Championships at the University of Louisville’s Owsley Frazier Cardinal Park. -
Rough Ending
Fairview senior Kennedy Womack wasn’t her consistent self in Saturday morning’s state tennis semifinals at the University of Kentucky’s Hilary Boone Tennis Complex.
As a result, the top seed fell to Lexington Sayre sophomore Madeline Rolph 6-1, 6-0.
Womack was obviously disappointed with her finish, especially after losing in last year’s state finals, but she was happy for her good friend Rolph. -
FLYING HIGH
If Fairview could have fielded a combined track and field team at Saturday’s Class A State Track and Field Championships, the Eagles and Lady Eagles would have had a record day. Instead, the Fairview girls had to “settle” for fifth, while the boys’ claimed 10th.
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Womack eliminated in semifinals
Top-seeded Kennedy Womack was eliminated in the semifinals of the State Tournament on Saturday at the University of Kentucky tennis courts.
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Big-inning Dawgs
It looked for a while that a questionable call may have determined the outcome of the game, but in the end, it was just an afterthought.
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Boyd County finds senior spark
Losers of four straight, Boyd County was searching for something positive Friday night before beginning postseason play Monday night.
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Doubles teams head to semis at state tourney
With rain staying away, the KHSAA State Tennis Tournament got into full swing on Friday afternoon.
Semifinals and finals will be held today at the University of Kentucky Boone/Downing Tennis Complex for boys and girls singles competitions. -
McKnight hurdling to Georgetown
Fairview’s Paige McKnight is known for jumping hurdles. She cleared a pretty big one on Thursday.
In front of friends and family at Fairview Elementary School, McKnight signed a letter of intent to run track for Georgetown College. -
Several area schools will be represented at State Track and Field championships
Local track and field athletes are ready to try to carry region competition success onto the state stage.
Several area schools will be represented at this weekend’s State Track and Field championships at the University of Louisville. The Class 2A meet is set for today at 3:15 p.m. and Class A competition is scheduled to begin on Saturday at 8:15 a.m. -
EAST KENTUCKY BASKETBALL HISTORY: Reflections on 'The Shot'
Paintsville High School legend J.R. VanHoose is also an eastern Kentucky basketball sports historian. This is one in an ongoing series of stories.
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