Rolling Raiders
- Updated: April 7, 2023
Pleasant Valley downs West End-Walnut Grove 7-2, rolls to seventh consecutive victory since midseason coaching change; Cleburne County wins
By East Alabama Sports Today
WALNUT GROVE — Pleasant Valley’s baseball team went through the drama of a midseason coaching change, and the Raiders haven’t lost since.
Noah Johnson tripled with three RBIs, and Pleasant Valley beat West End-Walnut Grove 7-2 on Saturday for the Raiders’ seventh consecutive victory.
They improved to 13-9.
The streak started with a doubleheader sweep of Sand Rock on March 23, when Dalton Turner was elevated to interim head coach. They lost four in a row prior to the winning streak.
Pleasant Valley has averaged 15.1 runs a game over the winning streak, scoring as many as 31 in one game and 27 in another.
“Our coaching staff has preached to our guys about just being loose and having fun playing a game that they love,” Turner said. “It’s OK to make mistakes. Things are going to happen, as long as they are made giving maximum effort.
“We weren’t finishing games early on, and that’s been a key coaching point from our staff. Our guys from varsity to JV have bought in and have found some success.”
Against West End, Pleasant Valley went into the top of the seventh inning tied 2-2 West End and scored five runs to pull away.
The Raiders got two hits and an RBI from Samuel Duncan. William Underwood also had an RBI.
Braxton Salster spread out five hits over four innings, allowing one earned run and two walks with three strikeouts. Johnson pitched three innings of relief, allowing three hits and one earned run with no walks and two strikeouts.
“We were eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday, when Collinsville beat Sand Rock,” Turner said. “We’re not worried about that now. We want to set a standard in the program for future teams to live by.”
CLEBURNE COUNTY 9, RAGLAND 2: Cleburne County got nine hits and took advantage of 10 Ragland errors.
Jackson Miller and Jake LIttleton had two hits apiece. Miller drove in two runs and Littleton one. J Fuller hit a double.
Jayson Deese and N Wright combined to hold Ragland to four hits. Deese got the start and pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and four walks with nine strikeouts.
Ragland’s Ezra Hill had two hits, including a double. Brayden Byars and Ethan Courtney had an RBI apiece.
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