By Ray Sarvis
FPS Correspondent
When you play a schedule within a conference, you’ve got to take the good with the bad. And this past week, Malvern got to fatten up on two games against Inter-Valley Conference Northern Division cellar-dweller Tuscarawas Central Catholic.
The Saints are not a particularly strong team right now, as they are still in search of their first victory of the season. And that elusive win remained out of reach after facing the Hornets, who swept TCC with a 13-1 road win on April 14 followed by a 5-0 home victory two days later.
In the first game between the two teams, Malvern teed off on the Saints’ pitching, amassing 12 hits in a five-inning victory shortened by the 10-run rule. The Hornets did most of their damage in the first inning, when they jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and again in the fourth, when they rang up seven runs to take a commanding 12-1 lead.
Jaxon Jones went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in four runs for Malvern, while Tyler Cobb was a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a pair of stolen bases. On the mound for the Hornets was Cam Good, who scattered three hits over five innings while striking out five.
Two days later, TCC (0-11, 0-6) traveled to Malvern and was shut out by Jared Witherow, who picked up his first win of the season to go along with his 12 strikeouts. The senior hurler flirted with a no-hitter, but the Saints finally broke it up with two outs in the seventh for their only hit of the game.
The Hornets, who improved to 2-2 in the IVC North, didn’t require much run support with that kind of pitching, but they received plenty from the likes of Darnell Jackson, who was 1-for-1 with two RBIs and a stolen base. Jones went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored, and Good was 2-for-4 with a stolen base.
Riding high after those two wins, Malvern traveled to Sugarcreek to take on Garaway in a nonconference matchup. Even though the Pirates had only three more hits (10-7) than the Hornets, they outscored them 15-5 in a game that got out of hand early.
Malvern scored the first runs of the game and led 2-0 after the top of the first inning. But the Pirates quickly responded with three runs of their own before piling on nine more in the second inning for an imposing 12-2 lead. After the Hornets scored three runs in the fourth, Garaway (4-2) added two in the fifth and one more in the sixth to trigger the 10-run rule.
For Malvern, Bryson Casler went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Dakota Barger was 1-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs. On the mound, Jones took the loss, giving up four hits and six walks over an inning and two-thirds.
The Hornets had one more game on their schedule — a nonconference contest at home against Wellsville. The Tigers drew first blood with a run in the top of the first inning, but that was all they would score off Good, who scattered eight hits and two walks over seven innings while fanning eight. With the win, Good improved to 3-1 on the season.
At the plate, Good was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while Jackson was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored for Malvern (4-5).