F-P_BB_batter Fayetteville-Perry High School’s AJ Roy takes a swing during action May 6, 2023, against Goshen High School at the Goshen field.
Fayetteville-Perry High School catcher Clayton Holden leaps for the throw to the plate May 6, 2023, against Goshen High School at the Goshen field.
Fayetteville-Perry High School baserunner Braedyn Crone lunges into second base during action May 6, 2023, against Goshen High School at the Goshen field.
Fayetteville-Perry High School infielder Logan Kingus, right, awaits the throw as Goshen High School’s Carson Kessen dives back into second base May 6, 2023, at the Goshen field.
There has been no real happy medium for the Fayetteville-Perry High School baseball team this season.
Still, there’s plenty to be happy about as the Rockets head toward the postseason.
The team’s tendency to play a very good game and follow it up with a very bad one was on full display during a doubleheader against Goshen High School on May 6 at the Goshen Field.
The Rockets put together a solid all-around game in the opener against the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference Warriors, winning 11-0 in five innings. True to form, they lost the nightcap, 13-3, also in a game shortened to five innings because of the 10-run rule.
“We have improved a lot this year, but the story of our season is, we play one really good game and one really bad game,” Rockets coach Chris Snider said.
The pitching was particularly good in the first game May 6. Senior Collin Mayer allowed just the one hit, with one walk and six strikeouts in the five innings.
“Collin has been one my best pitchers the last two years,” Snider said. “He gets better every outing.”
The Rockets especially needed Mayer’s solid pitching for the first four innings, as they led just 2-0 through four. But the offense came alive in the fifth inning, scoring nine runs to put the game away.
Offensively, Mayer and sophomore AJ Roy each had a hit and three RBI, with Mayer also scoring two runs and Roy one. Senior Anthony Fay added two RBI and two runs scored. The Rockets also had four extra-base hits – all doubles.
“We played really well the first game against Goshen,” Snider said. “Collin pitched a one-hit shutout, our defense was really good, and we hit really well.”
In the second game, sophomore Brayden Crone had two of the Rockets’ three hits, with senior Logan Kingus picking up the other. Pitching-wise, Roy, Crone and senior Trysten Adkins combined to give up 10 hits and eight earned runs. Defensively, the Rockets had four errors.
“We were missing two starters for the second game, so I had them playing out of position and it didn’t go well,” Snider said. “I started sophomore Brayden Crone to pitch the second game and he struggled out of the gate. He hasn’t had a lot of work and that’s on me. I expect Brayden to be one of our top pitchers the next couple years. That was his first start of the season.”
With the non-conference split, the Rockets are 9-6 overall. Entering the final week of the regular season, they were 7-3 and in second place in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Division II standings, behind Whiteoak, which is 12-1 in the division and 21-1 overall.
“In our five losses prior to the Goshen loss, the teams we lost to have a combined record of 77-14,” Snider said. “One of those teams (Whiteoak) is in our league and ranked number one in the state for Division 4 and we’ve played them twice. We’re in second place behind them with a 7-3 record.
“We have been winning against teams we should win against and struggling with the better teams,” Snider added. “I’ve told them all year that we need to be more consistent. We got the number two seed in the sectionals of the tournament. I really believe we can make a run in the tournament if we play like I know we can.”