Dover finds the zone at Lomega
Longhorn pitchers combine for 13 Ks in 8-2 victory
DOVER PITCHER Bryce Cockayne delivers a pitch during the first inning of his team’s 8-2 win at Lomega last Friday. Cockayne struck out 11 batters through 5 2/3 innings to earn the victory. [KT&FP Staff Photo]
LOMEGA SECOND baseman Noah Lentz (5) soars to catch a throw as Dover’s Kyler Williams slides in safely after hitting a double against the Raiders. [KT&FP Staff Photo]
A solid pitching performance and late offensive flurry helped Dover pick up the first win of the Pete Voth era.
The Longhorns scored seven runs over the final three frames to break open a close ballgame Friday in an eventual 8-2 victory at Lomega.
Tied 1-1 through four innings, the Longhorns got the two runs they needed in the fifth thanks largely to a flurry of three walks to start the frame.
Casen Buck led off the inning with a free pass and eventually put Dover up 2-1 on a wild pitch. Brennan Fletcher’s sacrifice bunt later made it 3-1.
That’s all Dover pitching needed.
Junior Bryce Cockayne got the start and delivered a gem.
The right-hander struck out 11 batters while walking just one through 5 2/3 innings.
After retiring the first two Raiders he faced in the sixth, Cockayne did give up three straight hits.
One was an RBI single by Breckon Murray that scored Chase Burton.
Voth went to Buck to finish out the game. The sophomore struck out the lone batter he faced in the sixth to avoid further damage, then faced the minimum in the seventh.
Cockayne and Buck combined to strike out 13 batters and scatter five hits. Only one of the Raiders’ runs was earned.
“Bryce really threw a great game for us,” said Voth, whose team started the season 0-2 before the trip to Lomega.
Buck was also big on the offensive side.
His fielder’s choice in the third produced the first run of the game.
He added an RBI single as part of a three-run sixth inning as Dover broke the game open.
He ended the game 1 for 3 with two runs scored and 2 RBIs.
Fletcher, Servando Herrera and Cockayne had 1 RBI apiece while Jonah Pendergraft and Luis Valles both went 1 for 3 and scored once.
Kyler Williams also was 1 for 3 and he scored two runs.
Five different Raiders had one hit apiece: Cameron Ramer, Lance Yost, Burton, Murray and Brenden Uhlenhake.
Yost and Murray accounted for the RBIs.
The loss dropped the Raiders to 0-4.