Small schools play each other close, Raiders win big

CALEDONIA — Brandon Granger pitched seven strong innings and went 2-4 with a double at the plate as the Arcadia Valley Tigers outlasted the Valley Vikings 3-1 Thursday afternoon. Valley’s Blake Jones put forth a strong effort himself, but fell just short in the contest.

Arcadia Valley struck first, putting up a run in the first and two more in the fourth. The Vikings scored their one run in the bottom of the fourth, but that’s as close as they would get as Granger shut the door.

Granger finished the game with seven innings, giving up one run on three hits. He struck out eight while walking two. Jones also went seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits. He struck out four while walking two and also hit a batter.

Jones had all three of Valley’s hits in the game. He went 3-3 with two doubles. Arcadia Valley’s Ryan Effelman went 2-3 with an RBI. Jake Yarbrough also knocked in a run for the Tigers.

Arcadia Valley improves to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. Valley falls to 0-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference. The two teams meet again tonight at Arcadia Valley.

Bismarck 2, Kingston 1

BISMARCK — Sam Fisher pitched seven impressive innings and Matt Jackson’s two-run single in the sixth inning spoiled a terrific start for Kingston’s Brandon Merseal. Bismarck won 2-1.

Fisher allowed only one run on three hits to pick up the win. He struck out 10 while walking only two. Merseal picked up the loss despite allowing only two runs on five hits in seven innings.

Kingston took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a RBI single by Cody Portell. Kyle Smith went 2-3 at the plate for the Cougars.

Bismarck has won all three of their games to start the season at 3-0. The Indians are 1-0 in the conference. Kingston falls to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play with the loss.

Bismarck will host Valley on Tuesday. Kingston returns to action tonight when they host Grandview.

West County 8, Valle 3

LEADWOOD — The West County Bulldogs recovered from a tough opening-day loss to Central in impressive fashion on Thursday, opening conference play with an 8-3 win at home over Valle.

“We were a totally different team today, compared to Monday,” said West County coach John Simily. “Our defense was good, and we hit the ball well throughout the lineup.”

Jake Sitton went the distance for the Bulldogs, allowing five hits while striking out five batters in the win. The three runs scored against Sitton were unearned. Phill Stoll took the loss for Valle.

West County (1-1) struck quickly with two runs in the first inning, capped by John Barnett’s RBI single. The game remained close until the fourth, when the Bulldogs plated four runs.

James Abel highlighted the frame with a long two-run homer to left-center, making the score 4-0. RBI singles by Mark Merrill and Richard McCoy increased the lead to 6-0. Abel added a two-run single in the sixth inning to finish the game with four RBI.

Valle (0-2) scored all three of its runs in the top of the seventh inning. Aaron Palmer collected a RBI single during the frame, and went 2-4 on the day.

Sitton, Barnett, and Jake Blair each had two hits for the Bulldogs. Justin Nettles was 1-1 with a double.

West County will host Bunker and South Iron in round-robin style at the West County Tournament on Saturday. The opening contest between the Bulldogs and Panthers is set for 11 a.m. Valle will travel to Oak Ridge for a non-conference game on Monday.

North County 11, Ste. Genevieve 1

STE. GENEVIEVE — North County moved to 2-0 on the young season Thursday with a relatively easy conference road win. Wes Foshee struck out nine batters while scattering three hits and four walks in his first varsity start to send the Raiders past Ste. Genevieve 11-1 in six innings.

Foshee pitched all six innings for the win. Andy Miller allowed just two earned runs and three hits in four innings of work, but suffered the loss for the Dragons. Miller struck out three batters.

Adam Howard crushed a first-inning home run to put North County on top before Ste. Genevieve’s Brent Fallert tied the game at 1-1 with a RBI ground out in the bottom half.

The Raiders forged ahead with three runs in the third inning. A RBI single by Nick Eckl in the fourth increase the margin to 5-1. North County took advantage of some fielding errors by the Dragons to break the game open in the sixth inning. Foshee, Lucas Hulsey, Dusty AuBuchon, and Shea Brady each had RBI singles during the frame.

Howard scored three runs in the game and went 2-2, reaching base four times. AuBuchon went 3-4 at the plate, while Eckl went 2-3 with two runs scored. Dane Werner, Dustin Fallert, and Tyler Thompson each had singles for the Dragons.

North County will host Fredericktown on Tuesday, while Ste. Genevieve travels to Potosi.