Staff Report

CROOKSVILLE — River Valley had its 2008 baseball season come to a close Tuesday evening following a five-inning, 14-1 setback to host Crooksville during a Division III sectional semifinal tournament game at CHS.

The 10th-seeded Raiders (2-24) fell behind 14-0 through four innings of play and managed only two hits total against the seventh-seeded Ceramics (7-13), but did manage to get a run across in the top of the fifth to avoid the shutout.

Aaron Mulholland led off the fifth with a double, then reached third on a fielder’s choice and later scored on Crooksville’s lone error of the contest to make it 14-1. Matt Goodrich had the first Silver and Black safety with an infield bunt in the third.

CHS starter T.J. Lewis went the distance for the winning decision, allowing just two hits and no earned runs over five innings of work. Devin Gibbs was the losing pitcher of record, lasting just one inning and allowing two runs — both unearned.

Mulholland entered in relief during the second and worked 2.2 innings. Clayton Curnutte retired one batter in a brief relief stint during the fourth.

CHS managed 16 hits in the contest and scored twice in the first, three times in the second and twice in the third for a 7-0 advantage through three complete. The hosts then added seven more scores in the fourth to increase that edge to 14. RVHS also had four errors in the setback.

RVHS coach John Cannon was coaching his final game with the Raiders because he will taking a teaching job in Idaho this upcoming fall. It may not have been the final ending he had hoped for, but he did say that he was proud of these kids and the progress they have made.

“When I took over two years ago, this program had one win over a two-year span and no junior varsity team. Now we have three wins over the last two years and a junior varsity program. I think the program is in a better situation now on my way out than it was on my way in,” Cannon commented. “We have made great strides in River Valley baseball over the last two years, but we still have a long ways to go.”

It was also the final baseball game for seniors Mulholland, Gibbs, Eric Caldwell, Ryan Eggleton, Ian Lewis, Chris Misner and Scot Ward.

Crooksville 14, River Valley 1

5 innings

River Valley 000 01 — 1 2 4

Crooksville 232 7x — 14 16 1

WP — T.J. Lewis; LP — Devin Gibbs.