Robert Jeffrey

Knights clash with Warriors; Advance to Section IV Semi-Finals

WINDHAM- In baseball, pitching wins ballgames and that is precisely what the Afton Crimson Knights had on their side Monday afternoon. The Crimson Knights moved past the Warriors of Windham-Ashland- Jewett in the quarterfinals of the Section IV Class D tournament by a final score of 7-4.

In the first inning of play the Crimson Knights took little time getting on the scoreboard via the route of small ball. Zach Alford who went 3 for 4 on the day with 3 runs scored, started the game off with a bunt single, and in the subsequent at-bat of Brody Oleksak stole second base. After a Colin Nabinger single allowing Alford to advance, Alford scored from third base on a Vincent Caiati sacrifice fly.

The lead wouldn’t last long as Afton’s Nabinger experience some slight turbulence on the mound. A pair of one out walks, placing runners on first and second allowed for the Warriors to plate two runs on back-to-back singles from Pettignano and Emerton to put WAJ up 2-1. Despite some early mistakes, Nabinger settled back into all-star form, striking out 14 Warrior batters, despite allowing four runs on nine hits and two walks in a complete game win.