ALWAYS IMPROVING: Knights win ahead of showdown at Pungo

Published 4:38 pm Tuesday, April 19, 2016

MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS LEADING THE DEFENSE: Austin Roscoe throws a pitch in the seventh inning of his complete-game win. He pitched six innings of no-hit work, helping spearhead a strong defensive effort by Terra Ceia.

MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS
LEADING THE DEFENSE: Austin Roscoe throws a pitch in the seventh inning of his complete-game win. He pitched six innings of no-hit work, helping spearhead a strong defensive effort by Terra Ceia.

Terra Ceia scored runs in each of the first three innings on Monday en route to a 5-1 win. The victory evened the Knights’ record at 7-7, but the goal throughout the season has been improvement. That’s exactly what they got in the meeting with Ridgecroft.

The Knights looked strong on defense, starting with Austin Roscoe on the mound. He pitched a complete seven innings and had a no hitter until the final frame. Ridgecroft tagged him for a pair of hits and a run in the seventh, but Terra Ceia was able to hang on for the win. He finished the game with nine strikeouts and issued only one walk.

“We’ve just been working at getting better each game,” coach Roger Klaassen said. “Austin brings it when he comes to the mound. Each and every game, he’s focused and he knows his job.”

The defense behind him had an exceptional outing, too. The Knights committed no errors. Not only did they make the routine plays, but they also made some exceptional ones to stave off the visitors’ offense.

“The guys behind (Roscoe) made the plays,” Klaassen said. “That’s really big. … We’ve come a long way. We’ve got a lot of young players — some guys that didn’t even play last year. It’s just about getting the jump on the baseball instead of letting the ball play you.

“That’s what we’ve worked on each and every game, telling them they’ve got to be ready to make those plays — want the baseball hit to you. It’s been a work in progress and we’ve still got a long ways to go, but we’re getting better.”

MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS
HE’S SAFE: Johannes Van Essendelft safely slides into third base in the bottom of the sixth. His aggressive baserunning set up the Knights to score, but he ended up stranded at third.

The Knights a chance to evaluate how far they’ve come on Thursday when they travel to Pungo. The Raiders have just one loss in conference this season and boast an 11-2 overall record.

They seemed evenly match through the first half of their April 4 meeting. Pungo scored three runs in the top of the fourth, which Terra Ceia answered with two of its own in the bottom of the frame. The Raiders ran away with the game by scoring six times in the sixth and seventh innings.

The Knights committed two errors in the game that yielded two runs for Pungo. If they can minimize mistakes like they have been as of late, they’ll stand a better chance at slowing Pungo’s offense. The Raiders have tallied an astounding 141 runs in 13 games this season.

The home standing Raiders will have a lot on the line in this contest. They’re coming off a 7-1 loss at top-ranked Lawrence Academy on Monday. Lawrence Academy is a perfect 8-0 in conference this season, so the Raiders will need to beat the Knights, Ridgecroft and win their rematch with the Warriors to keep their league title aspirations alive.