Mercy-Rule Madness: Newberry Baseball Dominates Eastside

By Raegan Churi and Hailey Livesay

The Class 1A Newberry Panthers run-ruled the 4A Eastside Rams, 20-4, in a high school baseball game Monday. 

A Steady Start

In the top of the first inning, the visiting Panthers (16-3) were faced with inconsistent pitching from the Rams, allowing Jayden Holcombe to be walked by Eastside starter Hunter Burgess. Taking advantage of multiple wild pitches, Holcombe scored the first run of the game.

Heading into the bottom of the first inning, Newberry also faced some defensive challenges. Newberry pitcher Zack Marriott walked two players prior to Frank Mercado’s line drive to left field that loaded the bases. Zach Bargar’s base hit drove in three runs. Bargar seized his opportunity to steal and crossed home plate to give Eastside a 4-1 lead. 

A Comeback

Newberry started their offensive momentum when Ben Beck hit a line drive along the left field line. Following Beck’s lead, Trey Priester rocketed a similar hit sending Beck home. Switching up tactics, Brycen Ochs’ successful bunt advanced Priester to second. Holcombe’s hit over the left fielder’s head loaded the bases. To close out their half of the inning, Braxton Brady popped the ball up to center field to drive in Newberry’s third run of the game. 

After Marriott walked two consecutive batters in the second, he exited the game. Josh Morison took his place on the mound to save the day. After a caught foul ball and a strikeout, the second ended with Eastside scoreless. 

Panthers Prowl

The Panthers stayed motivated and put the Rams (2-13) through a long inning. Newberry’s ambitious moves paired with Eastside’s pitching and fielding challenges pushed the Panthers ahead 13-4.

Struggling to keep Newberry from scoring more runs, Eastside also had a pitching change. Ohm Patel replaced Burgess, who then took over first base. Unfortunately for the Rams, these efforts weren’t enough to keep Ochs from batting in another run, increasing the NHS lead. 

Morison struck out three consecutive batters for a 1-2-3 inning to secure Newberry’s position for a sure-fire comeback.

An Early Ending

To start off the fourth inning, Tavis Honeycutt hit a solo home run on the first pitch. Ochs continued his hot hitting with a shot deep in the left center field gap. Randy Crudup hammered a ball down the left field line. The offense continued to thrive, skyrocketing the score 20-4. 

Morison struck out three more batters in the home fourth, giving him a total of seven strikeouts to bring about the mercy rule. 

Up Next

This isn’t the last time you’ll see these teams go head-to-head. They play again at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Newberry High School for the last game of the series