The River Ridge was firing on all cylinders in the first inning against Elma Friday, pouring in 10 runs to guide the Hawks to a 13-10 non-league victory.
Jalon Fulton started the rally with a leadoff walk before Josh Middleton, Bono Larkin and Aaron Leu all singled, with Middleton’s hit scoring Fulton. Kaiee Kopp plated two with a single, Kellen Lentz tallied an RBI, and Fulton returned to the plate to drive in two. Middleton added his second and third RBIs of the inning with a two-run single.
In the second inning, D’Vaughntae Sellman ripped an RBI triple to extend the lead to 11-0. But Elma didn’t back down quietly. The Eagles contributed four runs in the third and four in the fourth, while River Ridge added one in the third.
Down five runs in the sixth, Elma tacked on two runs to make it a three-run game, but Felix Lopez, pitching in a varsity game for the first time, shut down the Eagles offense for the remainder of the game. He pitched the final 3.2 innings, earning two strikeouts.
Larkin continued his offensive tear, registering his third consecutive three-hit game. This week, he finished 9 of 12 with four singles, four doubles, a triple, six RBIs, one walk and eight runs scored.
River Ridge honored its seven seniors, who all played in Friday’s game, on senior night. The Hawks recognized Aaron Leu, Kaiee Kopp, Donald Pringle, Jalon Fulton, Conner Kramer, Josh Middleton and Bono Larkin.
River Ridge (10-9, 6-9 Puget Sound League) has one more game on the schedule: Monday at home against Silas (12-5, 11-4 PSL) with a shot at the postseason still alive. The Hawks need to beat Silas and need Capital to lose to Bellarmine on Monday to have a chance at the district tournament.
