Cape baseball thumps Central 11-1 in five innings
Cape scored nine runs in the fifth inning to power past Sussex Central 11-1 in a five-inning mercy-rule win. Cape moves to 5-2 on the season, while the Golden Knights fall to 1-5.
Luke Johnson and Jackson Ostroski each went yard in the fifth, with a double by Ryan Gibbons and a single by Grant Evans. It was the third dinger in two games for Johnson. It was Ostroski’s first of the season.
The Northern Division rivalry heated up in the third inning when Central scored on a single by Javon Toppin and was driven in by a sac fly.
Cape answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Logan Dominick singled, moved to third and scored when Luke Johnson reached on an error. Johnson scored on a Mason Fluharty single.
The bottom of the fifth found the Vikings’ bats catching fire again, as Cape battled around the order. Gibbons doubled twice, Johnson homered, Fluharty singled, Ostroski homered, and Evans singled and scored on Gibbons’ second double. Dominick scored to end the game on a Central pitcher’s balk.
“We capitalized on a few errors they made in the outfield,” said Cape coach Ben Evick. “The floodgates opened in the fifth when Luke Johnson hit his three-run home run. Mason Fluharty jumped on the next pitch and they changed pitchers. We told Jackson Ostroski to take advantage right away while the pressure is on them. He blasted a first-pitch fastball for a two-run homer.”
Johnson finished with three RBIs, while Ostroski and Gibbons added two apiece. Evans and Fluharty each drove in one.
Roanoke College-bound Parker Brown went the distance on the mound, scattering four hits with two strikeouts. Central’s run was unearned.
“Parker did a nice job on the mound throwing strikes, putting them in play,” said Evick. “Our bats are really starting to come alive and our defense continues to improve. We have two more tough games this week with IR and Appo coming to our place.”
Indian River came to Chris Short Field Thursday, April 11, while Appoquinimink will make the downstate drive to Cape Friday, April 12.
