River City baseball team looks solid in opening win over Antelope

A strong hitting and baserunning performance led the River Valley baseball team to a 9-1 opening-day win against Antelope on Monday.

The scoring started in the bottom of the first after Antelope starting pitcher Aric Sinor had a rough inning, throwing several wild pitches which allowed Tyson Mayberry to make it around the bases and score for the Raiders.

Mayberry, who scored three runs in the game, said that teamwork and superior hitting were able to lead the team to victory.

[Our] teamwork finished it off,” Mayberry said. “It’s really tough out there going up against Antelope, but we had timely hits and untimely errors didn’t cost us at all.”

The first hit of the game came in the top of the third when Sebastian Martinez bunted to allow Aiden Sinor to reach second base. He was later brought home after Alan McGuire hit an RBI double two at-bats later.

However River City would continue to keep the bats hot as six hits in the bottom of the third led to three scored runs from Lance Sabatke, Mayberry and Hunter Kelly to make it 4-1.

Kelly had three runs and two RBIs and said one of the keys to maintaining consistency in this season will be the practice they put in, both with and away from the team.

“Lots of hitting, lots of (two-hour-plus) practice, and then just working out by yourself,” Kelly said. “We just put in that work and then try to try to do our thing and play River City ball.”

A two-RBI triple from Kelly, along with a score on another wild pitch, gave the Raiders another three-run inning, paving the way to the finish.

Coach Robert Martinez described the opening result as “not too bad” but cautioned his team to not be overconfident.

“I really don’t want them to get too overexcited about it because it is the first game of the year, and I know that we still do have a lot of work to do,” Martinez said. “After the game I told them the positives they did and the negatives that we still have to work on in order for us to be better.”

When asked what sets River City apart from other baseball schools in the area, Martinez pointed to the camaraderie and togetherness of the team.

“I hope it’s our teamwork and the way we stick together,” he said. “We don’t turn our backs on each other. And when somebody makes a mistake, when somebody else does something, his teammates pick him up and there’s a lot of positive talk in the dugout.”