Due to expected inclement weather in Orange, the Region 5A North first round baseball game between Orange County and Thomas Edison was moved up about half an hour.
Orange didn’t miss a beat.The Hornets got off to a fast start by plating four runs in the first inning, giving plenty of run support to pitcher Cannon Davies in a rain-shortened 7-1 win over the Eagles that was called after five innings due to deteriorating conditions. The win puts the Hornets into the region quarterfinals at Briar Woods on Thursday.
Will Dawson provided the spark early, getting RBI singles in each of the first two innings. He garnered three base hits on the day to lead an Orange attack that was aided by four Edison errors in the field.
“It’s tough conditions,” Orange head coach David Rabe said. “A ground ball dies in the grass, a bad hop, that can lead to extra bases. But both teams are playing in it.”
Eagles starter Colin Graf didn’t make it out of the first inning, hitting two batters while recording only two outs. The Hornets scored in each of the first three innings, answering an Edison run in the third with an RBI groundout by Tre Smith to make it 6-1.
That was plenty for Davies, who scattered four hits over five innings, walking one and striking out a pair of Eagle batters. He gave up an RBI single to Alec Roberts in the third, but other than that it was smooth sailing for the sophomore righty despite the wet conditions.
“It was tough, man,” Davies said of pitching in the rain. “You just try to get a real good grip on the ball. When you get two strikes and the defense makes plays, good things happen.”
Edison got two men on in the fifth but failed to score, while the Hornets tacked on a run in their half on a passed ball with the bases loaded, allowing Allen Seeley to cross the plate for the final margin.
“We had a really good practice yesterday and swung the bat well,” Rabe said. “We took advantage of the bad weather and the field and everything else that went on, but the first inning set the tone. That’s a positive.”
