Patient Comets walk 12 times, beat North White to advance to sectional semis

Next: vs. Southwood, 11 a.m. Saturday at North White

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Gavin Mollenkopf Pete DuVall

Baseball

Caston 11, North White 1 (5 innings, Wednesday): Gavin Mollenkopf tripled, walked three times and drove in four runs to lead the Caston baseball team past North White in a Class 1A, Sectional 52 quarterfinal at North White Wednesday.

Noah Herd and Edison Byrum each had a hit and an RBI, and Lance Hanna, Caleb Stinson and Eli Holloway added one hit each.

Three North White pitchers also combined to walk 12 batters and hit a batter.

Already leading 2-1, Holloway scored on a wild pitch, and Mollenkopf added a three-run triple in the fourth to make it 6-1.

Byrum and Mollenkopf had RBI walks, and the game-ended on Herd’s RBI single to cap off a five-run fifth.

Even though the game was played at North White, Caston was the home team.

Pete DuVall pitched a three-hitter with three walks, a hit batter and seven strikeouts. He threw 93 pitches.

Caston will play Southwood in the semifinals at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Knights edged Northfield 2-1 in Wednesday’s other quarterfinal.

North Miami will play West Central at 1 p.m. Saturday in the second semifinal.

Caston 11, North White 1 (5 innings)

North White 000 10 – 1 3 2

Caston 101 45 – 11 6 2

WP – Pete DuVall (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K)

LP – McCutchen (4 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 7 BB, 1 HBP, 6 K)

3B – Gavin Mollenkopf (CAS)