ND baseball opens with win

By Will Dickins
The North Delta baseball team opened their season Monday night with a win against West Memphis Christian School 9-3.  The Junior Varsity team tied 7-7.
The Green Wave jumped to a two run lead in the first and scored in all but one inning.  They cruised through the game with ease as they received a solid outing on the mound by Luke Noah.
Behind, him the new and improved defense committed zero errors.
With defense, especially outfield, being one the focal point of the offseason, the hard work paid off in the first game against someone not wearing the same jersey.
North Delta scored two in the first, two in the third, three in the fourth, one in the fifth, and one more in the sixth inning.
Luke Daniels was an RBI (runs batted in) machine for the entirety of the game earning five on three hits.  He was seeing the ball well and capitalizing.
West Memphis’s punch came in the fourth inning on a two out, two RBI double.  The score was 4-2.
North Delta knew they needed some insurance runs in the bottom half.  They needed a “crooked number” on the scoreboard.   The Green Wave answered with three runs.
Forrest Pierce and Jones Montgomery walked before Brandon Henson singled to load the bases.  With ducks on the pond, Daniels stepped up to the plate and fired a shot past the shortstop for a two RBI single.  Luke Noah followed with a single of his own to add one more run.
West Memphis never recovered and North Delta added two more runs to put them away for good.  Daniels came in to pitch in the sixth inning with a four run lead and finished out the game.  Noah started and allowed three runs on only three hits with six strikeouts in five innings of work.  Daniels gave up no hits, no runs, and struck out five of seven batters faced.  It was a good day on the mound with the flawless defense behind him.
Another concern was replacing Tyler Holland on defense.  Montgomery moved to short stop, but that meant Zach Dugger would start second base as a freshman.  He handled the pressure with ease with five putouts whether it was through air or on the ground.
Relentless hitting and a spotless defense helped North Delta start the season with a 9-3 victory.
NDJV 7, West Memphis 7
Before the Varstiy game, the Junior Varsity team played and tied 7-7.  It was a three inning game packed with runs.  North Delta had one bad inning in the second as West Memphis scored six runs on five walks, one error, and one hit.  If not for the one outlier, North Delta probably would have won.
Nonetheless, the Green Wave found themselves down 4-7 in the bottom of the second inning.  They knew they had to get things going quickly, and they did.  They scored two runs in the bottom of the second with Drew McCool, Jordan Cox, and Eli Robb all getting singles.  They then added two more in the third inning to tie the game.
Brandon Henson then entered the game on the mound and shut West Memphis down.  With the game being an hour and fifteen minute game, ballgame was called before North Delta could come in and retake the lead.
Robb (double), Shawn Payne, Forrest Pierce, McCool, and Cox all had one hit in two at bats to round out the hitting for the Green Wave.