The Charlestown Pirate Baseball team improved to 8-9 on the season with an solid 10-3 victory over Floyd Central (8-6) while hosting the Highlands Friday evening.  Coming off dominating wins over Crawford County and Clarksville, the Pirates had to make a decision Friday night.  Either look past the tricky non-conference match-up for something more obvious; or, take it the Highlanders, Class 4A depth and all.  The Pirates apparently chose the latter; while hitting the ball with greater confidence.  Charlestown scored four runs in the opening inning, then five more in the next two innings to put the game out of reach quickly.  The Highlanders scored all three of their runs during the first two innings, despite recording seven hits; the Pirates scored their ten runs off eleven hits, despite committing five errors.  Kelly Rider (4-3) got the complete win from the mound, retiring five Floyd batters and walking only two.  Tanner Wesp finished the game 2-2 from the plate including a double and RBI, while Brandon Love, finished 2 for 4 with four RBI’s.  Zach Whitten added another double and two RBIs.  “Great team win tonight!  Kelly did a great job tonight on the mound and our offense came up with some good timely hits”, commented Head Coach Ricky Romans.  The Class 3A #11 Pirates now set their sights on Monday’s home match up versus Mid-Southern Conference arch-rival and Class 3A #2 Silver Creek.  First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm.

In what has been a surprising Pirate season thus far, Charlestown traveled to Clarksville Thursday night in search of some new momentum against a familiar conference foe.  Pirate Sophomore Jacob Doherty (1-0) got the start on the mound Thursday; and then made good use of the opportunity by booking his first varsity win in as many attempts.  Charlestown (7-9 & 2-2 MSC) scored nine runs on nine hits while committing two errors; Clarksville (1-12 & 1-4 MSC) scored four runs, all in the third, on eight hits.  Senior Tanner Wesp made good use of his time at the plate, finishing 2-4 with a home run, a double and three RBI’s.  Senior Dewey Cardwell went 2-3 at the plate, scoring twice after a double and three RBI’s; while Junior Brandon Love finished 2-2 with an RBI.  “Good conference win on the road tonight.  A few young guys have really done a nice job taking advantage of their opportunities lately as we continue searching for an identity and consistency”, commented Pirate Head Coach Ricky Romans.  The Pirates host Floyd Central Friday evening at 6:00 pm at the CHS Baseball complex.

Senior Pirate Austin Smith (1-2) got the complete game win from the mound Tuesday evening as Pirate Baseball defeated conference foe Eastern High School 8-2 in seven innings.  Charlestown (5-3 & 1-0 MSC) scored four runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings to dominate the visiting Musketeers 8-2.  The Pirates scored their eight runs off eight hits, including a Tanner Wesp home run and a Zach Ramirez double; while committing one sole error.  Smith struck out eight Eastern (1-3 & 0-1 MSC) batters, allowing two earned runs.  Zach Ramirez finished the game two for three at the plate with an RBI, while Dewey Cardwell finished two for four with two RBI’s.  “It’s nice to get off to a good start in the conference. Austin threw well tonight and we put together a couple of good innings offensively. Still have a way to go but we are making strides”, commented Pirate Head Coach Ricky Romans.  Charlestown Pirate Baseball travels to Corydon on Thursday for a 6:00 pm first pitch.

Hours after debuting at #11 in this week’s Class 3A Coaches Poll, the Pirate Baseball team hosted the Class A #17 South Central Rebels Monday evening at Charlestown High School.  Excluding the March 29th set back versus an upstart Columbus East team, the Pirates (4-1) not only beat a second straight ranked team in as many starts; but also displayed some early season pitching depth, seeing their fourth pitcher in five games do damage.  Devon Krueger (1-0) got the win from the mound Monday, striking out seven Rebels, while allowing five hits in 6 1/3 innings.  After a scoreless three and half innings, the Pirates hit their gear scoring twice in the fourth, once in the fifth, and five times in the sixth while cruising to a 8-1 non-conference victory.  Brandon Love finished the game 2 of 4 from the plate with an RBI; while Justin Farris scored two Pirates while going 2-3 from the plate.  “Tonight was a good win against a quality team. South Central always plays a good brand of baseball and it’s good to see our guys play as a team to get the win tonight”, commented Pirate Skipper Ricky Romans.   The Pirates travel to New Albany Tuesday for a 5:30 pm non-conference start verses the Bulldogs. (photo courtesy of Melissa Stewart)

Courtesy of wet fields Friday, the annual Silver Creek Invitational got rearranged, setting up two interesting weekend match-ups for the Charlestown Pirate Baseball team.   Saturday morning the Pirates hosted the Shenandoah Raiders, a Class 2A school from around Anderson, Indiana.  The Pirates, with Zach Ramirez (1-0) on the mound; recorded the 15-0 no-hitter, shut-out, scoring early and often.  Charlestown (2-1) scored nine of their 15 runs in the bottom of the first, as the Raiders (0-1) finished the game with 4 errors.  Ramirez pitched five innings and rung up three batters, as the Pirates fielded the ball efficiently throughout the game.  Charlestown’s Zach Whitten, Thomas Hardin, Zach Ramirez, and Tanner Wesp all finished the game with a double each; Dewey Cardwell went 2 for 2 from the plate, as Wesp also added 3 RBI’s and Whitten two more.

Saturday evening the Pirates hosted Preseason Class 3A #5 Griffith Panthers in their evening contest.  Pirate Kelly Rider (2-0) pitched strong from the mound (7IP), retiring five, walking one, and allowing only two hits as Charlestown’s defense and well timed hits shut the Panthers out 2-0.  Griffith, of the northern Indiana – Hammond area, dropped to 1-2 on their early season record.  Pirate Brandon Love finished the game 1 of 2 at the plate, including a double and RBI; Zach Whitten stayed hot at the plate, finishing 2 for 2.
“Great bounce back day of baseball (after posting the Columbus East set back) for us after a couple of good practices. We got great pitching, played good defense and got timely hits all day. As I told the guys, those are recipes for winning baseball” commented Pirate Head Coach Ricky Romans.  The Pirates return to action Monday, April 4th; as the Varsity will host South Central at 6:00 pm.

Thursday, Senior Charlestown Pirate Slugger Austin Smith signed his letter of intent to play NCAA Division III baseball while attending Earlham College next school year.  Austin’s parents, Tim and Allison Smith, along with Pirate Head Coach Ricky Romans, gathered for the occasion and adjacent photograph.  Austin plans to major in environmental sciences and pre-engineering while attending Earlham College, which is located in Richmond, Indiana (just East of Indianapolis).  “This is a big opportunity to not only pursue my career interests, but also play baseball at the next level under coaches who push you to do your best”, commented Austin.  “Their (Earlham Baseball) facilities are new and state of the art; which also makes it exciting”, Austin added with a smile.  The Quakers play in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference with familiar colleges such as Hanover, Rose-Hulman, Anderson, and Franklin.  “I’m very happy for Austin and his family.  With Austin’s frame, he has a lot of upside and potential.  He is a very hard worker and I’m sure he will be a great asset to Coach Sakosits and Earlham Baseball”, commented Coach Ricky Romans.  Follow Pirate Baseball, including Austin’s Senior year at www.PiratePride.BLUE/Baseball.