Aaron, Arnold play utility men in Chatham baseball’s win over Appomattox
By: Davin Wilson
Tags: Win, High School Baseball, Baseball, Boxers Or Briefs, Prep

Chatham senior Matthew Arnold and sophomore Carrington Aaron played the roles of true utility guys Monday night against Appomattox County …

Chatham sophomore pitcher Carrington Aaron delivers a pitch in the top of the fifth inning of the Cavaliers’ matchup against Appomattox Monday night. Photo: Davin Wilson/River City Sports.

CHATHAM, Va. — Chatham senior Matthew Arnold and sophomore Carrington Aaron played the roles of true utility guys Monday night against Appomattox County.

The two turned in masterful performances on the bump and accounted for two-thirds of the Cavaliers’ runs in Chatham’s 3–1 victory over the Raiders in Dogwood District action.

Arnold picked up the win on the bump for Chatham (10–0, 10–0 Dogwood), throwing four innings of one-hit, shutout ball, while striking out six. The Hampden-Sydney commit also drove in the Cavaliers’ first run in the third.

“It’s awesome,” Arnold said. “I always like pounding the zone on the mound and attacking at the plate, it’s tough to do both things on the same night but when it’s clicking, I mean the train keeps rolling, the team follows along, it’s awesome.”

Aaron was just as impressive in relief, getting the save after giving up a run and striking out three in three innings pitched. He also brought in a run in the fourth with his bases-loaded walk.

“It felt good, getting everything going, getting things right and getting that big win,” Aaron said. “We wanted that win.”

Chatham senior Matthew Arnold delivers a pitch against the Raiders Monday night. Photo: Davin Wilson/River City Sports.

Aaron and Appomattox sophomore pitcher Wyatt Sisk matched each other pound-for-pound in the opening two innings, setting up the pitchers duel.

It was Arnold who got the scoring started in the third when he brought sophomore Jacob Moore around to score with his single that made it a 1–0 game.

“I got fooled earlier with the slider and I just had to see the ball up and had a fastball in and stayed through it, got the scoring, kept the momentum going and we just cruised with it from there,” Arnold said.

Chatham baseball senior Matthew Arnold and sophomore Carrington Aaron talk shop after the ‘Cavs’ 3–1 victory over Appomattox Monday night. Video: Davin Wilson/River City Sports.

The ‘Cavs kept things rolling in the fourth, plating two runs with two outs to take a three-run advantage. Freshman Alex Van Pelt got things going with his single to right and freshman Kennen Lewis followed with a walk. Senior Dixon Erwin followed with a single to center that juiced the bases and Aaron made it a two-run game with his bases-loaded, hit by pitch. Moore closed out the inning with his bases-loaded walk that gave Chatham a 3–0 lead entering the middle frames.

“That kid, he’s got a good mix,” Aaron said. “I was just trying to battle up there, get a pitch, and just get on it.”

Appomattox broke the shutout in the seventh as the Raiders started the inning with back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with no outs. Kyle Davis broke the shutout with his RBI single to center that made it a two-run game and got the Raiders hype. However, Aaron buckled down and recorded a strikeout and pop up to end the game.

“Every time we beat them it feels good,” Aaron said with a smile. “It feels the same tonight and I love it.”

“It’s always a big game, got a big crowd , we feed off the energy and I love it,” added Arnold.

The seventh wasn’t the only inning Aaron found himself in a jam as the Raiders strung together a trio of walks to load the bases in the fifth. Aaron went unfazed by the pressure, though, recording an inning-ending strikeout to keep the score at 3–0.

Arnold and Moore led the Cavaliers with a pair of hits, while Van Pelt, Lewis and Erwin recorded hits as well.

Davis drove in Appomattox’s lone run while Davis, Dale Shrock, Hunter Garrett and Matthew Napier each recorded hits for the Raiders.