A strong wind to left field was not a welcome friend to hard-throwing Atlee pitcher Taylor Sandefur in the Raiders’ Spring Break Tournament opener against St. Christopher’s. The Saints’ Campbell Henkel and Casey Fox combined to take three pitches from Sandefur and send them over the left field fence for home runs netting seven RBI in route to a 8-3 win over home standing Atlee.

  Played under sunny but chilly conditions, the tone was set for Atlee the first time they came to bat. After the Raiders took down the order in the top of the inning, Atlee designated hitter Ryan Farrar sent a single up the middle then stole second to get into scoring position. A ground-out to the pitcher by Conner Overton allowed Farrar to reach third with one out. When Sandefur was walked it appeared the Raiders were in good shape to score early.

  But a blistering liner up the middle by Austin Young was cleanly fielded by the Saints to catch Sandefur at second. Farrar crossed the plate but Sandefur was called for interference because he did not drop after the out and thereby blocked the throw to first. The field umpire declared Young out at first nullifying Farrar’s run.

  “That killed us and the thing is we had a good thing going,” said Atlee head coach Kevin Elrod explaining what happened. “Austin hit one up the middle that I never even saw and I don’t think Taylor even saw it either,” Elrod said. “And before you can blink Taylor was standing on second base and they turn the double play. The rule states you’ve got to go down. That was tough. I don’t think he interfered with the guy but it was so fast Taylor never saw it.”

  Atlee once again retired the order in the top of the second and Jordan Underwood reached after a bad throw to first. But Underwood made the mistake of taking off for second when Keeler popped up and the Saints turned an easy double play, the first of four in the game.

  St. Christopher led off the top of the third with a walk of Drew Distanislao. Then with one out, Scott Regester drove a double up the middle to put Saints’ runners at second and third. A shot to short by Casey Fox resulted in a high throw to first that allowed both Distanislao and Regester to score and put the Saints up 2-0. Next up, Campbell took a fastball from Sandefur and rode the wind far over the left field fence to push in Fox and make the score 4-0.

  Atlee trimmed into the lead in the bottom of the third but once again fell victim to their own miscues. T.J. Daneker and Brent Bettinger were both walked to lead off then advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Farrar. 

  A single from Overton drove in Daneker then Sandefur did the same for Bettinger cutting the Saints’ lead in half 4-2.

  The Raiders appeared as if they were in good shape to add more runs but Young sent a shot at Saints’ second baseman Brent Attkisson for an easy double play to end the inning.

  After taking down the order in the top of the fourth, Atlee once again got their first batter, Underwood, on base via walk. But like Sandefur in the inning before, Keeler sent a liner directly at Attkisson for an easy double play, the third of the game by the Saints.

  In the top of the fifth, St. Christopher broke the game open. With Regester on base and one out, Fox blasted a shot over the left-center wall to put the Saints up 6-2. Next up, Henkel drilled his second homer of the game over the left field fence for a 7-2 lead.

  Atlee threatened to comeback in the bottom of the inning when Farrar led off with a walk then stole second. With one out, Sandefur was hit by a pitch then Young walked to load the bags. A single to left by Underwood allowed Farrar to score, trimming the lead to 7-3. But with bases loaded, St. Christopher’s brought Henkel to the mound and he struck out the next two Atlee batters to close the door on the comeback and the Raiders did not threaten again.

  St. Christopher added one more in the top of the seventh to create the final margin.

  In the Spring Break Tournament, Atlee went 1-3 but Elrod saw improvement from the opening game. “The key here is that we hit the ball and that’s what I’m proud of,” he said. “We struggled a little bit at the plate and today they hit the ball.”

  Elrod, who took over the program this year, looks to create a solid foundation for Atlee baseball by gradually solidifying every aspect of the players’ games. “I teach the game, it’s 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical,” he said. “The thing of it is you’ve got to know what to do when the ball comes to you. And that’s on every situation offense and defense and that’s the thing teaching the game is all about. You can’t teach them the physical aspects, you’ve got to teach them the mental aspects and work with them on the mental aspects. The kids are coming along. They’re learning.

  “My thing is, just as long as we’re hitting the ball I don’t care where it goes,” he said. “You can’t teach base hits. You can teach contact and that’s all I’m looking for in these kids, making contact and putting the ball in play.”
  In the opening day nightcap against Benedictine, Atlee scored 11 runs in the first two innings en route to a 12-1 win.

St. Christopher’s…... 004 030 1 — 8 7 1
Atlee ......................... 002 010 0 — 3 5 2
Fleming, Henkel (6), Atkinson (7) and Freeman; Sandefur, Bettinger (6) and Keeler.  W: Fleming. L: Sandefur.
Highlights: Campbell Henkel (SC) 2 for 3, 2 HRs; Casey Fox (SC) HR; Jordan Underwood (A) 2 for 3; Taylor Sandefur (A) 10 K’s. Records: St. Christopher’s 8-2; Atlee 3-3

Benedictine…............. 100 00 —  1 2 0
Atlee ............................ 651 0x — 12 8 0
Highlights: Chris Dyer (B) 1 for 2; Ryan Farrar (A) 2 for 3, 9 K’s; Taylor Sandefur (A) 2 for 3, HR; Jordan Underwood (A) 2 for 2; Brent Bettinger (A) 2 for 3
Records: Benedictine 6-3; Atlee 4-3

Matoaca .................... 180 12 — 12 10 1
Atlee .......................... 000 02 —  2   3 3
Howerton and Chamberlain; R, Bettinger, B. Bettinger (3) and Keeler. Highlights: Andrew Cheatham (M) 2 for 4; Nathan Chamberlain (M) 2 for 3; Mitch Keeler (A) 1 for 3. Records: Matoaca 7-2; Atlee 4-4

Dinwiddie ................. 003 200 0— 5 7 0
Atlee .......................... 000 010 3— 4 5 5
Christopher and K. Jones; Freeman, Walsh (6) and Keeler. Highlights: Dallas Fried (D) 2 for 4; Chad Jones (D) 2 for 4; Taylor Sandefur (A) 2 for 4; Ryan Farrar (A) 1 for 3. Records: Dinwiddie 9-1; Atlee 4-5