WINSTON-SALEM — Despite going 1-3 and finishing in seventh place, Drew Butler and Jeremy Smith enjoyed the experience at this year’s Powerade State Games.
The pair, along with Bradley Brown, represented Richmond Senior on the Region 4 baseball team. The squad was winless in the round-robin play before knocking off Region 1 10-5 on Sunday to finish seventh in the event.
“It was a lot of fun,” Smith said. “We should have won a lot more games.”
Butler agreed with his teammate. The rising senior went 2 for 6 at the plate with eight stolen bases and scored three runs in the four contests.
“The experience was fun,” Butler said. “We lost some games we shouldn’t have lost. We were up in two games but lost in the last couple of innings.”
The tournament started Thursday at BB&T Ballpark before shifting to Wake Forest University for the final two games. The medal round contests were split between Wake Forest and Glenn High School.
Smith added the chance to play at BB&T Ballpark and Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park was “incredible.” Smith finished the tournament 1 of 5 with three stolen bases and two runs scored. One of his steals was of home.
In the contests, the starters played four innings before being replaced by a substitute for the final three. In the next contest, the roles reversed.
“You had to stay loose,” Butler said. “You really had to lock in the whole time. All the teams were pretty good, we faced some good pitching.”
One of the goals Butler had before participating was to perform well in front of the college scouts. He believes he accomplished his task.
“I think they saw I was pretty aggressive on the bases,” Butler said. “I was to lay down a bunt and use my speed.”
Brown was 4 for 8 with three runs batted in over the four contests.
— Sports editor Shawn Stinson can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 14, or by email at sstinson@heartlandpublications.com
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