The Valwood baseball team fell behind early and couldn’t recover in a 17-7 loss against the Southland Academy Raiders in Americus on Tuesday night.
Southland rushed out to a 7-0 lead after the first inning and led 11-0 after two innings.
Hunter McCain hit a grounder to third and scored a Raiders runner, Ross Minick singled in a second run and George Wall singled in another runner to make it 3-0. With two outs on the board, Minick scored on a single and Luke Law hit a three-run home run before Valwood could close the frame.
The Valiants trailed 12-0 when they rallied with a seven-run fifth inning. Dane Fafard doubled home Sam Martin and Caleb Burns. Mac McRae singled in a run and JM McRae singled in another run to cut the deficit to 12-5 with no outs.
Tayte Barry’s single scored Valwood’s final run before Southland shut down the frame.
JM McRae had two hits with an RBI and a run scored for the Valiants. Mason Williams took the loss on the mound, pitching one inning, allowing six hits for seven runs with no strikeouts and no walks.
Harrison Bell earned the win for the Raiders, surrendering six hits for five runs with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Southland totaled 17 hits. Tyler Kennedy had three hits for three runs with an RBI. McCain had three hits with two RBIs and three runs scored, and Minick had three hits with four RBIs and two runs scored.
Valwood hosts Southland at 5 p.m. Friday.