Rippy's shutout helps chances in Champ pitching battle

Cascade coach Brandon Bassham is having on-the-job auditions to see who his top two starting pitchers will be once District 9-A competition gets underway next week.

Sophomore Ryan Rippy took a giant step toward cementing one of those slots by tossing a one-hit shutout to lead the Champions to a 10-0 win over visiting White House-Heritage on a muddy, cool Tuesday.

"I thought (Rippy) pitched well," Cascade coach Brandon Bassham said. "I thought you could see a little nerves early. He settled down and did a good job. Anytime you can go five innings and give up just three baserunners...he did a great job and gave us a great chance to win."

The southpaw struck out 10 and issued just one walk in his team's season opener.

"I plan on pitching at least three to kind of see who our No. 1 and 2 is. Especially after today, (Rippy) has the lead on No. 1," Bassham said.

Eight runs in the first two innings gave the hosts a cushion with which to work.

Five walks, a hit batsman and three big hits led to a six-run first inning as 12 batters came to the plate. Senior Michael Buck laced a two-run double. Sophomore Carson Tapley drove in a pair with a single. Senior Kyle Saylor's single plated one.

In their two-run second, Saylor added an RBI double and Buck banged home a run with a single.

"You can't ask for a much better start," Bassham said. "For opening day, I thought we played real well, hit the ball real well. We took advantage of their mistakes."

After Jay Bishop walked and stole second, Tyler Bowen drove home his fellow senior with a double to the right-center field gap for the walk-off score.

Bowen, Buck and Saylor all finished with two hits apiece.

"That's the thing that you expect out of these seniors. These four have been around for a long time, been through the ropes. They've got to lead us with 13 of our 19 guys being underclassmen," Bassham said.

J.C. Harris had the lone base knock for the Patriots.

Right-hander Saylor will get his chance to earn a spot as a district starter on Thursday when the Champs head to Fayetteville to play Lincoln County at 4:30.

Monday's weather brought about a schedule change as Cascade will head to Summertown on Friday with first pitch coming at 4 p.m.