Michael Ingraham was dominant from the mound and at the plate for the playoff-bound Government High School Magic yesterday, to lead them to an impressive 16-4 victory over the C.I. Gibson Rattlers. From the mound, Ingraham scattered just four hits and struck out seven in three innings of work. He was relieved by Akeem Newton who struck out three more Rattlers' batters and sealed the deal on their third win against just one defeat in the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA). The Rattlers senior boys dropped to a 1-2 win/loss record. "We feel great," said Ingraham. "We played a good game and we came out on top.
The game is made up of hits, runs and errors and we just executed today. I know that we will definitely be in the playoffs. We just have to focus once we get there. C.V. gave us our only loss and they won the Austin Knowles tournament, but we're confident that we could beat them. We just have to play a little harder. We're still committing too many errors and allowing too many runs to score. We have to cut down on that. Once we cut down on those errors, we'll be fine," he added. Ingraham was dominant from the mound, but it was at the plate where he really did some damage.
Ingraham had two three-run home runs in four at-bats, the last of which gave the Magic a 15-4 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Newton struck out two of the four batters he faced in the bottom half of that frame to seal the win for the Magic as they stopped the Rattlers via the 10-run mercy rule. Magic first baseman Jamal Taylor also had a strong day at the plate, as he finished 2-for-3 with a couple RBIs. "This was just one of those games when everyone put the bat on the ball, got on base and scored runs," said Taylor.
"We had a lot of practice and it paid off. We all worked on our games, and now we're ready to go to the playoffs and hopefully win a championship." The Magic were eliminated from last years's GSSSA senior boys' softball playoffs by the C.V. Bethel Stingrays, and lost their only game this year to those same Stingrays. Be that as it may, they are confident that they will be able to beat the Stingrays when the playoffs roll around this year. As for the Rattlers, shortstop Wilton Johnson is still confident that they will be able to make the playoffs. Randon Swaby suffered the loss for them yesterday.
"We just have to concentrate on playing harder and fielding better," said Johnson. "Our offense fell down a bit, but we're confident that the bats will come around. Once we get to the playoffs, I'm sure our offense will pick up, and we'll be okay." The Rattlers have just one win on the year, and will really have to pick it up if they intend to make the playoffs this year. So far, the defending champions C.R. Walker Knights, the Stingrays, the Magic and the C.C. Sweeting Cobras appear to be the front-runners. In GSSSA senior girls' softball play yesterday, the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins turned back the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves, 11-4.
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