Jeff Watson

jwatson@thecherawchronicle.com

For years, the Braves and Rams have battled for years on the baseball field. The two have traded blows and in the past several meetings, the Rams walked away victorious.

The first round of this year's match-up was won by the Braves in dominating fashion. The Braves defeated the Rams 16-7 in Chesterfield on Mar. 13.

"We've had some pretty good battles over the past several years," Braves head coach David Byrd said. "The first few years we were able to come out on top, but over the last year or so we've come out on the wrong side of those games. We just told our guys that we need to start winning these games. We told our guys that it's time to start playing this game like it means something and it does."

The Braves were able to pick up an early run in the first inning and Byrd says that scoring an early run set the tempo. Byrd says that later in the game, the Braves had the momentum and were able to capitalize.

"In the later innings we were able to get some two-out hits and get some guys on base and across the plate," Byrd said. "Those hits are heartbreakers for another team. Those were big hits for us. I thought we had a great offensive performance."

The Braves have had a good bit of offensive output during the past three games. On Mar. 12, the Braves defeated Marlboro County 18-1. On Mar. 14, the Braves traveled to take on Lee Central. The Braves defeated the Stallions 13-3.

Byrd says that he's proud of the way his team is swinging the bat.

"We have put a lot of focus on hitting and being aggressive at the plate," Byrd said. "We've worked a lot on situational hitting and doing hitting drills. You don't go out trying to get double-digit runs, you just try to hit the ball the best you can."

The Braves will host Central today in a key region match-up.

The Rams won 2 of 3 games last week. The Rams picked up key region wins against Lewisville and North Central.

The Rams defeated Lewisville 13-12 on Mar. 11, led by Richie Dixon and Josh Zearfoss' three hits each. Dixon had six RBI's and Zearfoss collected three RBI's. Jeremy Curtis picked up the win in relief.

On Mar. 13, North Central fell to the Rams 8-2 with Dixon picking up the win on the hill . Kelly Butler led the way with two hits and Dakota Croxton was 1-1 with two RBI's.

The Rams, 2-0 in the region, will face Great Falls at home tomorrow at 6 p.m.