Red Sox trounce East Newton at home

Ralph Pokorny/Daily Mail Former Nevada High School player Jerrod Alexander pitches during the Red Sox 20-1 win Monday over the East Newton Rockets. [Click to enlarge]

The Nevada Red Sox AAA squad made their return to Lyons Stadium Monday evening as they hosted the East Newton Rockets. The Red Sox came into the night hoping to bounce back from a less than favorable showing at the Carl Junction tournament and that's exactly what they did.

The Rockets came into the night with a 2-0 record in district play this season, sporting strong victories over both Aurora and Seneca, but looked dramatically overmatched as the Red Sox took the victory by a final score of 20-1 in five innings.

The Red Sox were able to get on the board first on the night as East Newton starter Colby Brown began the night struggling with his control. The Red Sox were eventually able to load the bases and quickly bring home their first run with just one out in the frame after a one-out triple by Ryan Austin was followed by two walks and a hit batter.

The Red Sox went on to take advantage of a key error by second baseman Cody Bunch to plate two more runs in the inning and take an early 3-0 lead heading into the second inning. Nearly every hitter in the Nevada lineup saw the plate in the opening frame and starter Jerrod Alexander quickly found himself able to work with a comfortable lead.

The Red Sox didn't take long to put together another rally and open up their lead even more as Bunch's troubles continued. Austin knocked in the first run of the inning with an RBI infield single, but the real damage didn't come until later in the inning.

After Austin Baldwin drew a walk and Alexander was hit by a pitch for the second time in as many plate appearances to load the bases with one out, Taylor Scotten nearly cleared the bases with a two RBI single to left that was quickly followed by a three-run home run by Tyler Dobson. By the time all was said and done and the inning came to a close, the Red Sox had added six runs to their lead on five hits in the frame, taking a 9-0 lead into the third.

Alexander continued to dominate the game on the mound through the early innings for Nevada, facing the minimum in a near-perfect outing through three innings.

Alexander had some tough luck at the plate throughout the day, but was still able to help his own cause in the bottom of the third as he knocked in the first two runs of the frame for Nevada. That was just the beginning, however, as the Red Sox went on to score a total of four runs on five hits to take a 13-0 lead after just three innings of play.

Even with the game well in hand, the Red Sox weren't quite done yet. Austin knocked in his second run of the game with an infield single that turned out to be just the beginning of yet another Red Sox rally.

By the time the inning came to a merciful end, the Red Sox had added seven more runs to their lead and had a very strong victory via the run rule well within their grasp. The Rockets were able to find the scoreboard once in the game in an RBI single to left field by Deijane McBride, but Alexander recovered quickly, striking out the next batter to end the game and give Nevada a 20-1 victory in five innings.

"We finally started hitting the ball," Red Sox head coach Jim Rayburn said. "I've been waiting four or five ball games for that."

The Red Sox are scheduled to be in action again on Wednesday as they host Aurora before going on a nearly week-long break between games, leading up to what will undoubtedly be a very tough contest against Lee's Summit West.