Red Sox retire jersey, fall to Cassville

Monday, June 14, 2010
Photos By Eric Wade/Daily Mail Surrounded by current and former Nevada Red Sox players as well as former Red Sox assistant coach Jason Irwin and current head coach Jim Rayburn, former catcher Chris Harris' parents, Steve and Rhonda Harris, and sisters, Stephanie Breshears and Lisa Shouse, were presented with a display case full of photos as well as Harris' catcher's mitt, jersey, cap and a ball in honor of the retirement of the former catcher's No. 9 jersey Saturday morning. Harris died in a traffic accident on Dec. 20, 2009.

By Eric Wade

Nevada Daily Mail

Amid mixed emotions, the Nevada Red Sox AAA baseball squad took to the field at Lyons Stadium to take on perennial district front-runner Cassville Saturday afternoon. Heavy on the minds of everyone on the team and in the stands was the memory of a former player, Chris Harris. Prior to Saturday's contest, the Red Sox gathered with the Harris family on the field to retire the former catcher's No. 9 jersey.

Nevada's Ross Means pitches in the first inning of Saturday's game against Cassville.

"That was tough," Red Sox head coach Jim Rayburn said. "It's a good thing, but it was tough standing there."

Harris, 19, was a catcher for the Red Sox and Nevada Tigers baseball teams before he was killed in a car accident in which the 1997 Buick he was driving hit a culvert and overturned on Route E west of Milo, on Dec. 20, 2009. He finished the 2009 American Legion baseball season with a .224 batting average, with 18 RBI and 21 runs scored.

The Red Sox hosted a barbecue after the retirement ceremony as well, the proceeds of which went to the Chris Harris Scholarship Fund. The meal was free of charge, but free-will donations from those in attendance netted the fund a total of $774.

The Chris Harris Scholarship Fund was started by the Red Sox organization in Harris' memory. The scholarship is currently set aside for a Red Sox player who has chosen to attend college, but efforts are being made to extend eligibility for its funds to any Nevada High School athlete.

Once the retirement ceremony and meal came to a conclusion, the Red Sox were forced to turn their attention back to business as they took the field in what was arguably their toughest challenge of the year. Things turned even more sour for the Red Sox from there as Cassville wasted little time getting to Nevada starter Ross Means on its way to a 5-1 victory in a rain-shortened contest.

Cassville drew first blood in the contest as Means struggled with his control right from the start. Means and his defense were able to make a quick recovery, however, and put down the threat with minimal damage and Cassville took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the first.

Red Sox left fielder Taylor Scotten refused to let his team go down without a fight, however, and was quickly able to knot the game back up at 1-1 in the home half of the frame with a solo home run to left. That home run -- Nevada's first hit of the day -- was all the Red Sox could muster in the frame, sending the game to the top of the second tied at 1-1.

Cassville wasted little time reclaiming the lead for the final time of the day in the second as they got to Means once again, putting up one run on one hit and taking advantage of Nevada's first error of the day. That run was all Cassville needed as it took a 2-1 lead out of the frame and never looked back.

Cassville put up two more runs in the fourth as the rains began. The two teams attempted to play through a light rain shower and Cassville took advantage of the defensive struggles the wet conditions caused, plating its final run in the fifth inning.

Before the Red Sox were able to mount a potential late-game rally, the rain became too much to handle at the game was called off as the bottom of the sixth was about to begin. Cassville finished the game with five runs on five hits in six innings to Nevada's one run on three hits to take the rain-shortened victory by a final score of 5-1.

The Red Sox were scheduled take on Harrisonville Monday, but that contest was called off due to weather.

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