Photo by Keith Stewart
Brody Elder rounds third and is greeted by head coach Troy Rogers after hitting a home run in just the second at-bat of the game that put Sullivan up 1-0.

Redskins demo Mattoon in baseball opener

March 25, 2015

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Friday evening’s season opener at Mattoon certainly didn’t appear to be so for the Sullivan baseball club.
The Redskins put on a stellar showcase all evening long, whether it was catcher Matthew Sparrow diving to catch a foul ball, Brody Elder smacking one over the left field wall in the game’s second at-bat, or Nick Frerichs knocking all the pins down with his grand slam in the fourth inning.
Those were just a few of the dozen or more game-changing plays that concluded with a 15-2 thumping of the typically formidable Green Wave.
“I think when these guys were freshmen, they had a couple close games with them and just barely lost to them,” said Sullivan head coach Troy Rogers, “so it was kind of nice to come out and get a win.”
It took no time at all for Sullivan to send a message.
After Alec Ballinger led-off with a strikeout, Elder stepped to the plate.
After a first-pitch ball, the senior smacked a foul to the left field wall.
If only it had stayed right.
The third pitch, Elder grabbed a hold of it again, this time driving it over the left field wall, tried and true, to put Sullivan up 1-0.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.