The old adage that good pitching beats good hitting certainly continues to hold true for the Washington Pam Pack. Relying on good pitching, good defense, and an opportunistic offense, the Pam Pack defeated the Farmville Central Jaguars 4-2 Friday night in Washington. With the win, the Pack evened its conference record at 1-1 and improved its overall record to 12-5.

Even though the Pack collected only two hits against Farmville pitching, when coupled with eight issued walks and five Jaguar errors, the Pam Pack was able to scratch out four runs, which was enough for the win.

Defensively, Pack pitching controlled the Jaguar offense by allowing only three hits. The difference in the game was that Pack pitching allowed only three walks and the defense committed only two errors.

Junior Cody Godley started on the bump for the Pack and pitched effectively for his 5 2/3 innings of work. Godley gave up hits to the first two batters he faced, but after this, he settled down and did not give up another hit. For the game, Godley struck out five and walked three.

Sophomore Chris Sulc came on in the relief in the sixth inning after Godley walked two consecutive Jaguar batters. Sulc struck out the last batter in the inning then pitched in control in the top of the seventh to preserve the Pam Pack win.

The Jaguars’ chances to score were few and far between. Farmville scored one run in the first when the first two batters reached base on hits. The runners moved up one base on a sacrifice bunt, and the first run of the game scored on a deep ground out to third. The Jaguars scored one more run in the fifth behind a walk, a hit batsman and a couple of passed balls. An example of good Pack defense happened when junior Logan Little gunned out a runner at the plate who was trying to score from second on a base hit to right field.

The Pack offense scored in the first inning after junior Matt Black and Godley reached base on two Jaguar errors. Black subsequently scored on a fielder’s choice grounder. The Pack scored again in the top of the second after leadoff batter junior Tripp Barfield and sophomore first baseman Tyler Harrell both reached base via errors. Barfield scored the second Pam Pack run on a ground out to the first baseman.

The Pack scored the winning runs in the fifth inning when senior Neill Jennings singled and Little reached base on a walk. Junior Nick Everette sacrifice bunted both runners to second and third base respectively. Barfield hit a smash to the third baseman resulting in another Jaguar error. This plated the third Pack run. Harrell batted in Little for the final run with a groundout to third.

While the Pack won the game, and while the team was resourceful in manufacturing runs, Pack bats have retreated somewhat in conference play, garnering only three pure hits in the last two games. For the Pack to impact the league, hitting will need to step up. So far, and as advertised, the deep pitching staff and improved defense are carrying the team.

Next week, the Pack takes on conference foes Wilson Beddingfield on Tuesday and undefeated North Pitt on Friday, both at Washington’s Futrell Field.