by James J. Lidington
Isle of Wight Academy

ISLE OF WIGHT
Ryan Boyce hurled five scoreless innings as Isle of Wight avenged an early-season loss to Portsmouth Christian, knocking off the Patriots 4-2 on Thursday in a Metro Athletic Conference game.

Boyce walked five, fanned 10 and earned the win to even his record to 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA.  IWA leadoff man Dixon Mills, the Chargers’ fourth-best hitter with a .403 average, was 2-for-3 with an RBI and scored a run.

IWA opened the scoring in the first inning when Mills singled, stole second, then moved to third when Austin Elledge and Scott Breeden walked with one out. Noah Pye then drew another free pass to score Mills to make it 1-0 Chargers. That’s where it would stay, despite several missed scoring chances for both teams. The Chargers stranded 10 runners in the first four innings; the Patriots, 10 for the game.

IWA moved ahead for good in the fifth when, with two outs, James Ricks and Aidan Williams walked. Hunter Hayden singled home Ricks and Mills drove in Williams. Hayden later scored on an error on the PCS catcher. Scott Breeden struck out with bases loaded to end the scoring.

Boyce leads all Charger hitters with a .452 mark; Breeden and Elledge follow with identical .417 averages. The Chargers improved their record to 8-5 and raised their conference record above the .500 mark for the first time at 5-4. Portsmouth dropped to 13-7.