When Christ Church rolled into Landrum on Friday night, a different version of the Cardinals was waiting for them.
Head coach Ray McCallister made some drastic changes to his lineup. Landrum lost to Southside Christian 11-9 on March 13 after making six errors.
The changes worked. Landrum showed a bounce in its step en route to a 6-2 victory.
“I moved them around tonight and they responded in a positive way,” he said. “The kids went about their business.”
That business on Friday night was winning.
The Cavaliers harassed Cardinal pitcher Kaleb Kuykendall early. Jeff Benedict singled to start the game and then scored on a Bennett Nalley single.
Landrum responded in the bottom half of the inning. T.J. Fincher singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a Jon Humphries ground out. He then scored on a Kuykendall ground out.
The score remained 1-1 until the bottom half of the third inning. Thomas Rabatie walked and then moved to third on a Gus Wofford single. Josey Smith drove in Rabatie on a single. Gavin Bishop followed with a walk and then Trevor Walker drove in two runs on a double.
“It was an adjustment at the plate that helped me tonight,” Walker said. A tip from assistant coach Justin Henson gave Walker a little more bat speed. He finished the night 2-for-3 with two RBIs. The Cardinals added two more runs in the seventh inning on singles from Rabatie and Bishop.
Wofford had a big night at the plate for Landrum. The senior was 4-for-4.
“I was sitting back and trying to drive the ball,” Wofford said. “Our whole team did good hitting the ball tonight.”
Kuykendall pitched a little more than he normally does with spring break approaching. The senior threw 107 pitches. It had no effect on him. Kuykendall came out in the seventh inning and struck out the side.
“Once he got going from the fourth inning on, he did a great job,” McCallister said. “He’s doing what we need him to do.”
The Cardinals will play at St. Joseph’s on Tuesday night in a big region matchup.