Shaking off the dust and sand after a week-long hiatus for Spring Break, Cal Ripken baseball resumed its schedule Monday night; and if you were one who missed it, Monday provided some good baseball to welcome you back. In the 11-12 Division, the Orioles held off the Phillies, 4-3, to hang on to their top spot in the standings, while the East Brewton Phillies edged the Yankees 5-3. In 9-10 play, the Flomaton Rays withstood a furious comeback to edge the Indians, 8-6, before the Cardinals took over the top spot in that division’s standings when they avenged an early-season loss to the D-Backs by winning 11-1.

11-12 DIVISION
ORIOLES 4, PHILLIES 3
Riding the hot bat of leadoff hitter Jordan Williams, and a timely two-run triple by Russell Smith, the Orioles scored the final two runs of the game in the bottom of the third then held off the Phillies the rest of the way to win.
Williams, one of the toughest outs in the league, crushed a triple and two doubles off the fence to lead all hitters. He also scored his team’s first of two first-inning runs. Smith’s two-run three-bagger came two innings later and turned a 3-2 deficit into the eventual game-winning 4-3 score.
Hunter Brittain, who got the win on the mound to remain undefeated as a pitcher (he allowed just two hits while striking out 14 and walking six), added two hits, an RBI and two runs scored, while Stokes Jennings added two hits, including an RBI and a run scored. Josh Gunter had two hits as well.
With all the game’s runs being scored in the first three innings, Brittain assured himself of his third win of the year by striking out 8 of the last 10 batters he faced over the final three frames.
Lane Clark had both the Phillies’ hits, including an RBI single, and scored twice.

EB PHILLIES 5, YANKEES 3
While Phillies pitcher Joseph Booker was holding the Yankees hitters to four hits on 13 strikeouts, the combination of Caleb and Joshua Winton allowed the Phillies just three while striking out 12 in an exciting game that came down to the wire.
The Phillies had a 1-0 lead early, but plated three runs in the third inning to stretch it to a 4-0 lead thanks to a pair of walks, two errors and a timely RBI single by Booker. But the Yankees came storming back in the fourth and fifth innings to pull to within 4-3 going into the sixth inning.
Caleb Winton led the fourth off with a triple, and scored on Joshua Winton’s single to make it 4-1. An inning later, Steven McCall walked, stole second base, before both he and Baylen Parker scored when the latter laid down a bunt and raced around the bases as the ball was twice thrown in the outfield.
The Phillies finally secured the win when it scored an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI single by Matt Hutchins and Booker sat down the Yankees in order in the bottom of the inning.
Booker led his team with two hits, including a triple, while Joshua Winton was 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Yankees.

CARDINALS 11, D’BACKS 1
Todd Watson picked a good night to have one of his best games of the year. Not only was he lights out on the mound, pitching a complete-game one-hitter with eight strikeouts, but he also had an impressive night at the plate as well with three hits, a walk and two runs scored.
He was aided in the winning cause by Hunter Johnson, who had a pair of RBI singles, Logan Bush, who had a two-run single and Kyle Blevins, who added a double and single. Drew Reed added a double and Landon Qualls an RBI single.
Matt Smith recorded the only hit for the D’Backs.

FLOMATON RAYS 8, INDIANS 6
After taking a 7-1 lead into the third inning, the Rays – who scored all their runs on just one hit – held on for dear life as a furious Indians rally fell just short in a game that lasted just four innings.
The Rays scored four runs in the first and three more in the second to take the large lead, but the Indians countered with a four-run third and after Blake Jernigan had a leadoff triple and scored in the fourth, things got exciting before the Rays finally closed it out with a groundout and a pair of strikeouts.
Lyon Jernigan joined his brother Blake as the only Indians to get a hit; he had an RBI single that scored Nolan Atkinson in the third inning.