Talk about four innings that were a true test of manhood.

Helped by five hitters being hit by pitches, the Lawrence Raiders continued to impress at the Al Ice Memorial Woodbat Classic on Friday night with an 11-1, four-inning, run-rule victory over Dodge City at Hoglund Ballpark.

The HBPs, along with four walks, helped explain an outing in which the Raiders tallied 11 runs on just six hits. Nevertheless, Lawrence is 2-0 in the tournament heading into tonight’s anticipated matchup with Claremore, Okla.

“I just want to beat those guys,” said Raiders third baseman Cory Cooper, who was on the Free State High team that lost, 4-0, to Claremore in April at the 4-State Festival. “They’re just an all-around good baseball team, and they just do everything well.”

After spotting Dodge City an early 1-0 lead, the Raiders blew up in their half of the second inning.

The Raiders scored six runs thanks in large part to fielding errors and nifty baserunning. But they also got their hits in off DC starter Eric Blatnick. The biggest of them all came from Cooper, who started the festival of runs, taking an outside fastball deep into the right-center gap to plate Jake Hoover after a lead-off walk.

Lawrence's Lorenzo Ricketts welcomes teammate Cory Cooper back to the dugout after Cooper scored a run. Cooper was 2-for-2 with a triple, RBI and two runs scored in the Raiders' 11-1, four-inning, run-rule victory over Dodge City at the Al Ice Memorial Woodbat Classic on Friday at Hoglund Ballpark.

“I heard the catcher moving back there, so I kind of thought it was going to be an outside pitch,” Cooper said. “So I just went with it.”

The scoring came in two large spurts for the Raiders, who scored their final five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning despite only having one hit. Reliever Jason Cook plunked three Lawrence batters after climbing the mound.

“Their pitcher was having some trouble throwing strikes, and we took advantage of some walks,” Raiders coach Kevin Tucker said. “Mix in a couple of good at-bats with some hits, and we had big second and fourth innings.”

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Even better for the Raiders was the quick work starter Travis Blankenship made of his foe. After a couple of minor blips in the first inning, he finished off Dodge City while throwing just 45 pitches. Couple that with the meager 54 pitches it took Jake Hoover to defeat Ark City on Thursday, and the Raiders will have a full stable of fresh arms for Sunday. With a victory today, the Raiders guarantee themselves a spot in the semifinals, though they still could get in should they stumble against Claremore, who lost to Ark City, 6-2, Friday.

“It’s awesome,” Tucker said. “Hopefully on Sunday we can have everybody rested up and ready to go.”