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Wildcats claw way past Lions for SHL win

Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — It was a pitchers' duel with few hits and even fewer runs. Once the final pitch was thrown for a called third strike, it was the Whiteoak Wildcats who were declared the winners, clawing their way past rival Fairfield, 3-2 Thursday at WHS.

In a pregame ceremony, the Whiteoak baseball program honored graduate and former Detroit Tiger Kip Young with a plaque that will be placed at the backstop of Wildcat Field, honoring the retiring of his No. 21 jersey he wore as a Wildcat.

After Young tossed the first pitch before the game, some of the magic of the former major leaguer must have rubbed off on starting pitchers Gage Carraher of WHS and Zach Cox of FHS, as they combined to allow just 10 total hits.


[[In-content Ad]]Carraher earned the win for the Wildcats, pitching seven complete innings. He allowed two runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks. Carraher tallied a total of 13 strikeouts, snapping a four-game winning streak by the Lions.

The win by the Wildcats is their sixth straight win, as they began the year with three straight losses. WHS stands at 6-3 overall, and 4-0 in the SHL. FHS falls to 2-2 in the SHL and 5-3 overall.

"We just need to continue to get comfortable offensively," Whiteoak head coach Chris Veidt said. "We faced good pitching early on this season, and we saw a good pitcher (Thursday).

"When the season started, pitching was ahead of our hitting, but we've caught up. I want to credit (Zach) Cox of Fairfield because he did well against us. I knew when we got up early it wouldn't be a cake walk. Credit Fairfield, they adjusted and did what they had to do."

Cox pitched six innings for the Lions, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk. Cox struck out six batters.

All three of the Wildcat runs came in the bottom of the first inning as they opened their half of the inning with a lead-off triple by Michael Smith, who sent the ball to deep left-centerfield. After Smith slid head-first into third base, Luke Taggert reached first on an error in right field with one out, allowing Smith to score the first run of the game.

The error allowed Taggert to end up standing at second base, and he moved to third on a base hit by Carraher. One a 3-2 count, Jesse Bradds singled, scoring both Taggert and Carraher for the two RBIs.

Both Fairfield runs were scored in the top of the fourth, with Cody Bennett and Kyle Carson crossing home plate.

The fourth began with a lead-off walk by Bennett who moved to second on a passed ball. Following a strikeout thrown by Carraher, Carson reached on a base hit, scoring Bennett. A base hit by Cox moved Carson closer to scoring, and he eventually scored on a double by Joey Wilson.

"We have notoriously started slow in each contest. We had two errors in the first inning, and we also let the ball fall around us," FHS head coach Ritchie Butler said. "We gave Whiteoak extra chances, and we can't do that.

"We just had that one bad inning, and both pitchers each threw a good game."

This game was about the pitching, with Carraher striking out the first four batters he faced, including three consecutive called third strikeouts in a combo of the first and second innings. In all but one inning, Carraher, a junior, recorded at least one strikeout.  He ended the game the way he began ... by striking out the side, with two of the three strikeouts ending on a called third strike.

Carraher finished with 113 total pitches.

"Gage did what he needed to do," Veidt said. "He pitched in relief earlier this week, and then he threw 30 pitches. He closed well tonight, and overall he was sharp."

Carraher (2-0) was able to adjust and work out of jams, including when the Lions threatened to score the game-tying run in the sixth, as they had three batters reach the bases. Carraher worked out of the bases being full, with back-to-back strikeouts for the second and third outs of the inning.

Cox also continued his productive season, recording at least one strikeout in all but one of the six innings he pitched, including gaining two of his six strikeouts in the bottom of the fourth.

At the plate, WHS had five players gain one hit with Smith, Carraher and Bradds all going 1-for-3, and Doc Seip going 1-for-2. Justin Emery was 1-for-1 with a sacrifice fly. David Deer was 0-for-1, but recorded a walk.

"In any ballgame there are so many scenarios that can occur, and (Thursday) we played with the lead. We let up a little in the middle of the game, but it's all a mentality."

Gaining the five FHS hits were Carson (2), Cox, Wilson and Chase Fulkerson. Ryan Bates and Gage Montgomery each drew a walk.

WHS will host the annual Wildcat Invitational, with games played at Whiteoak Field and Shaffer Park in Hillsboro, starting on Saturday at 10 a.m.

FHS will play in a doubleheader on Saturday at Portsmouth-Clay.

BOX SCORE
FHS     000 200 0 — 2 5 2
WHS    300 000 x — 3 5 3

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