Wildcats win 6th consecutive game; collect victories against Fayetteville, Symmes Valley

The Whiteoak Wildcats improved their current winning streak to six games this past week with wins over Southern Hills Athletic Conference opponent Fayetteville, followed by a Wednesday win against Symmes Valley at VA Memorial Stadium in a non-conference game.

Against the Rockets of Fayetteville, the Rockets scored all five of their runs in the fifth inning for a 5-0 lead over Whiteoak. The Wildcats didn’t fold; rather, they went on a scoring run of their own with six unanswered runs in the final two innings, with three runs in the bottom of the sixth and three final runs for the walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The game was ended when Abraham Flader had the game-tying hit in bottom of the seventh, followed by Wyatt Ruark having the walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh as well.

“We don’t win this game without the senior leadership of Jacen Applegate, Zander Roades and Wyatt Ruark,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “They took the game into their own hands in the sixth inning. Our resilience was impressive.”

Whiteoak finished the game with four hits and one error, while the Rockets had five hits and three errors.

In the four-hit win by Whiteoak, half of those hits were off the bat of Flader, who was 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Zander Roades was 1-for-3 with two runs, a double, and one walk. Also with a hit was Ruark, who was 1-for-4 with one RBI.

The Wildcats also had two runs scored by Jacen Applegate, who walked three times and collected a stolen base.

Caden Butler also forced a walk, and he collected one steal. Izayah Clift finished with a walk. Christian Hite had one RBI and a walk. Jacob Kiley finished with an RBI, a walk and was hit by a pitch. Jonah Michael ended the game with two runs and a walk.

Roades was the winning pitcher, as he went the distance by pitching all seven innings. He allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and no walks with 12 strikeouts.

BOX SCORE
FAY    000 050 0 — 5 5 3
WHS    000 003 3 — 6 4 1

Wednesday (April 23) at VA Memorial Stadium, the Whiteoak baseball team earned a non-conference win over the Symmes Valley Vikings by a 10-5 score.

WHS struck first with a two-run first inning, then added six runs in the bottom the third for an 8-0 lead. The top of the fourth saw SVHS score two runs, but the Wildcats came back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning for a 10-2 lead. Symmes Valley scored three runs in the top of the seventh, but the Wildcats were too strong and won by five runs.

Whiteoak totaled 11 hits, with Jonah Michael finishing 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs and two RBI. Michael also collected two stolen bases.

Also with a three-hit game was Zander Roades, who was 3-for-4 with two runs, one RBI and a steal.

Jacob Kiley finished 2-for-4. Caden Butler was 1-for-2 with a run and two RBI. The Wildcats also had Abraham Flader finish 1-for-4 with one run and a steal.

Jacen Applegate totaled one run, a walk and he was hit by a pitch. Christian Hite ended the game with a run. Wyatt Ruark scored a run and forced one walk.

“Jacen Applegate was efficient on the mound, rebounding well from a rocky fourth inning,” Veidt said. “Zander Roades, Jonah Michael and Jacob Kiley led us offensively with multiple-hit games. Caden Butler had his most complete game of the season. Wyatt Ruark was sound defensively for us.”

Applegate was the winning pitcher, tossing six innings where he allowed two earned runs on six hit and a walk, while collecting 11 strikeouts.

Michael pitched one inning where he allowed no runs, no hits and walked one batter.

The wins improved WHS to 7-3 overall.

BOX SCORE
SVHS    000 200 3 — 5 7 3
WHS    206 020 x — 10 11 1