State-ranked Wildcats gain 15th win of season; defeat rival Lions
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The undefeated mark of the current Division IV No. 2 state-ranked Whiteoak Wildcats stayed perfect on Thursday night following a competitive showdown with Southern Hills Athletic Conference and Highland County rival Fairfield.
The Wildcats chipped away at the host Lions throughout the game, eventually winning by a 6-2 score as both the Wildcats and Lions had to use two pitchers in the game, but it was the starting pitching of Evan Brill and the two-out relief effort of Trever Yeager that slammed the door on the Lions’ comeback attempt.
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“It was good for us to have to fend off Fairfield in the fifth inning, and our kids needed to see that,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “Brill was excellent through 6.1 innings, and Yeager came in and got his fourth save, and that is his job. That is his role, and he knows that and he likes it. He says it is fun.”
Whiteoak (10-0, 15-0) and Fairfield were scoreless at the end of the first inning when in the top of the first Traeten Hamilton drew a lead-off walk on a full count, but from there Fairfield starting pitcher Matthew Spears settled down and struck out the next three batters to keep the Wildcats scoreless.
In their half of the first, Fairfield didn’t make things easy for the visiting Wildcats with Austin Setty reaching first base with a lead-off infield single, followed by Cody Gragg having an infield single of his own. The Wildcats settled down, as did Fairfield, with WHS forcing out Setty in a run down between first and second base, then following a walk by Sam Buddelmeyer, the next two batters were retired by Brill with a called third strike and a fly ball to right field.
After both teams left a combined three runners on the bases in the first inning, WHS scored the first run of the game in the top of the second with a lead-off double to right-centerfield by Chase Carraher — on an 0-2 count — followed by Mason Lehr being hit by a pitch with two strikes against him.
Next, the bases were loaded on a full count walk forced by Brill, and with the bases loaded, Chase Butler hit a sacrifice fly to right field, plating Carraher from third base for the 1-0 lead. FHS bounced back with Spears striking out the next two batters, keeping the score a one-run game.
“Chase was clutch offensively, especially early on, and Traeten was clutch late,” Veidt said.
Fairfield was retired in order in the bottom of the second by Brill, and Whiteoak continued their momentum with two runs crossing the plate in the top of the third for a 3-0 lead as Yeager and Caleb West both scored runs. The runners were batted in off an RBI single down the third base line by Carraher to score Yeager, and Lehr gained an RBI with a ball hit into the outfield past second base, plating West as the inning saw the Lions make a pitching change by bringing Buddelmeyer to the mound with one out following the two runs being scored.
After holding the Lions scoreless in their half of the third, Whiteoak added another run in the top of the fourth, beginning with Hamilton leading off with a two-strike single to left field. Hamilton eventually stole second and third bases, with the steal of third base coming with a head-first slide. Following the first out of the inning, Hamilton was batted in with a double hit to right-centerfield by Yeager, making it a 4-0 advantage.
Fairfield left one runner on the bases in the bottom of the fourth with Andrew Dingey reaching the bases with a single to left field. but two straight pop ups in the infield ended the inning. In the top of the fifth, the Wildcats left a runner on the bases too, as a lead-off double to centerfield by Lehr was for naught as the next three batters were retired by Buddelmeyer with a strikeout, a sacrifice bunt and a ground out to the shortstop.
Fairfield scored their two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, with both runs coming with two outs. After the first two batters of the inning were recorded by strikeouts, Ethan Grooms reached first base on an error, and Setty took first base after being hit by a pitch. Both runners eventually scored, with one of them being batted in by Gragg with a single.
Whiteoak added two more runs, coming in the sixth and seventh innings, with Hamilton rounding the bases in the sixth and scoring a run on a passed ball. In the seventh, Brill scored off a groundout by Hamilton to make it a four-run lead.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Setty drew a walk with one out, but the game eventually ended with a pop up to the shortstop as Yeager gained the save by gaining the final two outs on the mound.
Brill was the winning pitcher for the state-ranked Wildcats, pitching 6.1 innings. Brill allowed two runs (none earned) on three hits and four walks. Brill finished the game with seven strikeouts.
Yeager gained the save for the Wildcats.
The loss was charged to Spears, who pitched 2.1 innings in his start. Spears allowed three runs (three earned) on four walks, three hits and one hit by pitch and struck out five batters.
Buddelmeyer pitched 4.2 innings of relief for the Lions, where he allowed three runs (three earned) on five hits, two walks and one hit batter. Buddelmeyer finished with four strikeouts.
“Hats off to their kids (Fairfield),” Veidt said. “They fight and they fight and they fight, and you know when you play them it is not going to be easy.
“It came down to who had the rally. We answered pretty well after the jam in the fifth, and if they get a base hit late, it is a whole different ball game. This was a good win for our kids against a quality team, and it is always a battle here.”
The Wildcats finished with eight hits in the game, with a combined six of those hits off the bats of Hamilton, Carraher and Lehr. Carraher finished 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Lehr went 2-for-3 with a hit by pitch and two RBI. Hamilton was 2-for-4 with two runs, four steals and one walk.
Having one hit each for WHS were Yeager (1-for-3 with one walk, one run and one RBI) and Brill (1-for-2, two walks, one run).
The Wildcats chipped away at the host Lions throughout the game, eventually winning by a 6-2 score as both the Wildcats and Lions had to use two pitchers in the game, but it was the starting pitching of Evan Brill and the two-out relief effort of Trever Yeager that slammed the door on the Lions’ comeback attempt.
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“It was good for us to have to fend off Fairfield in the fifth inning, and our kids needed to see that,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “Brill was excellent through 6.1 innings, and Yeager came in and got his fourth save, and that is his job. That is his role, and he knows that and he likes it. He says it is fun.”
Whiteoak (10-0, 15-0) and Fairfield were scoreless at the end of the first inning when in the top of the first Traeten Hamilton drew a lead-off walk on a full count, but from there Fairfield starting pitcher Matthew Spears settled down and struck out the next three batters to keep the Wildcats scoreless.
In their half of the first, Fairfield didn’t make things easy for the visiting Wildcats with Austin Setty reaching first base with a lead-off infield single, followed by Cody Gragg having an infield single of his own. The Wildcats settled down, as did Fairfield, with WHS forcing out Setty in a run down between first and second base, then following a walk by Sam Buddelmeyer, the next two batters were retired by Brill with a called third strike and a fly ball to right field.
After both teams left a combined three runners on the bases in the first inning, WHS scored the first run of the game in the top of the second with a lead-off double to right-centerfield by Chase Carraher — on an 0-2 count — followed by Mason Lehr being hit by a pitch with two strikes against him.
Next, the bases were loaded on a full count walk forced by Brill, and with the bases loaded, Chase Butler hit a sacrifice fly to right field, plating Carraher from third base for the 1-0 lead. FHS bounced back with Spears striking out the next two batters, keeping the score a one-run game.
“Chase was clutch offensively, especially early on, and Traeten was clutch late,” Veidt said.
Fairfield was retired in order in the bottom of the second by Brill, and Whiteoak continued their momentum with two runs crossing the plate in the top of the third for a 3-0 lead as Yeager and Caleb West both scored runs. The runners were batted in off an RBI single down the third base line by Carraher to score Yeager, and Lehr gained an RBI with a ball hit into the outfield past second base, plating West as the inning saw the Lions make a pitching change by bringing Buddelmeyer to the mound with one out following the two runs being scored.
After holding the Lions scoreless in their half of the third, Whiteoak added another run in the top of the fourth, beginning with Hamilton leading off with a two-strike single to left field. Hamilton eventually stole second and third bases, with the steal of third base coming with a head-first slide. Following the first out of the inning, Hamilton was batted in with a double hit to right-centerfield by Yeager, making it a 4-0 advantage.
Fairfield left one runner on the bases in the bottom of the fourth with Andrew Dingey reaching the bases with a single to left field. but two straight pop ups in the infield ended the inning. In the top of the fifth, the Wildcats left a runner on the bases too, as a lead-off double to centerfield by Lehr was for naught as the next three batters were retired by Buddelmeyer with a strikeout, a sacrifice bunt and a ground out to the shortstop.
Fairfield scored their two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, with both runs coming with two outs. After the first two batters of the inning were recorded by strikeouts, Ethan Grooms reached first base on an error, and Setty took first base after being hit by a pitch. Both runners eventually scored, with one of them being batted in by Gragg with a single.
Whiteoak added two more runs, coming in the sixth and seventh innings, with Hamilton rounding the bases in the sixth and scoring a run on a passed ball. In the seventh, Brill scored off a groundout by Hamilton to make it a four-run lead.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Setty drew a walk with one out, but the game eventually ended with a pop up to the shortstop as Yeager gained the save by gaining the final two outs on the mound.
Brill was the winning pitcher for the state-ranked Wildcats, pitching 6.1 innings. Brill allowed two runs (none earned) on three hits and four walks. Brill finished the game with seven strikeouts.
Yeager gained the save for the Wildcats.
The loss was charged to Spears, who pitched 2.1 innings in his start. Spears allowed three runs (three earned) on four walks, three hits and one hit by pitch and struck out five batters.
Buddelmeyer pitched 4.2 innings of relief for the Lions, where he allowed three runs (three earned) on five hits, two walks and one hit batter. Buddelmeyer finished with four strikeouts.
“Hats off to their kids (Fairfield),” Veidt said. “They fight and they fight and they fight, and you know when you play them it is not going to be easy.
“It came down to who had the rally. We answered pretty well after the jam in the fifth, and if they get a base hit late, it is a whole different ball game. This was a good win for our kids against a quality team, and it is always a battle here.”
The Wildcats finished with eight hits in the game, with a combined six of those hits off the bats of Hamilton, Carraher and Lehr. Carraher finished 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Lehr went 2-for-3 with a hit by pitch and two RBI. Hamilton was 2-for-4 with two runs, four steals and one walk.
Having one hit each for WHS were Yeager (1-for-3 with one walk, one run and one RBI) and Brill (1-for-2, two walks, one run).