Whiteoak advances to district finals; defeats Belpre

CHILLICOTHE — For the most part, it was business as usual for the No. 1 state-ranked Whiteoak Wildcats in the Division IV SE District Semifinals, though the game did have its tense moments for the now 25-win ball club.

Belpre didn’t make life easy at times for Whiteoak (25-2), as a couple miscues for the home team at VA Memorial Stadium might have caught them off-guard, but the Wildcats recovered and eventually rolled along to a 12-3 victory Tuesday night. The win advances the Wildcats to the district finals on Wednesday at VA Memorial Stadium, where they will face No. 2 seeded Waterford at 7:30 p.m.

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Both the Wildcats and Golden Eagles waited out two weather delays, but once the game began, the Wildcats were ready to go, especially in the second inning as that is when they scored their first runs of the game.

"We had that long delay, and the kids were chomping at the bit a little, but we settled down and got some clutch hits in the second inning, ”Whiteoak head coach Chris Veidt said. “Traeten Hamilton, Chase Carraher, Ryan Roberts played well all night long.

"Our bullpen with Hamilton and Lehr was good and we did a great job defensively, except in the fourth inning there where we started out a little rough, but Evan Brill came back and got two strikeouts there and a popup. That was huge there in the fourth inning where things were still in question."

Though the Wildcats drew only a walk in the first inning, the second inning was much different for the Wildcats, with the No. 1 state-ranked Wildcats putting five runs on the board for a 5-0 lead. There would have been an additional run, if not for a player being called out after the umpire ruled he missed a base.

Evan Brill began the inning with a walk on four straight pitches and went to second base on an error by the pitcher on a pickoff attempt at first base. Following an out, Trever Yeager forced a full-count walk. On the walk, the ball four went past the catcher, allowing Lehr to advance to third base. Yeager later stole second base, then moved to third on a base hit by Casey Nace, who sent the ball past second base to score Brill for a 1-0 lead. Nace ended the game at 2-for-3 with one RBI, two runs and two steals. 

Next, Chase Butler walked to load the bases with a full-count walk, and Ryan Roberts knocked in two runners with a triple to the outfield, scoring Yeager and Nace. Butler was called out after reaching home following an umpire’s call that the runner didn’t touch a base, for the second out of the inning and a 3-0 score. Roberts was 1-for-2 with one walk, two RBI, two runs and one steal. In all the Wildcats totaled seven steals in the game. 

Two more runs eventually crossed the plate for the No. 1 seeded Wildcats in the bottom of the second after Traeten Hamilton hit a triple of his own to right-centerfield to score Roberts, and Hamilton scored on a passed ball at home plate for the 5-0 advantage. For the inning, the Wildcats sent nine batters to the plate for five runs, four walks and three hits. Hamilton finished 1-for-3 with a walk, one RBI and two runs. 

No. 5 seeded Belpre (13-13) answered the five-run inning of Whiteoak with a run of their own in the top half of the fourth as Jesse Collins opened the inning with a triple to centerfield on a 2-2 count. That was followed with a fielder’s choice where the shortstop threw home, but the runner beat the throw for a 5-1 score. After an infield error gave Belpre two runners on the bases with no outs, the Wildcats had a mound visit with Coach Veidt and the momentum went back to the Wildcats, as the ensuing three batters were retired in order to end the inning.

The game got even more exciting in the fourth inning with the Wildcats scoring three runs and taking an 8-1 lead.

Whiteoak opened the inning with a double down the third base line by Nace. Following an out and Nace stealing second base, Roberts walked and eventually stole second. With two outs on the scoreboard, Chase Carraher singled to right field, scoring Nace. Next, Roberts scored a run, then Carraher — who stole second and moved to third on a passed ball — scored Whiteoak’s eighth run of the game on another passed ball for an 8-1 advantage. Carraher went 2-for-3 with one walk, two RBI, two runs and three steals. 

Belpre added two runs in the top of the fifth, beginning with Kole Knotts being hit by a pitch to start the inning, then advancing to second base on a passed ball. Knotts scored on a triple to right field from Jacob Davis — on a 3-1 count — for the first run of the inning. Next came a fly ball to right field for a sacrifice fly RBI to score Davis from third base for the 8-3 score.

Miscues hampered the Golden Eagles in the bottom of the fifth, and the Wildcats were more than happy to take the free bases. Yeager reached first base following a single to the outfield with one out. Next, a pickoff attempt resulted in Yeager taking not one, but two bases, standing on third base following the errant throw. Yeager made it a 9-3 score by taking home on a passed ball.

The Wildcats weren’t finished scoring runs, adding three more in the bottom of the sixth with Hamilton, Carraher and Brill crossing home plate for the 12-3 lead. In the inning, Hamilton walked with one out, then Carraher doubled to right field to score Hamilton. With two outs, Brill walked and Lehr doubled to centerfield to score both Carraher and Lehr.

"I think ultimately the thing that made the biggest difference tonight was our overall ability to apply pressure on the base paths. They threw out our first guy trying to steal, and I went to the dugout and said ‘guys, we’re going to have to do that about eight or nine more times if we’re going to keep going,’" Veidt told The Highland County Press. "We did, and I think that even played a factor in terms of them trying to hold runners, throwing balls away, throwing wild pitches and the like.

"I really was proud of the kids, at this level, to be able to run the bases like that. That’s something we’ve committed to this year. Our goal was 200 steals, and we’re over that now after tonight. Early in the year a couple times, especially when we played here, we got kids thrown out in some big games and they kind of got gun-shy. We said ‘no, we’re going to keep going and just keep doing what we do,’ and it worked out for us tonight."


Brill was the winning pitcher for Whiteoak. In five innings, he allowed three runs (three earned) on three hits, two walks and one hit batter. Brill collected five strikeouts in the win.

Hamilton and Lehr pitched two innings of relief, taking the mound in the top of the sixth and seventh innings, where they struck out the side in order in both innings. 

"I think we struck out the last six there. We got Evan to 96 pitches and he did his job there in five innings. We went to Traeten for that inning and Mason for that inning, and they were both sharp," Veidt said. "We can bring them back tomorrow, and that’s what we plan to, if someone else gets up in their pitch count. Just a great team effort, overall, really."