Whiteoak defends home field in win over Manchester
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — After both the Whiteoak Wildcats and Manchester Greyhounds were scoreless through two innings, the Whiteoak squad began their journey to gaining a Southern Hills Athletic Conference title on Tuesday night by defeating the visiting Greyhounds by an 8-1 score, taking sole possession of first place in the SHAC Division II standings.
The win by Whiteoak keeps them in the top spot of their SHAC division with a 5-1 mark in conference play, as this game saw WHS avenge a loss to Manchester from earlier this season when Manchester won by a 7-4 score on March 31.
On Tuesday night, it was a different story for the Wildcats as they scored their eight runs in a span of four innings with a three-run third, one run in the fourth and consecutive two-run innings in the fifth and sixth innings.
“We scored five two-out runs, which was good to see. We had clutch hitting there, and we had multiple guys with two hits, and Connor (Butler) was outstanding again on the mound for us,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “Defensively, we didn’t give up an earned run. That was the key of the game.
“We faced their ace again, who we’ve seen many times, and we had him up to 93 pitches by the fourth inning.”
WHS had a complete game on the mound from Connor Butler, who pitched all seven innings, allowing one unearned run which came in the top of the fourth inning.
“I thought we were solid defensively,” Veidt said. “We were solid in the infield, solid in the outfield and we turned two double plays. Connor on the mound has been good all spring, and he may have had his best stuff (Tuesday) and saved his best stuff for the biggest game yet.
“That’s good to see because when you are playing in a big game situation, and being tied for first place, plus with our only league loss to them, it was obvious this was a must-win situation. It was good to see our kids playing loose defensively, getting the clutch hits and getting outstanding starting pitching. It is a good sign.”
As for the offense of the Wildcats, the scoring began in the bottom of the third inning where three runs crossed the plate — all with two outs — starting with Kaden Moon-Stone drawing a full-count walk, then stealing second base. After the second out was recorded, Butler also forced a walk on a full count, and Moon-Stone scored off a base hit to centerfield by Carson Emery for the 1-0 advantage.
Butler and Emery followed with runs as they both rounded the bases off a single from Nate Price for the three-run advantage.
The Greyhounds scored their unearned run in the top of the fourth inning, but WHS answered with a run scored by Ian Griffith, who reached the bases off a lead-off double to left field on a full-count. He scored Whiteoak’s fourth run of the game off a sacrifice fly from Eli Roberts with one out for a 4-1 Wildcats lead.
When the bottom of the fifth rolled around, the Wildcats added to their lead as they forced a new pitcher on the mound, then scored two more runs in the inning for a 6-1 lead. Both of Whiteoak’s runs in the inning came with two outs, as Price began things with a one-out double to left-centerfield, then he eventually landed on third base off a line drive down the third baseline off a single from David Donohoo. Donohoo stole second base, and Price scored a run off a two-strike ground out by Griffith.
Landon Barnett batted in a run with two outs with a single to right field, plating Donohoo. Barnett stole second base but was left stranded on the bases as WHS built a 6-1 lead.
The Wildcats tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning where Luken Roades and Emery both scored runs. Roades initially reached first base with a one out full-count walk and went to second with a steal.
With two outs, Emery batted in Roades with a base hit to centerfield. Emery scored Whiteoak’s final run as Price took first base on an infield error, allowing Emery to score the eighth WHS run of the game.
WHS totaled eight hits in the win, with Emery finishing 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI and a steal. Price was also 2-for-4 with one run, two RBI and a steal. Barnett also had two hits as he went 2-for-3 with two steals and one RBI.
Roades finished with two walks, one run and two steals, while Butler scored one run and walked once. Donohoo collected a run, one hit and a steal. Griffith also had one hit, a walk, a steal and one run scored. Moon-Stone finished with one walk, one steal and one run, while teammate Roberts had one sacrifice and an RBI.
As for the pitching of WHS, Butler allowed the unearned run on three hits and no walks, while striking out six batters on a total of 84 pitches in the complete game. In the win, Butler faced the minimum through the first three innings, where defensively the Wildcats had a 5-4-3 double play to end the first inning. In the top of the second, Butler struck out the first two batters of the inning, and in the third he added another two strikeouts.
In the fourth, Butler allowed two hits, and he battled back from the lone run scored with a strikeout to end the inning, and in the fifth Butler faced three batters, allowing a hit, but the inning ended with a second double play by the Wildcat defense.
In the top of the sixth, Butler’s pitching saw him gain another strikeout and end the inning by forcing a groundout to second base. The final inning saw Manchester go down in order with two ground outs and a fly ball to the outfield for the win.
“We’re getting into a flow lately because we played quite a few games last week, we are getting more at-bats, defensively we are playing better defense, and I feel we have been getting solid pitching all year,” Veidt said. “The pitching aspect we spend a lot of time on early in the year, and with the weather it is tough to get on a baseball diamond and do the game-related stuff.
“Our kids are seasoned, they are confident, and they are used to being in big-game situations. We had our invitational Saturday and played great competition, and that has helped us. That is why we are where we are. We still have two big games this week with Ripley and Fayetteville, and the following Tuesday is huge when we face Eastern. We are at that point where it is fun, and I feel comfortable at where we are right now.”
[[In-content Ad]]
The win by Whiteoak keeps them in the top spot of their SHAC division with a 5-1 mark in conference play, as this game saw WHS avenge a loss to Manchester from earlier this season when Manchester won by a 7-4 score on March 31.
On Tuesday night, it was a different story for the Wildcats as they scored their eight runs in a span of four innings with a three-run third, one run in the fourth and consecutive two-run innings in the fifth and sixth innings.
“We scored five two-out runs, which was good to see. We had clutch hitting there, and we had multiple guys with two hits, and Connor (Butler) was outstanding again on the mound for us,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “Defensively, we didn’t give up an earned run. That was the key of the game.
“We faced their ace again, who we’ve seen many times, and we had him up to 93 pitches by the fourth inning.”
WHS had a complete game on the mound from Connor Butler, who pitched all seven innings, allowing one unearned run which came in the top of the fourth inning.
“I thought we were solid defensively,” Veidt said. “We were solid in the infield, solid in the outfield and we turned two double plays. Connor on the mound has been good all spring, and he may have had his best stuff (Tuesday) and saved his best stuff for the biggest game yet.
“That’s good to see because when you are playing in a big game situation, and being tied for first place, plus with our only league loss to them, it was obvious this was a must-win situation. It was good to see our kids playing loose defensively, getting the clutch hits and getting outstanding starting pitching. It is a good sign.”
As for the offense of the Wildcats, the scoring began in the bottom of the third inning where three runs crossed the plate — all with two outs — starting with Kaden Moon-Stone drawing a full-count walk, then stealing second base. After the second out was recorded, Butler also forced a walk on a full count, and Moon-Stone scored off a base hit to centerfield by Carson Emery for the 1-0 advantage.
Butler and Emery followed with runs as they both rounded the bases off a single from Nate Price for the three-run advantage.
The Greyhounds scored their unearned run in the top of the fourth inning, but WHS answered with a run scored by Ian Griffith, who reached the bases off a lead-off double to left field on a full-count. He scored Whiteoak’s fourth run of the game off a sacrifice fly from Eli Roberts with one out for a 4-1 Wildcats lead.
When the bottom of the fifth rolled around, the Wildcats added to their lead as they forced a new pitcher on the mound, then scored two more runs in the inning for a 6-1 lead. Both of Whiteoak’s runs in the inning came with two outs, as Price began things with a one-out double to left-centerfield, then he eventually landed on third base off a line drive down the third baseline off a single from David Donohoo. Donohoo stole second base, and Price scored a run off a two-strike ground out by Griffith.
Landon Barnett batted in a run with two outs with a single to right field, plating Donohoo. Barnett stole second base but was left stranded on the bases as WHS built a 6-1 lead.
The Wildcats tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning where Luken Roades and Emery both scored runs. Roades initially reached first base with a one out full-count walk and went to second with a steal.
With two outs, Emery batted in Roades with a base hit to centerfield. Emery scored Whiteoak’s final run as Price took first base on an infield error, allowing Emery to score the eighth WHS run of the game.
WHS totaled eight hits in the win, with Emery finishing 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI and a steal. Price was also 2-for-4 with one run, two RBI and a steal. Barnett also had two hits as he went 2-for-3 with two steals and one RBI.
Roades finished with two walks, one run and two steals, while Butler scored one run and walked once. Donohoo collected a run, one hit and a steal. Griffith also had one hit, a walk, a steal and one run scored. Moon-Stone finished with one walk, one steal and one run, while teammate Roberts had one sacrifice and an RBI.
As for the pitching of WHS, Butler allowed the unearned run on three hits and no walks, while striking out six batters on a total of 84 pitches in the complete game. In the win, Butler faced the minimum through the first three innings, where defensively the Wildcats had a 5-4-3 double play to end the first inning. In the top of the second, Butler struck out the first two batters of the inning, and in the third he added another two strikeouts.
In the fourth, Butler allowed two hits, and he battled back from the lone run scored with a strikeout to end the inning, and in the fifth Butler faced three batters, allowing a hit, but the inning ended with a second double play by the Wildcat defense.
In the top of the sixth, Butler’s pitching saw him gain another strikeout and end the inning by forcing a groundout to second base. The final inning saw Manchester go down in order with two ground outs and a fly ball to the outfield for the win.
“We’re getting into a flow lately because we played quite a few games last week, we are getting more at-bats, defensively we are playing better defense, and I feel we have been getting solid pitching all year,” Veidt said. “The pitching aspect we spend a lot of time on early in the year, and with the weather it is tough to get on a baseball diamond and do the game-related stuff.
“Our kids are seasoned, they are confident, and they are used to being in big-game situations. We had our invitational Saturday and played great competition, and that has helped us. That is why we are where we are. We still have two big games this week with Ripley and Fayetteville, and the following Tuesday is huge when we face Eastern. We are at that point where it is fun, and I feel comfortable at where we are right now.”
[[In-content Ad]]