Whiteoak scores go-ahead run in 6th to win sectional over Fairfield
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — One swing of the bat and patience at the plate proved to be the difference in an exceptional pitchers' duel Wednesday between the Whiteoak Wildcats and the Fairfield Lions.
Whiteoak’s Evan Brill pitched all seven innings for a complete game win in the Division IV SE District Sectional Finals against Highland County rival Fairfield, winning the third game of their three-game trilogy this season by a 3-1 score.
During the game, WHS forced a total of seven walks and had four hits. Their opponent Fairfield forced three walks and totaled five hits.
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“We had sophomores and freshmen come up in big moments,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said.
The ’Cats (14-13) broke what was a tied score at 1-1, taking the lead for good, in the bottom of the sixth inning, as it was Fairfield who just tied the score in their half of the sixth. Looking at the Wildcats, they began their half of the sixth with a walk forced by Caleb West, followed by Brandon Lowe sending the ball past the third basemen on an 0-2 count to give the Wildcats runners on first and second base.
Following what was the first out of the inning on a strikeout, Mathew Spears took over on the mound for Sam Buddelmeyer, who pitched an excellent game as well. With one out and two runners on the bases, Evan Brill was intentionally walked to load the bases in hopes that the Lions could get a force out at home or a double play.
The planning by FHS worked with them gaining a second out with a force out at home plate, but the bases were still full with Zach Harless stepping to the plate. The ninth batter in the order showed great skill at the plate, first with a 1-1 count, followed by counts of 2-1 and 3-1. After a couple foul balls, the count sat at full.
Following the second foul ball, Harless watched the next pitch sail out of the strike zone for ball four, sending Lowe home for the 2-1 lead.
During the next at-bat, the Wildcats gained their second run of the inning with Traeten Hamilton being hit by a pitch, scoring Brill for the final 3-1 advantage.
“When we get a guy with two strikes, we talk about getting three or more pitches with two strikes and trying to get an eight-pitch at-bat. Well, we did that (Wednesday) on five occasions,” Veidt said. “We had some great at-bats, and those type of at-bats forced their pitch count up.”
The lone base runner for the Lions in the seventh was Spears, who was hit by a pitch, but Brill finished the complete game start with his second strikeout of the inning, sending the Wildcats to the district semifinals.
Whiteoak’s first run of the game came in the bottom of the fourth when West reached on an error in right field that left him safe at first base on a ball hit to the outfield.
Following two consecutive outs recorded by Buddelmeyer off a ground out to third base and a strikeout, Brill drew a walk and Ryan Roberts knocked in West with a line drive single to centerfield for what was at the time a 1-0 lead.
Fairfield tied the score in the top of the sixth, beginning with a base hit down the left field line from Cody Gragg. He finished 2-for-3 with one run.
Gragg followed by stealing second base and taking third on a ground out to the shortstop by Klay Walker. Buddelmeyer helped his own cause by tying the score with a two-out RBI single to right field, with the ball streaking past the diving second baseman to score Gragg.
“You have to tip you hat to (Evan) Brill,” FHS head coach Tony Haley said. “He pitched a whale of a game, and we were battling and tied it up. The difference was they got the hit when they needed it. We know it was going to be a tough battle with Whiteoak.
“Again, credit Brill, he kept us off-balance and we didn’t hit very well. We kept fighting, and we knew it would be a good, tough fight down to the end.”
Though the excitement on the scoreboard came in the latter innings of the game, the pitching provided by both Brill and Buddelmeyer stood out and stole the show.
“Evan just got stronger as the game went on,” Veidt said. “When they had the lead-off hit in the seventh, and after we got the out at second base, it looked like Evan was motivated by the play and the situation. I swear to goodness, he was throwing two to three miles per hour harder. He amped it up, and that is what you want to see from your players.”
In his winning effort on the mound, Brill, who is a sophomore, was a part of a double play in the first inning that kept the Lions from gaining runs off the two base runners they gained with a first-inning base hit from Gragg and a walk by Walker. The top of the first inning ended with Brill catching a line drive hit back to him for the second out of the inning, with the third out coming on the ensuing throw to third base.
Buddelmeyer wasn’t outdone in the bottom of the first. After giving up a leadoff walk to Traeten Hamilton, the Fairfield ace struck out the next wto batters, then forced a fly ball out to right field.
Brill allowed just a single walk in the second inning with Andrew Dingey taking the base with two outs. In the very next at-bat, Brill stuck out the Lions on a called third strike. Buddelmeyer continued to duel with Brill as he allowed just a base hit in the inning with Casey Nace sending the ball to right field. Buddelmeyer responded with a fly ball out to centerfield and a ground out to the shortstop.
In the third, Brill came back retiring the side in order, all via groundouts, with the second strikeout coming with the help of Lowe at first base by stretching out to catch the throw for the out.
In the third, Buddelmeyer allowed the second batter of the inning, Hamilton, to reach on a walk, but left him stranded at third base with outs two and three coming with a strikeout and a fly ball to centerfield.
Not to be outdone, Brill allowed just one base hit in the top of the fourth, coming off the bat of Tucker Ayres with two outs, who eventually was left stranded at second base.
After scoring their first run in the aforementioned bottom of the fourth inning, Brill worked with his first lead in the sectional final game, and he got the side out in order, though he and the Wildcats used creativity and determination with the first out coming on a ground out to second. The creative and determined part came on the second out.
After allowing a walk, Brill threw over to first base, not once, not twice, but three straight times, with the third time being the charm, gaining the out on the throw over to first base. The inning ended with the next batter popping up to the second baseman.
In his final full inning of work, Buddelmeyer again just allowed one base runner with Gragg drawing a walk. The inning ended on a 6-4-3 double play.
For the game, Brill allowed one run (earned) on five hits, three walks, one hit-by-pitch and two fielder’s choices in seven innings. The WHS sophomore ace struck out four batters. Brill totaled 88 pitches, 51 for strikes.
In five innings, Buddelmeyer allowed two runs on four hits and five walks. He finished with five strikeouts. In all, Buddelmeyer threw 80 pitches, 47 for strikes.
Spears entered the game with no outs and runners on first and second base. In 0.2 innings of relief, he allowed one run on no hits and two walks. Austin Setty pitched 0.1 innings of relief, where he struck out one batter and allowed no runs.
Fairfield has one regular-season game left, and it will be for a co-championship in Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. The Lions are scheduled to host the North Adams Green Devils on Friday, May 12 at 5 p.m. If the Lions win, they will tie with the Fayetteville Rockets for first place in the Div. II SHAC standings. A loss leaves the Lions tied with North Adams for second place in the Div. 2 SHAC standings.
Next for Whiteoak is the Division IV District Semifinals on Monday, May 15 at 5 p.m. in Chillicothe at V.A. Memorial Stadium.
Whiteoak’s Evan Brill pitched all seven innings for a complete game win in the Division IV SE District Sectional Finals against Highland County rival Fairfield, winning the third game of their three-game trilogy this season by a 3-1 score.
During the game, WHS forced a total of seven walks and had four hits. Their opponent Fairfield forced three walks and totaled five hits.
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“We had sophomores and freshmen come up in big moments,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said.
The ’Cats (14-13) broke what was a tied score at 1-1, taking the lead for good, in the bottom of the sixth inning, as it was Fairfield who just tied the score in their half of the sixth. Looking at the Wildcats, they began their half of the sixth with a walk forced by Caleb West, followed by Brandon Lowe sending the ball past the third basemen on an 0-2 count to give the Wildcats runners on first and second base.
Following what was the first out of the inning on a strikeout, Mathew Spears took over on the mound for Sam Buddelmeyer, who pitched an excellent game as well. With one out and two runners on the bases, Evan Brill was intentionally walked to load the bases in hopes that the Lions could get a force out at home or a double play.
The planning by FHS worked with them gaining a second out with a force out at home plate, but the bases were still full with Zach Harless stepping to the plate. The ninth batter in the order showed great skill at the plate, first with a 1-1 count, followed by counts of 2-1 and 3-1. After a couple foul balls, the count sat at full.
Following the second foul ball, Harless watched the next pitch sail out of the strike zone for ball four, sending Lowe home for the 2-1 lead.
During the next at-bat, the Wildcats gained their second run of the inning with Traeten Hamilton being hit by a pitch, scoring Brill for the final 3-1 advantage.
“When we get a guy with two strikes, we talk about getting three or more pitches with two strikes and trying to get an eight-pitch at-bat. Well, we did that (Wednesday) on five occasions,” Veidt said. “We had some great at-bats, and those type of at-bats forced their pitch count up.”
The lone base runner for the Lions in the seventh was Spears, who was hit by a pitch, but Brill finished the complete game start with his second strikeout of the inning, sending the Wildcats to the district semifinals.
Whiteoak’s first run of the game came in the bottom of the fourth when West reached on an error in right field that left him safe at first base on a ball hit to the outfield.
Following two consecutive outs recorded by Buddelmeyer off a ground out to third base and a strikeout, Brill drew a walk and Ryan Roberts knocked in West with a line drive single to centerfield for what was at the time a 1-0 lead.
Fairfield tied the score in the top of the sixth, beginning with a base hit down the left field line from Cody Gragg. He finished 2-for-3 with one run.
Gragg followed by stealing second base and taking third on a ground out to the shortstop by Klay Walker. Buddelmeyer helped his own cause by tying the score with a two-out RBI single to right field, with the ball streaking past the diving second baseman to score Gragg.
“You have to tip you hat to (Evan) Brill,” FHS head coach Tony Haley said. “He pitched a whale of a game, and we were battling and tied it up. The difference was they got the hit when they needed it. We know it was going to be a tough battle with Whiteoak.
“Again, credit Brill, he kept us off-balance and we didn’t hit very well. We kept fighting, and we knew it would be a good, tough fight down to the end.”
Though the excitement on the scoreboard came in the latter innings of the game, the pitching provided by both Brill and Buddelmeyer stood out and stole the show.
“Evan just got stronger as the game went on,” Veidt said. “When they had the lead-off hit in the seventh, and after we got the out at second base, it looked like Evan was motivated by the play and the situation. I swear to goodness, he was throwing two to three miles per hour harder. He amped it up, and that is what you want to see from your players.”
In his winning effort on the mound, Brill, who is a sophomore, was a part of a double play in the first inning that kept the Lions from gaining runs off the two base runners they gained with a first-inning base hit from Gragg and a walk by Walker. The top of the first inning ended with Brill catching a line drive hit back to him for the second out of the inning, with the third out coming on the ensuing throw to third base.
Buddelmeyer wasn’t outdone in the bottom of the first. After giving up a leadoff walk to Traeten Hamilton, the Fairfield ace struck out the next wto batters, then forced a fly ball out to right field.
Brill allowed just a single walk in the second inning with Andrew Dingey taking the base with two outs. In the very next at-bat, Brill stuck out the Lions on a called third strike. Buddelmeyer continued to duel with Brill as he allowed just a base hit in the inning with Casey Nace sending the ball to right field. Buddelmeyer responded with a fly ball out to centerfield and a ground out to the shortstop.
In the third, Brill came back retiring the side in order, all via groundouts, with the second strikeout coming with the help of Lowe at first base by stretching out to catch the throw for the out.
In the third, Buddelmeyer allowed the second batter of the inning, Hamilton, to reach on a walk, but left him stranded at third base with outs two and three coming with a strikeout and a fly ball to centerfield.
Not to be outdone, Brill allowed just one base hit in the top of the fourth, coming off the bat of Tucker Ayres with two outs, who eventually was left stranded at second base.
After scoring their first run in the aforementioned bottom of the fourth inning, Brill worked with his first lead in the sectional final game, and he got the side out in order, though he and the Wildcats used creativity and determination with the first out coming on a ground out to second. The creative and determined part came on the second out.
After allowing a walk, Brill threw over to first base, not once, not twice, but three straight times, with the third time being the charm, gaining the out on the throw over to first base. The inning ended with the next batter popping up to the second baseman.
In his final full inning of work, Buddelmeyer again just allowed one base runner with Gragg drawing a walk. The inning ended on a 6-4-3 double play.
For the game, Brill allowed one run (earned) on five hits, three walks, one hit-by-pitch and two fielder’s choices in seven innings. The WHS sophomore ace struck out four batters. Brill totaled 88 pitches, 51 for strikes.
In five innings, Buddelmeyer allowed two runs on four hits and five walks. He finished with five strikeouts. In all, Buddelmeyer threw 80 pitches, 47 for strikes.
Spears entered the game with no outs and runners on first and second base. In 0.2 innings of relief, he allowed one run on no hits and two walks. Austin Setty pitched 0.1 innings of relief, where he struck out one batter and allowed no runs.
Fairfield has one regular-season game left, and it will be for a co-championship in Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. The Lions are scheduled to host the North Adams Green Devils on Friday, May 12 at 5 p.m. If the Lions win, they will tie with the Fayetteville Rockets for first place in the Div. II SHAC standings. A loss leaves the Lions tied with North Adams for second place in the Div. 2 SHAC standings.
Next for Whiteoak is the Division IV District Semifinals on Monday, May 15 at 5 p.m. in Chillicothe at V.A. Memorial Stadium.