Whiteoak Wildcats win ‘22 district championship
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CHILLICOTHE — In true Whiteoak Wildcats fashion, when trailing, the game wasn’t over, and as always, the Wildcats turned up the pressure on their opponents, which was the case Monday night in the 2022 Division IV SE District Finals against the South Webster Jeeps.
The Wildcats (21-9) trailed by one run when the bottom of the fifth began. Once the inning came to a close at VA Memorial Stadium, the story was a little different with Whiteoak taking a 6-3 lead as WHS rallied for a four-run inning, eventually sending them to a 7-3 district final win and a district title for the first time since 2018.
“We’ve worked hard on chopping wood and carrying water and trusting the process since they were there,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “They stayed where their feet were, stayed in the present. We came into the game and were down 2-0 before we even swung the bats. I told the guys ‘we’re fine’ and we do what we do, and we haven’t even hit yet. They are not going to shut us out.
“We had a lot of game left, and I didn’t have to necessarily tell them that, but they are kids and you have to reenforce things from time to time. This is a special group, and boy were they fun tonight.”
Veidt spoke about why it is special to get this current group of Whiteoak players to the regional tournament.
“It is special. It means a lot because these guys look up to and talk about the ’18 squad — everybody does — and Connor (Butler) is a senior and was on the ’19 team that lost in the district finals and ran that range of emotions,” he said. “It is great to this point they’ve been able to reach that level and looking to go beyond.”
Whiteoak’s game-changing bottom of the fifth inning was what baseball is all about, as they led off the inning with Luken Roades taking first on an infield error. Next, he was standing at second base when South Webster had a second error on an off-target throw on a pick-off attempt at first base.
Roades was standing at third base safely following a single to left field by Landon Barnett. Barnett stole second base, and both runners were crossing home plate when Carson Emery, on a 1-0 count, smashed the ball to centerfield for two RBI and put WHS in front at 4-3.
That was just the start of things for Whiteoak as Nate Price hit a double to right field on the ensuing at-bat, with a strike against him, scoring Emery from second base (he stole second), lifting WHS to a 5-3 lead.
The Wildcats’ lead went to three runs at 6-3 when with two outs Price scored on an infield error — a throw to first base — and left Eli Roberts safe at first.
“It came to the point where numerous things happened. Like I told some of my old players who were giving me a hard time during the game, I had to start giving them the hit sign, but really what happened was it was a battle of attrition,” Veidt said. “Their starting pitcher was getting deep into the pitch count, and we knew after the first inning their third baseman made a couple nice plays, but their pitcher was still over 25 pitches that inning.
“Later we got more aggressive, and we didn’t get them to 130 pitches like we like to, but early we were well on pace to do that, and it made all the difference in the world and they got into the bullpen. They stuck with their pitcher as long as they could, but because he was wearing down and because we were patient, we started hitting.”
Getting to that scenario began with Whiteoak trailing 2-0 when the top of the first came to a close. WHS eventually trailed 3-0 when South Webster added a run in the top of the third.
Whiteoak in the bottom of the third started the inning with a lead-off double by Zander Roades (on an 0-2 count), He went to third on a passed ball,and scored on a sacrifice fly to centerfield by Emery. Before the SAC, Barnett forced a walk and took second base on a steal, then to third on Emery’s sacrifice fly.
Price drew a walk to continue the inning on a full count, and Ian Griffith batted in Barnett with a single to right-centerfield, bringing WHS to within a run of tying the score at 3-2 at that point of the game. The inning ended with an out at home plate as WHS attempted to steal home.
“I’m proud of what we have done all year,” Veidt said. “That’s our 21st win. We won a SHAC championship with only one loss in the conference, and to tell you what type of battlers our guys are, we lost our very first conference game we played this year and then ran the table. It was a tough week because we lost a doubleheader to these guys in the snow by scores of 2-1 and 5-4, so it tells you how the past is the past, play present, move on, improve and think right, and they’ve done it.”
Besides all the excitement brought by Whiteoak at the plate and on the bases, the start of the game was a little bumpy with the Jeeps scoring two runs in the top of the first inning as they led off the game with a double off the bat of Connor Bender, followed by a two-out RBI single by Riley Cook on a 3-2 count.
The lead went to 2-0 for South Webster when Robert Martin batted in Cook with a double to right field, but he was thrown out to end the inning at third base.
WHS stranded two runners on the bases in the bottom of the first with Roades leading off the bottom part of the inning with a lead-off walk on a full count, followed by a five-pitch walk by Landon Barnett. The two runners were eventually out on fielder’s choice plays, and the inning ended with Emery and Price stranded on the bases.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Wildcats stranded one runner with Connor Butler left on second base after he hit a two-out single over the head of the South Webster second baseman, then stole second base.
There is also the pitching of Whiteoak in the district championship win, as Roades pitched 5.2 innings for the win. In his start, he allowed three earned runs on six hits and two walks. Roades finished with five strikeouts, including striking out the side in the top of the second, plus he had two other innings with two strikeouts.
Kaden Moon-Stone pitched 1.1 innings of relief, where he allowed no runs on one hit and no walks. Moon-Stone finished two strikeouts, both coming in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“It is very exciting to have pitching like that because of the depth and balance of those guys,” Veidt said. “Landon came in on Saturday and he was lights out on Saturday, and he’s six pitches over the pitch count, so we can’t go to him. That is unfortunate, but it is fortunate we have a guy like Luken and a guy like Kaden, and we have Ian Griffith who is a great reliever too, so we have five guys who we can run out there.”
This is also the third district championship for Veidt, as he’s led Whiteoak to district titles now in 2013, 2018 and 2022.
“I’ve been here eight times (district finals), and it is hard to win district titles,” Veidt said. “When you look at things at the beginning of the year — we don’t talk about things like this — but as a coach you are in the back of your mind 'let’s win the conference, win the district and go up that ladder one step at a time and see what happens.'
“We’ve had years where that has worked out pretty darn well, and this year is going to be one of them.”
Whiteoak will play in the regional semifinals on Thursday, June 2 in Lancaster at Beavers Field with a 2 p.m. start time. WHS will face the yet-to-be-determined East District champion.
The Wildcats (21-9) trailed by one run when the bottom of the fifth began. Once the inning came to a close at VA Memorial Stadium, the story was a little different with Whiteoak taking a 6-3 lead as WHS rallied for a four-run inning, eventually sending them to a 7-3 district final win and a district title for the first time since 2018.
“We’ve worked hard on chopping wood and carrying water and trusting the process since they were there,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “They stayed where their feet were, stayed in the present. We came into the game and were down 2-0 before we even swung the bats. I told the guys ‘we’re fine’ and we do what we do, and we haven’t even hit yet. They are not going to shut us out.
“We had a lot of game left, and I didn’t have to necessarily tell them that, but they are kids and you have to reenforce things from time to time. This is a special group, and boy were they fun tonight.”
Veidt spoke about why it is special to get this current group of Whiteoak players to the regional tournament.
“It is special. It means a lot because these guys look up to and talk about the ’18 squad — everybody does — and Connor (Butler) is a senior and was on the ’19 team that lost in the district finals and ran that range of emotions,” he said. “It is great to this point they’ve been able to reach that level and looking to go beyond.”
Whiteoak’s game-changing bottom of the fifth inning was what baseball is all about, as they led off the inning with Luken Roades taking first on an infield error. Next, he was standing at second base when South Webster had a second error on an off-target throw on a pick-off attempt at first base.
Roades was standing at third base safely following a single to left field by Landon Barnett. Barnett stole second base, and both runners were crossing home plate when Carson Emery, on a 1-0 count, smashed the ball to centerfield for two RBI and put WHS in front at 4-3.
That was just the start of things for Whiteoak as Nate Price hit a double to right field on the ensuing at-bat, with a strike against him, scoring Emery from second base (he stole second), lifting WHS to a 5-3 lead.
The Wildcats’ lead went to three runs at 6-3 when with two outs Price scored on an infield error — a throw to first base — and left Eli Roberts safe at first.
“It came to the point where numerous things happened. Like I told some of my old players who were giving me a hard time during the game, I had to start giving them the hit sign, but really what happened was it was a battle of attrition,” Veidt said. “Their starting pitcher was getting deep into the pitch count, and we knew after the first inning their third baseman made a couple nice plays, but their pitcher was still over 25 pitches that inning.
“Later we got more aggressive, and we didn’t get them to 130 pitches like we like to, but early we were well on pace to do that, and it made all the difference in the world and they got into the bullpen. They stuck with their pitcher as long as they could, but because he was wearing down and because we were patient, we started hitting.”
Getting to that scenario began with Whiteoak trailing 2-0 when the top of the first came to a close. WHS eventually trailed 3-0 when South Webster added a run in the top of the third.
Whiteoak in the bottom of the third started the inning with a lead-off double by Zander Roades (on an 0-2 count), He went to third on a passed ball,and scored on a sacrifice fly to centerfield by Emery. Before the SAC, Barnett forced a walk and took second base on a steal, then to third on Emery’s sacrifice fly.
Price drew a walk to continue the inning on a full count, and Ian Griffith batted in Barnett with a single to right-centerfield, bringing WHS to within a run of tying the score at 3-2 at that point of the game. The inning ended with an out at home plate as WHS attempted to steal home.
“I’m proud of what we have done all year,” Veidt said. “That’s our 21st win. We won a SHAC championship with only one loss in the conference, and to tell you what type of battlers our guys are, we lost our very first conference game we played this year and then ran the table. It was a tough week because we lost a doubleheader to these guys in the snow by scores of 2-1 and 5-4, so it tells you how the past is the past, play present, move on, improve and think right, and they’ve done it.”
Besides all the excitement brought by Whiteoak at the plate and on the bases, the start of the game was a little bumpy with the Jeeps scoring two runs in the top of the first inning as they led off the game with a double off the bat of Connor Bender, followed by a two-out RBI single by Riley Cook on a 3-2 count.
The lead went to 2-0 for South Webster when Robert Martin batted in Cook with a double to right field, but he was thrown out to end the inning at third base.
WHS stranded two runners on the bases in the bottom of the first with Roades leading off the bottom part of the inning with a lead-off walk on a full count, followed by a five-pitch walk by Landon Barnett. The two runners were eventually out on fielder’s choice plays, and the inning ended with Emery and Price stranded on the bases.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Wildcats stranded one runner with Connor Butler left on second base after he hit a two-out single over the head of the South Webster second baseman, then stole second base.
There is also the pitching of Whiteoak in the district championship win, as Roades pitched 5.2 innings for the win. In his start, he allowed three earned runs on six hits and two walks. Roades finished with five strikeouts, including striking out the side in the top of the second, plus he had two other innings with two strikeouts.
Kaden Moon-Stone pitched 1.1 innings of relief, where he allowed no runs on one hit and no walks. Moon-Stone finished two strikeouts, both coming in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“It is very exciting to have pitching like that because of the depth and balance of those guys,” Veidt said. “Landon came in on Saturday and he was lights out on Saturday, and he’s six pitches over the pitch count, so we can’t go to him. That is unfortunate, but it is fortunate we have a guy like Luken and a guy like Kaden, and we have Ian Griffith who is a great reliever too, so we have five guys who we can run out there.”
This is also the third district championship for Veidt, as he’s led Whiteoak to district titles now in 2013, 2018 and 2022.
“I’ve been here eight times (district finals), and it is hard to win district titles,” Veidt said. “When you look at things at the beginning of the year — we don’t talk about things like this — but as a coach you are in the back of your mind 'let’s win the conference, win the district and go up that ladder one step at a time and see what happens.'
“We’ve had years where that has worked out pretty darn well, and this year is going to be one of them.”
Whiteoak will play in the regional semifinals on Thursday, June 2 in Lancaster at Beavers Field with a 2 p.m. start time. WHS will face the yet-to-be-determined East District champion.