Whiteoak Wildcats fall in extra innings to Green; finish district runners-up

CHILLICOTHE — For a second consecutive day, the No. 3 seeded Whiteoak Wildcats played extra inning baseball in the district tournament. One day following an 11-inning win in the semifinals, the Wildcats battled strong, but ultimately lost by a 5-4 score in eight innings to No. 2 seeded Green Bobcats in the Division VII SE District Finals at VA Memorial Stadium. 

The rare Sunday afternoon tournament game due to inclement weather on Friday pushed the schedule back a day, and after winning on Saturday against Miller High School, the Wildcats were back on the diamond, this time at the home of the Chillicothe Paints where they took a lead in the top of the seventh with a two-run inning at 4-3.

Whiteoak’s lead didn’t last on the scoreboard as Green tied the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh, then the Bobcats won their first district title in two decades with a run scored in the bottom of the seventh off a two-out single for the 5-4 final score. 

“We have great kids and they come from great families, and when you’re fortunate enough to have kids like that, who’ll listen and fight for every inch they get, I couldn’t ask for more,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “We know our kids will come back and they weren’t going to lay down, and we know we won’t quit. 

“I said earlier, ‘How much is an inch worth?’ I could pull out 100 things, but it was a clean played baseball game, and there was outstanding pitching and he was unbelievable. We get back to how much is an inch worth, and Izayah was fine and he felt fine, but there is a pitch limit, and if you start a hitter you can go over the limit on that hitter, but Izayah’s last hitter he struck out was exactly 125 pitches. So one here or there, and he keeps going. 

“Jacob came in and threw strikes and did his job. He’s a sophomore and that’s a tight situation, and he was mentally ready as well, but sometimes the breaks just don’t go your way. I’m just proud to represent this school and these kids. For a high school team to play five extra-inning games with a sophomore-dominated team this season is unbelievable. I’ve never had a team do that, and it is a testament of two things: our nucleus of sophomores and our three seniors who have been there and played in the regional finals and who have won districts.”

Veidt continued to speak about his team. 

“Our seniors have been there and understand what it takes, and our sophomores followed their lead and that’s the product you get. I know we came up short today, but in my opinion it was a quality product and a very good baseball game today,” Veidt said. 

The game-deciding inning for the Bobcats began with Riddick Jenkins reaching the bases on a fly ball just outside the infield which resulted in an error on the play. Next, two outs were recorded on a sacrifice bunt by Conner Blanton (1-for-3), followed by WHS pitcher Izayah Clift striking out the next batter for the second out of the inning. 

Clift had to leave the game as he reached the maximum 125-pitch limit on the strikeout pitch. Next was the game-winning double by the Bobcats with the ball hit to centerfield off the bat of Blake Smith (2-for-4), on a 1-0 count, scoring Jenkins for Green’s one-run win. 

Whiteoak ends the season at 11-9 overall, as Green improves to 18-5 this season. 

Following a scoreless first inning where both teams were three up, three down, WHS began the top of the second with a walk by Jacob Kiley (1-for-3), followed by a base hit to right field by Jacen Applegate (2-for-4), giving Whiteoak runners on first and second base. Both runners were left on the bases with Whiteoak having three consecutive strikeouts on 10 pitches. 

Green scored the first run of the game off a two-out single by Conner Blanton hit to left field, scoring Mason Neal (1-for-3), who walked in the inning, for the 1-0 lead. 

Whiteoak tied the score in the top of the third off a two-out base hit to left field by Zander Roades (3-for-4), scoring Abraham Flader (1-for-3), who led off the inning with a walk, as he advanced two bases off consecutive groundouts, allowing him to eventually score the first Wildcat run, tying the score at 1-1. 

Green regained the lead at 2-1 when in the bottom of the third with two outs Jonathan Knapp (2-for-4) hit a single to right field, scoring Smith, who led off the inning with a single past the shortstop. 

WHS left one runner on the bases in the top of the fourth as Christian Hite (2-for-4) had a one-out single hit to centerfield. 

Jonah Michael (1-for-3) reached the bases in the top of the fifth for Whiteoak as he was hit by a pitch with two outs, but he was caught in a steal attempt of second base. 

Green added a run to their lead in the bottom of the fifth when Knapp grounded out into a fielder’s choice, scoring Kase McIntyre for a 3-1 advantage. McIntyre led off the inning with a walk for Green. 

The Wildcats weren’t finished battling as they scored a run in the top of the sixth inning when Jacen Applegate hit a ball hard to centerfield, plating Roades for a 3-2 score. Roades led off the inning with a double on a pop fly hit to centerfield. 

Whiteoak took the lead in the top of the seventh when Flader began the inning with a single, followed by Clift being hit by a pitch. Next was a clutch two-RBI double off the bat of Michael — on an 0-1 count — with the ball traveling to left field, scoring Flader and Clift. 

WHS held a one-run lead going to the bottom of the seventh inning, starting with Clift striking out the first batter of the half inning. Then came a base hit by Gabe Blevins (2-for-4), and with two outs Knapp tied the score with an RBI hit to left field, scoring Blevins for the 4-4 score, forcing extra innings. 

Whiteoak in the top of the eighth had a one-out single by Hite, but two outs were recorded in the next two at-bats. Then came the aforementioned game-winning run scored by the Bobcats in the bottom of the eighth inning to end the district final game. 

Landon Kimbler pitched seven innings for a no-decision, allowing four earned runs on nine hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. McIntyre was the winning pitcher, pitching one inning of relief. He allowed no runs on one hit and no walks with one strikeout. 

Clift had the no-decision for Whiteoak, finishing with 7.2 innings pitched, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and four walks with 11 strikeouts. The loss went to Kiley, who in his relief appearance faced one batter. 

Seniors for Whiteoak are Zander Roades, Wyatt Ruark and Jacen Applegate. 

“I can’t say enough about our seniors,” Veidt said. “Three in numbers isn’t huge, but in terms of leadership, emotional stability and work ethic, those three are good as they get. Zander is a four-year starter, playing in huge games. Played in regional final games and district championship games. One of the better athletes in the area, and one of the Top 5 players in the conference in my opinion. He’s a kid I hope continues to play baseball post-high school. 

“Jacen Applegate is a kid that’s been around me since grade school. His grandfather Ted would bring him in, and we’d hit in our indoor facility. He didn’t play for two years, did his time, and then became a two-year starter and is a kid who was hitting in the power part of our lineup and driving in runs. He’s also one of our better arms and had a great start yesterday. 

“Wyatt Ruark is a whole different set of circumstances for him where he didn’t start, hardly played, and at the beginning of this year it was the same situation. In this day and age most kids would quit, but this kid didn’t. What he did was put his nose to the grindstone, kept leading, kept working and kept showing up. We came here (VA Memorial Stadium) in early April against Miller where we had some kids out. Wyatt makes two outstanding defensive plays and drives in three runs, and I said ‘I don’t where that kid plays, but he’s playing somewhere from this point forward.’ What a grinder, and what a great human being.” 

BOX SCORE
WHS    001 001 20  — 4 10 1 
GHS     011 010 11 — 5 8 0