Tigers drop close game to Golden Eagles
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — A couple missteps by the McClain Tigers in the latter stages of their South Central Ohio League matchup with the Madison-Plains Golden Eagles led to their second loss of the season, falling 3-2 Wednesday at Mitchell Park in Greenfield.
The start of the SCOL slate of games didn't go the way of the home Tigers (0-1, 0-2), as they were tied at 2-2 at the start of the seventh, but the visiting Golden Eagles had other plans.
MP (1-0, 1-1) began the inning with Aaron DePugh getting hit by a pitch, and Hunter Butin moving him to second base on a sacrifice bunt. DePugh moved to third on a passed ball, and Ryne Davis took first on a walk.
Then the game went in favor of MP with one out in the scorebook, as Caleb Chaney grounded in the infield, but as Chaney ran down the first base line, the runner at third broke for home. Instead of attempting to throw the runner out at the plate, the Tigers turned and threw to first, where Chaney beat the throw, reaching on a fielder's choice, and DePugh reached home safely for a 3-2 MP lead.
"Our defense played well, but we had that situation there at the end, but it's high school baseball and sometimes that happens," MHS head coach Brandon Streitenberger said. "That wasn't the only thing that hurt us today, we tried to steal home, but we just ran ourselves out of the inning."
McClain pitcher Kyle Flora then struck out the next two batters, reaching his 10th strikeout of the day on his 100th pitch of the game.
MHS still had opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, but a ball hit back to the pitcher, followed by consecutive strikeouts, ended any hopes of a comeback rally.
As for Flora (0-1), he pitched a complete seven innings, giving up just three hits and five walks in the loss. He allowed three runs, one of which was earned, as he faced 25 batters.
"Kyle threw real well," Streitenberger said. "He was all around the plate, and I was pleased with his outing.
The Tigers scored their two runs in the bottom of the fifth, tying the score at 2-2.
MHS opened the inning with a one-out single by Zack Rumer, followed by Brent Shannon reaching first on an error. Both runners eventually scored in the inning.
"The hits will come eventually for us," Streitenberger said. "We just have to keep plugging away, but we played a solid game.
"We are struggling to score runs, but we're young and all you can hope is the kids learn from this and keep improving."
For the Golden Eagles, they led for a majority of the game, scoring their first two runs in the the top half of the third. With two outs, Davis hit a two-run single to centerfield, scoring Bryce Payne and DePugh from second and third base.
The three MP hits were by Davis, Chaney and Dylan Fout. Nick Garrett and Davis each drew two walks, and Davis tallied three stolen bases.
MP's winning pitcher was Garrett, who also pitched a complete game for the win. In seven innings, he faced 27 batters, allowing two runs (none earned) on five hits and one walk. He struck out seven.
MHS will play again on Wednesday, as they are scheduled to travel to Clinton County to face East Clinton in a non-league game.
BOX SCORE
MP 002 000 1 — 3 3 2
MHS 000 002 0 — 2 5 1[[In-content Ad]]
The start of the SCOL slate of games didn't go the way of the home Tigers (0-1, 0-2), as they were tied at 2-2 at the start of the seventh, but the visiting Golden Eagles had other plans.
MP (1-0, 1-1) began the inning with Aaron DePugh getting hit by a pitch, and Hunter Butin moving him to second base on a sacrifice bunt. DePugh moved to third on a passed ball, and Ryne Davis took first on a walk.
Then the game went in favor of MP with one out in the scorebook, as Caleb Chaney grounded in the infield, but as Chaney ran down the first base line, the runner at third broke for home. Instead of attempting to throw the runner out at the plate, the Tigers turned and threw to first, where Chaney beat the throw, reaching on a fielder's choice, and DePugh reached home safely for a 3-2 MP lead.
"Our defense played well, but we had that situation there at the end, but it's high school baseball and sometimes that happens," MHS head coach Brandon Streitenberger said. "That wasn't the only thing that hurt us today, we tried to steal home, but we just ran ourselves out of the inning."
McClain pitcher Kyle Flora then struck out the next two batters, reaching his 10th strikeout of the day on his 100th pitch of the game.
MHS still had opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, but a ball hit back to the pitcher, followed by consecutive strikeouts, ended any hopes of a comeback rally.
As for Flora (0-1), he pitched a complete seven innings, giving up just three hits and five walks in the loss. He allowed three runs, one of which was earned, as he faced 25 batters.
"Kyle threw real well," Streitenberger said. "He was all around the plate, and I was pleased with his outing.
The Tigers scored their two runs in the bottom of the fifth, tying the score at 2-2.
MHS opened the inning with a one-out single by Zack Rumer, followed by Brent Shannon reaching first on an error. Both runners eventually scored in the inning.
"The hits will come eventually for us," Streitenberger said. "We just have to keep plugging away, but we played a solid game.
"We are struggling to score runs, but we're young and all you can hope is the kids learn from this and keep improving."
For the Golden Eagles, they led for a majority of the game, scoring their first two runs in the the top half of the third. With two outs, Davis hit a two-run single to centerfield, scoring Bryce Payne and DePugh from second and third base.
The three MP hits were by Davis, Chaney and Dylan Fout. Nick Garrett and Davis each drew two walks, and Davis tallied three stolen bases.
MP's winning pitcher was Garrett, who also pitched a complete game for the win. In seven innings, he faced 27 batters, allowing two runs (none earned) on five hits and one walk. He struck out seven.
MHS will play again on Wednesday, as they are scheduled to travel to Clinton County to face East Clinton in a non-league game.
BOX SCORE
MP 002 000 1 — 3 3 2
MHS 000 002 0 — 2 5 1[[In-content Ad]]