5-run 7th inning sends Whiteoak to victory at Paint Valley
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Saving much of their first power until the final innings, the Whiteoak Wildcats earned a season-opening victory against non-conference foe Paint Valley on Monday. The Wildcats scored five runs in the seventh inning to break away for a 10-6 victory in Bainbridge.
Though the Wildcats led 5-4 going into the seventh inning, they used the top half of the seventh to really put the game away with their five-run scoring display, which began with sophomore Zach Harless drawing a walk and taking second off a base hit by junior Traeten Hamilton. Both runners advanced a base on a passed ball and scored off a double by senior Trever Yeager.
[[In-content Ad]]
Yeager finished the game at 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs. He also had two steals in as many attempts.
Next, senior Caleb West forced a walk, and with two outs, sophomore Mason Lehr doubled in the runners as he too eventually scored a run to complete the five-run inning.
“This was a great start for our kids. Keys to this victory were our ability to get their pitcher to 93 pitches in the fifth inning and force them to throw 145 for the game, while our kids threw 98 total,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “It’s a battle of attrition and a big part of our game plan.
“We scored eight runs from the fifth inning on, and our aggressiveness on the bases also set the tone. We stole five bases and applied pressure throughout. PV didn’t steal a base, which is a tribute to our pitchers’ abilities to hold runners and our catcher, Billy Oliver.”
Paint Valley threatened in the bottom half of the seventh with two runs, but the Whiteoak pitching ended the game with a strikeout to seal the first win of the season.
The Wildcats (1-0) also scored runs in the first, third, fifth and sixth innings.
Yeager scored the first run of the season for WHS in the first, and in the third WHS added another run with Hamilton rounding the bases. Hamilton scored again in the fifth inning for the Wildcats, as did sophomore Billy Oliver. In the sixth, WHS scored one run with West touching home plate.
Besides the three-hit game by Yeager, the Wildcats had two hits each from Hamilton and West and a three-hit game from Lehr. Hamilton was 2-for-4 with three runs and a stolen base. West finished 2-for-2 with two runs, one walk and one steal.
Lehr was 3-for-3 with one run, one RBI and one sacrifice.
Having one hit each were junior Ryan Roberts and junior Evan Brill. Roberts and Brill each also had two RBIs.
Butler was the winning pitcher for WHS at Paint Valley. He pitched 6.1 innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on seven hits, two walks and no strikeouts.
Yeager earned the save in the win, going 0.2 innings on the mound in relief. He faced two batters and struck out one.
“Our pitching was solid tonight with a quality start from Chase Butler and a save from Trever Yeager,” Veidt said. “Offensively, we were led by Trever with 3 hits and 3 RBI. Traeten Hamilton, Mason Lehr and Caleb West added two hits each.
“Ryan Roberts had a clutch game-tying single in the fifth, and Mason Lehr’s clutch two-run double in the seventh gave us the lead for good.”
Veidt continued to speak highly of his players from Monday night.
“Evan Brill also contributed a big two-out, two-run insurance single for us in the five-run seventh that clinched it for us this evening,” the 27-year WHS head coach said. “As a team, we were very productive with two outs and two strikes, and that is a great sign as well. Our defense is much improved over our scrimmages and will continue to improve with more game reps.”
Next for WHS is an away game on Tuesday, March 27 at North Adams.
Though the Wildcats led 5-4 going into the seventh inning, they used the top half of the seventh to really put the game away with their five-run scoring display, which began with sophomore Zach Harless drawing a walk and taking second off a base hit by junior Traeten Hamilton. Both runners advanced a base on a passed ball and scored off a double by senior Trever Yeager.
[[In-content Ad]]
Yeager finished the game at 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs. He also had two steals in as many attempts.
Next, senior Caleb West forced a walk, and with two outs, sophomore Mason Lehr doubled in the runners as he too eventually scored a run to complete the five-run inning.
“This was a great start for our kids. Keys to this victory were our ability to get their pitcher to 93 pitches in the fifth inning and force them to throw 145 for the game, while our kids threw 98 total,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “It’s a battle of attrition and a big part of our game plan.
“We scored eight runs from the fifth inning on, and our aggressiveness on the bases also set the tone. We stole five bases and applied pressure throughout. PV didn’t steal a base, which is a tribute to our pitchers’ abilities to hold runners and our catcher, Billy Oliver.”
Paint Valley threatened in the bottom half of the seventh with two runs, but the Whiteoak pitching ended the game with a strikeout to seal the first win of the season.
The Wildcats (1-0) also scored runs in the first, third, fifth and sixth innings.
Yeager scored the first run of the season for WHS in the first, and in the third WHS added another run with Hamilton rounding the bases. Hamilton scored again in the fifth inning for the Wildcats, as did sophomore Billy Oliver. In the sixth, WHS scored one run with West touching home plate.
Besides the three-hit game by Yeager, the Wildcats had two hits each from Hamilton and West and a three-hit game from Lehr. Hamilton was 2-for-4 with three runs and a stolen base. West finished 2-for-2 with two runs, one walk and one steal.
Lehr was 3-for-3 with one run, one RBI and one sacrifice.
Having one hit each were junior Ryan Roberts and junior Evan Brill. Roberts and Brill each also had two RBIs.
Butler was the winning pitcher for WHS at Paint Valley. He pitched 6.1 innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on seven hits, two walks and no strikeouts.
Yeager earned the save in the win, going 0.2 innings on the mound in relief. He faced two batters and struck out one.
“Our pitching was solid tonight with a quality start from Chase Butler and a save from Trever Yeager,” Veidt said. “Offensively, we were led by Trever with 3 hits and 3 RBI. Traeten Hamilton, Mason Lehr and Caleb West added two hits each.
“Ryan Roberts had a clutch game-tying single in the fifth, and Mason Lehr’s clutch two-run double in the seventh gave us the lead for good.”
Veidt continued to speak highly of his players from Monday night.
“Evan Brill also contributed a big two-out, two-run insurance single for us in the five-run seventh that clinched it for us this evening,” the 27-year WHS head coach said. “As a team, we were very productive with two outs and two strikes, and that is a great sign as well. Our defense is much improved over our scrimmages and will continue to improve with more game reps.”
Next for WHS is an away game on Tuesday, March 27 at North Adams.