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Abracadabra! Trickery wraps up Wildcat win over Blue Jays

Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — Abracadabra!  

That one word sums up the final out for the Whiteoak Wildcats' 3-2 Southern Hills League victory Thursday at Whiteoak High School.

The Wildcats led 3-2 with two outs in the seventh inning with a Ripley runner at second base and the lead-off hitter at the plate.

Gage Carraher had just thrown the ball to second base to keep the runner at bay.

Carraher and his Whiteoak teammates did their best David Copperfield impression and made the baseball disappear into thin air.

POOF!

Carraher, a sophomore, "threw" the ball in the direction of second base, as both the second baseman and shortstop dove after the "throw." Even the centerfielder went looking for the baseball.

The problem for the Ripley runner, who was standing a few steps away from second base … it was all an illusion.  

Carraher never threw the baseball, and his teammates played along. With the Ripley runner still a few steps away from second base, Carraher now actually tossed the baseball to Wes Stratton at second base, who tagged the runner out to end the game.
 
"There were a couple reasons why we went with that (the trick play)," WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. "It had been going through my mind the whole time, and I wanted Gage to be confident. He had just tried the pickoff, and that was just the right time to do it.

"The runner was getting a good lead … moving around, and that was the first time I've seen it work that way in a game. I don't think they (RHS) knew where the ball was, and Wesley tagged him out."

Another important detail, besides the baseball, that can't be lost from the game was the pitching performance from Carraher. He went all seven innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits and five walks. Carraher, who threw 99 pitches, struck out 15 batters, including five innings of at least two strikeouts. He struck out the side three times.

Four of the 15 strikeouts came on a called third strike. Carraher has allowed just five hits in three games this season with a combined 35 strikeouts. He's struck out 10 or more batters in three games, In his last start (against Fayetteville), he threw 82 pitches.

"Gage has had a good effort every time he's gone to the mound. He's always improving on his game, and he did a good job," Veidt said.

Carraher began the game with a walk, then he made the Blue Jays swing away and walk back to the dugout three straight times, striking out the side.

In the second, he came back with two more strikeouts and a groundout to the short stop. In the third, he faced three batters for the second straight inning, striking out one.  

The fourth inning saw two more strikeouts as Carraher kept the Blue Jays hitless through four innings.  

In the fifth, he gave up a lead-off single, then walked the next batter, giving the Blue Jays runners on first and second with no outs. Carraher came back with three straight strikeouts.

Carraher gave up a hit and walk in the sixth, but again, struck out the side. In the final inning, he had two strikeouts before the disappearing act.
 
Not one out by Ripley was recorded on a fly ball to the outfield.

As for the Wildcats at the plate, they tallied six hits. Their hits came from Michael Carraher, Luke Taggert, Jesse Bradds, Stratton and Blake Trublood. Taggert was 2-for-3 with a double and run. WHS scored two of the three runs in the third inning for a 2-0 lead.

Stratton began with a two-strike base hit to centerfield, then stole second base. Trublood sent the ball beautifully down the third base line on a perfectly placed bunt for a single.

With two outs, Michael Carraher doubled in Stratton. Later in the inning, Taggert knocked in Michael Carraher.

"It was good to jump out to a two-run lead," Veidt said. "We wanted to finish where we started."

In the sixth, the Blue Jays tied the game with runs by Williams and Zweigart. They left the go-ahead run on third base after Carraher got a strikeout to end the inning.

Whiteoak (2-3, 7-4) scored the go-ahead and game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Taggert began the inning with a lead-off double and scored on a single hit to shallow centerfield by Bradds.

"Jesse has been hitting the ball hard all year long," Veidt said. "The hit by not only Jesse, but Wesley's double to lead off the inning, were huge for us."

Kirschner pitched a quality game for the Blue Jays but suffered the loss. He went 5 2-3 innings with five strikeouts. He didn't allow a hit until the third inning.
 
The win lifts WHS to 2-3 in the SHL and 7-4 overall.[[In-content Ad]]

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