Mustangs heat up against Wildcats; stay undefeated in SHL
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN - The race for the Southern Hills League title took another step closer to ending with the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs arching the final destination in first place.
Though a few tempers flared in the middle of the first inning, it was the Mustangs who responded, taking advantage of errors and miscues by the Whiteoak Wildcats for a 15-1 win.
"I thought we played pretty well. We've been doing like we have been all season and the team is patient at the plate," LC head coach Aric Fiscus said. "The guys are very disciplined. We tell them to wait for their favorite pitch."
It didn't take long for the Mustangs to score their first of what turned into double-digit runs, with Dalton Cox crushing a second-pitch lead-off home run over the left field fence.
The Wildcats were able to tie the game in the bottom of the third, with Ben Barnett leading off with a double, reaching base for the second straight time. With one out, Gage Carraher singled to center field and advanced to second when the ball was bobbled in the outfield. The error allowed Barnett to round third and reach home, tying the game at one.
Then the top of the fourth came, which changed the complexion of the entire game.
"If you don't make plays, then you pay the price, and that is what happened to us," WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. "There were catches we should have made, and we gave up base runners with 0-2 counts."
In the inning the Wildcats committed two errors; eventually, the runners who reached on errors turned into runs.
LC started off the inning by committing an out but had their first base runner of the inning with Wes Pierson reaching first on an infield error. Brad Barger followed by taking the bases on a fielder's choice. Dakota Dye hit a sacrifice fly to move both runners into scoring position.
Down to their last out, Cox gained an RBI off an error as Pierson scored. Austin Fawley singled to score Barger.
Cody Roush singled in Cox for the third run of the inning.
The Mustangs had three more runs in the inning with Ray Doss scoring Fawley on a base hit. The final two runners scored with Ryan Doss smacking a double, allowing Roush and Ray Doss to score.
In the fifth, Barger smashed the second Mustang home run, again on the second pitch, to make the score 8-1.
The score increased by one run in the top of the fifth, with Fawley starting the inning by being called safe of first via error.
He scored in the next at-bat as Roush singled. Fawley took second on a steal and third on a wild pitch. Roush finished 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs.
The Mustangs had their second six-run inning against WHS in the top of the sixth inning.
Puckett started off the inning with a base hit and Pierson reached on an error by the Wildcats. The error was the first of three straight by the WIldcat infield, allowing Barger and Dye to reach the bases. Two of the errors allowed Puckett and Pierson to score.
After recording their first out, Fawley singled in two runners. He was followed by a two-run home run by Cody Roush for the final two runs of the game.
The win was credited to Ryan Doss. Doss pitched seven innings, allowing one run on four hits, four walks and one hit batter. He finished with six strikeouts.
"Ryan has been our go-to guy all year," Fiscus said. "He has pitched in the big games but went a little deeper in the count than what we would have liked, but he was able to finish."
Barnett suffered the loss for the Wildcats. Barnett allowed 11 hits, and 15 runs (two earned), along with two walks, two hit batters and four strikeouts.
"Ben pitched well and hit his spots," Veidt said. "We just need to make plays in the field, and LC took advantage of our errors."
The win lifts the Mustangs to 10-2 overall, 7-0 in the SHL. The loss drops WHS to 6-5 in the SHL and 8-13 overall.
LC will play again Thursday as they travel to face West Union in SHL play. WHS will take on Peebles (away) Thursday. Both games are scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
BOX SCORE
LCHS 100 611 6 - 15 11 0
WHS 001 000 0 - 1 4 8
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