Tuscola baseball goes 1-3 on the week
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By Ben Crane
The Tuscola baseball team probably experienced a lot of different emotions this week. A 11-2 loss against Warrensburg-Latham to kick off the week followed by a 4-3 loss to Clinton in 11 innings right into an 8-2 win against Arthur-Okaw Christian. A high-scoring 13-11 loss to Rantoul where the Warriors saw their four-run lead in the top of the seventh disappear finished the week.
Against W-L, the Warrior bats were quiet, with Jacob Waugh going 2-4, scoring two runs and Caiden Russo finishing 2-4, batting in Waugh twice in the bottom of the first and third innings.
Evan Englehardt started on the mound going 3.0 innings, allowing eight hits and five earned runs, and striking out one. Aiden Devlin pitched one, allowing a hit and four runs, striking out one while JJ Reynolds pitched the final three innings, only allowing a hit.
The Warriors took the lead at 1-0 after the first inning, but the Cardinals were quickly up 7-2 after three. A four-run fifth inning put the game out of reach for the Black and Gold.
The Warriors had two runs on six hits and committed two errors.
“For the first time this year I felt like we didn’t battle very well and kind of rolled over,” said head coach Caleb Englehardt. “Not to take anything away from them because they’re the top team in our conference. They hit the ball well and played very clean defensively. I just wasn’t satisfied with our effort to fight back and compete.”
In the Warriors’ thriller against Clinton, they went up 3-0 after three innings before the Maroons matched that total in the fifth. Five innings went by before the Maroons broke the deadlock in the top of the 11th inning, where the Warriors had no response.
Waugh went 1-4, scoring a run While Jon Pettry finished 3-5, also scoring a run. Connor Musgrave was 0-3 at the plate but scored the other Warrior run, also pitching 7.0 innings for the Warriors, giving up nine hits, zero earned runs, and striking out six.
Russo pitched the final four innings, allowing three hits, zero earned runs, and striking out three.
The Warriors had three runs on five hits and committed two errors.
“I told the guys it was really hard to criticize anything when they battled hard for 11 innings. I was proud of that effort especially pitching and defensively. Clinton did a nice job of line drive swings on a cold windy day and we still have to get better at that approach. We had plenty of opportunities to score more runs and they weren’t playing well defensively. That’s where we have to get better at our plate approach. Home run type swings do not work in these conditions and that’s the primary reason we lost.”
The Warriors picked up their only win of the week in a comfortable 8-2 win against A-OC. Pettry was 1-3 from the plate, scoring a run in the process but tossed a complete game, allowing four hits, zero earned runs, and striking out seven.
Musgrave was 1-3 with two runs and an RBI while Russo was 2-3 with three RBIs. Lyons finished 2-2, scoring a run and Devlin finished 1-2, scoring a run and knocking in another.
The Warriors had eight runs on seven hits and committed seven errors.
“We executed really well offensively and Jon Pettry threw a great game. Errors are still a concern but Jon was able to compete and get out of those jams. They made a few mistakes themselves and we were able to capitalize.”
On Saturday, the Warriors lost a heartbreaker to Rantoul.
The Warriors found themselves up 10-6 at the end of the fourth inning, adding to their lead with another run in the bottom of the sixth before giving up six in the top of the seventh, losing 13-11.
Waugh finished 1-4, scoring three runs while Pettry finished the same at 1-4, scoring two runs. Musgrave was a perfect 3-3 from the place, batting in three and scoring a run himself. Russo finished 2-5 with two RBIs and scoring a run while Lyons finished 2-3, batting in two and scoring a run as well.
Englehardt finished 2-3 with an RBI and Devlin finished 1-4 batting in two more. JJ Reynolds finished 1-3 and scored two runs.
Evan Vearil started on the mound for the Warriors, going for 2.0 IP, allowing five hits, five earned runs, and striking out two. Lyons went four innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out one wile Englehardt went 1.0 IP, allowing zero runs and striking out three.
The Warriors had 11 runs on 13 hits and committed six errors.
“Both teams had to draw far into their pitching staff due to pitch count rules, so not surprised it was a higher scoring game. However we had the game won and just completely messed up our opportunity with 3 walks and 3 errors in the 7th. For them to score 6 runs on one hit in the last inning is inexcusable. As a team we have to learn how to manage a little success and not lose any intensity just because we have a lead. In addition while scoring 11 runs we still somehow left 15 runners on base. There was opportunity to add much more to our lead and we could have used some more execution. This was a tough lesson to learn for a young team. Next week will be an opportunity to respond the right way and maybe play with a bit of a chip on our shoulder.”