Whiteoak baseball loses 2 non-conference games

In two regular-season games last week, the Whiteoak Wildcats lost to New Richmond and Eastern Reedsville.
On Thursday, May 9, the Wildcats lost at home to New Richmond by a 4-2 score.
Whiteoak led early with a 1-0 lead at the end of the first inning, but NRHS took the lead with a three-run top of the third for a 3-1 score. WHS added a run in the bottom of the fourth for a 3-2 score. New Richmond added an insurance run in the top of the seventh for the final 4-2 score for the two-run win over WHS.
The Wildcats totaled nine hits and had two errors, while New Richmond finished with seven hits and no errors.
WHS was led at the plate by Zander Roades, who went 3-for-4 with a double, one run and two steals.
Jonah Michael had a 2-for-3 day, plus he added one RBI to his final totals. Jacen Applegate finished 1-for-2 with a walk, and Dakota Clift was 1-for-3. Christian Hite went 1-for-1 at the plate, while Eli Roberts was 1-for-3 with one RBI, one walk and two steals.
The Wildcats also had Jacob Kiley score one run and walk once, plus Kaden Moon-Stone walked once and collected a steal.
Izayah Clift pitched seven innings, allowing four runs (one earned) on seven hits and no walks with six strikeouts.
“Izayah Clift pitched an excellent game against an excellent opponent. Offensively, we swung the bats pretty well,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “We did some things uncharacteristically in the third that cost us. We need to run the bases better in a game of this magnitude.
“Bottom line is we had an opportunity to win in the end with guys on base. Today was an excellent opportunity to learn and grow in a tournament-type atmosphere. Zander Roades was fantastic for us offensively today.”
BOX SCORE
NRHS 003 000 1 — 4 7 0
WHS 100 100 0 — 2 9 2
On Saturday, May 11, the Whiteoak Wildcats lost to Reedsville Eastern, 12-5 at WHS.
Reedsville Eastern scored three runs in the top of the fifth, four runs in the sixth and five runs in the seventh inning. WHS scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth and three runs in the fifth inning.
In all for WHS, they totaled six hits and had five errors, while Reedsville Eastern totaled 11 hits and no errors.
Eli Roberts was 2-for-3 with one run, two RBI and he hit a home run. Jonah Michael finished 1-for-3, Kaden Moon-Stone finished 1-for-3 with a run and Zander Roades went 1-for-3 with two runs, one RBI, one walk and he had a steal.
Jacen Applegate collected an RBI, Dakota Clift was hit by a pitch and Abraham Flader scored a run and walked once.
Applegate pitched one inning, allowing four runs (none earned) on two hits and two walks with one strikeout. Roades pitched six innings, allowing seven runs (three earned) on nine hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Roberts allowed one run (none earned) on no hits and a walk.
“Zander Roades deserved a better fate. He pitched extremely well. Eli Roberts and Jacen Applegate are heating up offensively, and that is a good sign this time of year,” Veidt said. “Eli’s at-bat in the fifth when he gave us the lead was as impressive an at-bat as I’ve seen in 33 years.
“It was a battle between two state-ranked teams, and it had all the ingredients for four and a half innings. We gave them too much defensively from that point on. Good teams take advantage of such things, and they most certainly did. Looking forward to a possible rematch down the road.”
WHS now stands at 17-7 overall, as they finished the Div. II SHAC season at 9-4 in conference play, a second-place finish.
BOX SCORE
REHS 000 034 5 — 12 11 0
WHS 000 230 0 — 5 6 5
Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.