Lucky 13: Perfection for Whiteoak
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
A 45-minute rain delay was no time at all to wait to make school history for the Whiteoak Wildcats.
The 2013 Wildcats became the first Wildcat baseball team to go a perfect 13-0 in Southern Hills Athletic Conference play, defeating the Manchester Greyhounds, 12-1 in five innings on a soggy Tuesday evening.
Following the win, the Wildcats did something they've waited a long time to do … dumping a bucket full of water over the head of head coach Chris Veidt, who himself waited 22 years for one of his teams to achieve the feat of going undefeated in the conference.
WHS, the unanimous No. 1 seed in the Division IV SE District tournament, moved not only to their 13th win, but improved to 18-5 overall.
"I can't say enough about this group," Veidt said. "I can't say enough about them in terms of their athleticism and their attitude. They put in the hard work, and it's paying off.
"There is a lot of camaraderie … this is a close group, and that's one of the reasons they are where they are."
This year has been a season four years in the making with a core group of seniors who have been playing varsity baseball since they were freshmen. They also have solid underclassmen around them, making for what is a "perfect" combination this season as they've won 12 consecutive games.
"I never really thought about winning every single game in the conference," Veidt said. "Again, as a group, they did the things they needed to do to become champions.
"I want them to realize how special this is. It doesn't happen often, if ever … I've been here 22 years, coach (DJ) O'Cull has been here as a player and coach for 19 years … it hadn't happened until now. It may never happen again. I hope it does, but this group of players did something special."
This season in the SHAC, the Wildcats have outscored their conference counterparts, 96-15 en route to their undefeated championship.
At first on Tuesday, with the rain coming at a steady, forceful pace, it looked as though the game may have to wait until a later date, but the clouds emptied, and with the Wildcats having a field which can fight off the rain, the game began, though early on it didn't go into the hosts' favor.
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Manchester scored first, making it a 1-0 score as they forced two walks to begin the game, followed by the leadoff hitter eventually scoring on an infield ground out.
That was all the scoring the Greyhounds would have, with the Wildcats tying the score in their half of the first with Luke Taggert beginning the inning with a triple hit to the right field fence on a 2-2 count. He scored on the next at-bat as Zach Docter grounded out to short for the 1-1 score.
WHS took the lead for good in the bottom of the third with one run in the inning. Docter led off with a double to centerfield, followed by a walk forced by Gage Carraher. Jesse Bradds singled in Docter on a line drive to left field (on a 2-1 count) with one out.
Docter and Bradds each went 3-for-3 with Docter hitting two doubles and Bradds hitting three singles. Taggert followed at 2-for-3 with a walk, as he hit a triple and a double. WHS totaled 11 hits (five for extra bases) and seven walks.
In the fourth, WHS extended their lead to 11 runs as they sent 15 batters to the plate, scoring nine runs. The inning saw Tyler Roberts and Nick Wardlow begin with a walk and bunt base hit. Taggert batted in Roberts with an RBI double to right-centerfield, and Docter scored Wardlow on a fielder's choice.
Docter stole second and scored off a double to right field by Tyler Williams, to bring home him as well as Taggert to make it a 7-1 score with one out. Bradds followed with another line drive single to left field, plating Williams. Marler forced a four-pitch walk, and following a pitching change, Jason Jones drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases.
Wardlow, with two outs, forced a walk on five pitches, scoring Bradds. Taggert also forced a walk with the bases full to plate Marler. Docter brought home Jones and Wardlow on a single, and Taggert scored the final run on a balk.
Taggert was the winning pitcher, as Williams started the game and Carraher pitched the final inning for WHS.
"This game, two things stand out … we wanted to get Tyler (Williams) some experience in a big game situation, and though he struggled some with his control, he didn't hold his head down," Veidt said. "When we changed pitchers, we put him in right field, and he made a difference by catching a line drive that saved us two runs.
"Also, with Nick Wardlow, I didn't give him the start this game, but when I called on him to play, he came in with a crucial bunt and did his job. That was about having two juniors who understand this game."
BOX SCORE
MHS 100 00 — 1
WHS 101 (10) x — 12
The 2013 Wildcats became the first Wildcat baseball team to go a perfect 13-0 in Southern Hills Athletic Conference play, defeating the Manchester Greyhounds, 12-1 in five innings on a soggy Tuesday evening.
Following the win, the Wildcats did something they've waited a long time to do … dumping a bucket full of water over the head of head coach Chris Veidt, who himself waited 22 years for one of his teams to achieve the feat of going undefeated in the conference.
WHS, the unanimous No. 1 seed in the Division IV SE District tournament, moved not only to their 13th win, but improved to 18-5 overall.
"I can't say enough about this group," Veidt said. "I can't say enough about them in terms of their athleticism and their attitude. They put in the hard work, and it's paying off.
"There is a lot of camaraderie … this is a close group, and that's one of the reasons they are where they are."
This year has been a season four years in the making with a core group of seniors who have been playing varsity baseball since they were freshmen. They also have solid underclassmen around them, making for what is a "perfect" combination this season as they've won 12 consecutive games.
"I never really thought about winning every single game in the conference," Veidt said. "Again, as a group, they did the things they needed to do to become champions.
"I want them to realize how special this is. It doesn't happen often, if ever … I've been here 22 years, coach (DJ) O'Cull has been here as a player and coach for 19 years … it hadn't happened until now. It may never happen again. I hope it does, but this group of players did something special."
This season in the SHAC, the Wildcats have outscored their conference counterparts, 96-15 en route to their undefeated championship.
At first on Tuesday, with the rain coming at a steady, forceful pace, it looked as though the game may have to wait until a later date, but the clouds emptied, and with the Wildcats having a field which can fight off the rain, the game began, though early on it didn't go into the hosts' favor.
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Manchester scored first, making it a 1-0 score as they forced two walks to begin the game, followed by the leadoff hitter eventually scoring on an infield ground out.
That was all the scoring the Greyhounds would have, with the Wildcats tying the score in their half of the first with Luke Taggert beginning the inning with a triple hit to the right field fence on a 2-2 count. He scored on the next at-bat as Zach Docter grounded out to short for the 1-1 score.
WHS took the lead for good in the bottom of the third with one run in the inning. Docter led off with a double to centerfield, followed by a walk forced by Gage Carraher. Jesse Bradds singled in Docter on a line drive to left field (on a 2-1 count) with one out.
Docter and Bradds each went 3-for-3 with Docter hitting two doubles and Bradds hitting three singles. Taggert followed at 2-for-3 with a walk, as he hit a triple and a double. WHS totaled 11 hits (five for extra bases) and seven walks.
In the fourth, WHS extended their lead to 11 runs as they sent 15 batters to the plate, scoring nine runs. The inning saw Tyler Roberts and Nick Wardlow begin with a walk and bunt base hit. Taggert batted in Roberts with an RBI double to right-centerfield, and Docter scored Wardlow on a fielder's choice.
Docter stole second and scored off a double to right field by Tyler Williams, to bring home him as well as Taggert to make it a 7-1 score with one out. Bradds followed with another line drive single to left field, plating Williams. Marler forced a four-pitch walk, and following a pitching change, Jason Jones drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases.
Wardlow, with two outs, forced a walk on five pitches, scoring Bradds. Taggert also forced a walk with the bases full to plate Marler. Docter brought home Jones and Wardlow on a single, and Taggert scored the final run on a balk.
Taggert was the winning pitcher, as Williams started the game and Carraher pitched the final inning for WHS.
"This game, two things stand out … we wanted to get Tyler (Williams) some experience in a big game situation, and though he struggled some with his control, he didn't hold his head down," Veidt said. "When we changed pitchers, we put him in right field, and he made a difference by catching a line drive that saved us two runs.
"Also, with Nick Wardlow, I didn't give him the start this game, but when I called on him to play, he came in with a crucial bunt and did his job. That was about having two juniors who understand this game."
BOX SCORE
MHS 100 00 — 1
WHS 101 (10) x — 12