Wildcats create first-place tie; win classic over Rockets
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — With the Whiteoak Wildcats on the ropes, potentially one or two runs from the game being out of reach, a mound visit and an inside-the-park home run ended up being two deciding factors in a pitchers' duel, in which the Wildcats outlasted the Fayetteville Rockets, 5-4 with first-place in the Southern Hills League up for grabs.
The win by WHS (9-5 overall) puts them in a tie for first place in the league standings at 5-1 with the Rockets (6-7 overall), but what stood out the most for WHS head coach Chris Veidt was the maturity shown by junior pitcher Gage Carraher in the middle innings of the instant classic.
"I'm so proud of Gage's maturity shown in this game," Veidt said. "At one point in the fourth inning, we were down 3-0, I went to the mound and I just straight told Gage his stuff was better than our opponent. I really meant that when I told him.
"Following our mound visit, Gage regrouped, he adjusted … I'm just so proud of him. This was huge for him because he responded in the face of good competition. When Gage was younger, there were times where he pressed, and (Thursday) he responded in such a great way."
[[In-content Ad]]Though Carraher hit the first batter he faced to start the game, he was nearly un-hittable, striking out a total of 16 batters, including seven of the first 10 batters he faced.
Carraher allowed four runs, (three earned) on four hits and four walks. The junior struck out the side in the second and sixth innings.
With all the pitching, the win was decided by the bats of the Wildcats, as they totaled four hits in the final two innings at the plate, including the two-out inside-the-park home run, hit 390 feet to deep centerfield by Doc Seip, scoring pinch runner Blake Trublood and Seip to put WHS ahead 5-3, breaking the 3-3 tied score.
Seip finished the day perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two runs.
"Doc is such a great athlete," Veidt said. "He came in late this season, the players wanted him here, but thank goodness he was here (Thursday), Veidt said. "Early in the game we created a situation where we didn't know if we could come back or not, but a few things fell our way.
"Our kids did a nice job of applying pressure."
Carraher's counterpart of the mound was Derek Peters of Fayetteville, and he didn't disappoint the fans in the stands, either. Peters began the game by striking out five of the first six batters he faced, and for good measure struck out six in the first three innings, allowing just one hit in that span.
In the next three innings, Peters tallied one more strikeout and gave up just four hits but also the aforementioned five runs to WHS.
Though WHS won the game, they fell into a steep hole in the fourth inning, as they allowed three runs on two hits, one walk, a passed ball, a wild pitch and two stolen bases.
Luke Allen began the inning by striking out but raced to first base on a passed ball, beating the throw to the base. He stole second base and scored on a base hit to right field by Helmers, who eventually reached second on the throw home.
Carraher gained the first out of the inning with a pickoff at second base but walked the next two batters, as he fell behind 3-1 to both batters.
In as a pinch runner, Scott Mullis, standing at second base following the second walk, advanced to third base on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out single by Peters, with an error in the outfield allowing two runners to cross the plate for a 3-0 Fayetteville lead.
The fifth inning was where the Wildcats broke out, tying the score with three runs, starting with a base hit by Jesse Bradds, who hit a rocket down the third base line. Bradds moved to second on an error in right field, allowing Luke Taggert to take first base. Bradds finished 1-for-2 with two runs and one walk.
Blake Trublood entered the game as a pinch runner for Bradds, and with one out, Seip singled to centerfield, scoring Trublood.
With two outs, both Seip and Taggert scored runs, including Seip scoring on a passed ball at home, tying the game.
Michael Smith also collected a hit in the fifth inning.
Sealing the win wasn't an easy feat either … with Fayetteville scoring one run, with Taylor Wood scoring on a ground out by Taylor Smucker.
Neither team will have much time to rest as WHS will host Ripley on Friday and Fayetteville will host Eastern Brown the same day.
BOX SCORE
FHS 000 300 1 — 4 4 3
WHS 000 032 x — 5 5 1
The win by WHS (9-5 overall) puts them in a tie for first place in the league standings at 5-1 with the Rockets (6-7 overall), but what stood out the most for WHS head coach Chris Veidt was the maturity shown by junior pitcher Gage Carraher in the middle innings of the instant classic.
"I'm so proud of Gage's maturity shown in this game," Veidt said. "At one point in the fourth inning, we were down 3-0, I went to the mound and I just straight told Gage his stuff was better than our opponent. I really meant that when I told him.
"Following our mound visit, Gage regrouped, he adjusted … I'm just so proud of him. This was huge for him because he responded in the face of good competition. When Gage was younger, there were times where he pressed, and (Thursday) he responded in such a great way."
[[In-content Ad]]Though Carraher hit the first batter he faced to start the game, he was nearly un-hittable, striking out a total of 16 batters, including seven of the first 10 batters he faced.
Carraher allowed four runs, (three earned) on four hits and four walks. The junior struck out the side in the second and sixth innings.
With all the pitching, the win was decided by the bats of the Wildcats, as they totaled four hits in the final two innings at the plate, including the two-out inside-the-park home run, hit 390 feet to deep centerfield by Doc Seip, scoring pinch runner Blake Trublood and Seip to put WHS ahead 5-3, breaking the 3-3 tied score.
Seip finished the day perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two runs.
"Doc is such a great athlete," Veidt said. "He came in late this season, the players wanted him here, but thank goodness he was here (Thursday), Veidt said. "Early in the game we created a situation where we didn't know if we could come back or not, but a few things fell our way.
"Our kids did a nice job of applying pressure."
Carraher's counterpart of the mound was Derek Peters of Fayetteville, and he didn't disappoint the fans in the stands, either. Peters began the game by striking out five of the first six batters he faced, and for good measure struck out six in the first three innings, allowing just one hit in that span.
In the next three innings, Peters tallied one more strikeout and gave up just four hits but also the aforementioned five runs to WHS.
Though WHS won the game, they fell into a steep hole in the fourth inning, as they allowed three runs on two hits, one walk, a passed ball, a wild pitch and two stolen bases.
Luke Allen began the inning by striking out but raced to first base on a passed ball, beating the throw to the base. He stole second base and scored on a base hit to right field by Helmers, who eventually reached second on the throw home.
Carraher gained the first out of the inning with a pickoff at second base but walked the next two batters, as he fell behind 3-1 to both batters.
In as a pinch runner, Scott Mullis, standing at second base following the second walk, advanced to third base on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out single by Peters, with an error in the outfield allowing two runners to cross the plate for a 3-0 Fayetteville lead.
The fifth inning was where the Wildcats broke out, tying the score with three runs, starting with a base hit by Jesse Bradds, who hit a rocket down the third base line. Bradds moved to second on an error in right field, allowing Luke Taggert to take first base. Bradds finished 1-for-2 with two runs and one walk.
Blake Trublood entered the game as a pinch runner for Bradds, and with one out, Seip singled to centerfield, scoring Trublood.
With two outs, both Seip and Taggert scored runs, including Seip scoring on a passed ball at home, tying the game.
Michael Smith also collected a hit in the fifth inning.
Sealing the win wasn't an easy feat either … with Fayetteville scoring one run, with Taylor Wood scoring on a ground out by Taylor Smucker.
Neither team will have much time to rest as WHS will host Ripley on Friday and Fayetteville will host Eastern Brown the same day.
BOX SCORE
FHS 000 300 1 — 4 4 3
WHS 000 032 x — 5 5 1