|
|
|
 | |
|
|
Monday, 27 April 2009 |
By CHRIS VOLOSCHUK
Sports Editor
DAYTON — New Knoxville Ranger varsity baseball coach Ron Reineke said his team stayed back at the plate and waited for the right pitch to hit.
Judging by the scoreboard at Dayton’s Fifth Third Field Saturday afternoon, the Rangers did not have to wait all that long, jumping all over the Waynesfield-Goshen Tigers in a 21-2, five-inning win.
The Tigers had some momentum going in, as they were fresh off a 16-12 victory over Fairlawn just 24 hours prior. Saturday’s game proved to be a completely different scenario, however.
“It’s back to the drawing board,” Waynesfield varsity coach J.R. Biederman said. “It didn’t seem like everyone was on the same page.”
The Rangers found their way around the bases early. Jake Lawler led off the game with a bloop single and scored two batters later on a passed ball. Marcus Reineke, the No. 2 hitter, singled to right, stole second, moved to third on the same passed ball that Lawler scored on and stole home when Tigers starter Nick Shaner struck out Kyle Merges, batting in the third slot, with a pitch the catcher couldn’t corral.
The two runs off passed balls in the first inning was definite foreshadowing for how the rest of the game would play out. A 2-0 New Knoxville lead would expand soon after.
Down 4-0 in the bottom of the third, Shaner and the Tigers would run into more trouble. The first two New Knoxville batters singled and manufactured a run with the help of two stolen bases. For the inning, the Rangers would crank out four more hits and four walks, steal six bases and score an additional six times to run the score to 11-0.
In keeping with the earlier foreshadowing, three of the seven runs came off passed balls.
“We couldn’t throw strikes, and we had way too many passed balls,” Biederman said. “The balls that were hit to us, we made the plays, and that’s all we can ask them to do.”
The fourth inning would turn out to be the back breaker.
Shaner walked the first four batters in a row.
In that four-batter stretch, two runs scored off passed balls and a total of four stolen bases. A single by the fifth batter of the inning would signal the end for Shaner, who went 3 innings giving up 11 hits and 7 walks while surrendering 13 runs.
Evan Crabtree and Jacob Frank each took the mound in relief, but neither could find much of a rhythm. They would combine to allow three hits, four walks and eight runs.
“Anytime you can put 21 runs on the board, you did something,” Reineke said. “Lately, we’ve been a little tense up there and over-anxious, and today they relaxed, had some fun. We sat back in the box and made contact.”
The Rangers were tough on the mound, with three pitchers holding Waynesfield-Goshen to two runs off two hits. The Tigers’ runs were scored by Shaner and Ronnie Jarvis.
With his team’s next game scheduled for today at home against Temple Christian, Biederman said simply controlling the baseball could translate into better results.
“We need to throw strikes and stop the ball,” Biederman said.
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 April 2009 )
|
|
|
|
