WESTLAKE — Junior Cortlon Caesar made his debut in the starting lineup a memorable one on Wednesday by leading the Iowa Yellow Jackets to an 11-8 win over District 4-3A-leading Westlake.
Caesar blasted a three-run home run in the third inning for a 7-1 lead and pitched the final three innings on the mound to earn the win.
“Believe it or not, tonight was his first start of the year,” Iowa head coach Sean Richard said. “He is a basketball player and he is just kind of transitioning into his own this year.
“He got off to a slow start, but tonight was his night. We needed him.”
But the Yellow Jackets’ big lead didn’t last long.
In the bottom of the fourth, Travis Racca hit a single, Mark Ashworth was hit by a pitch and Zac Abshire laid down a bunt to load the bases. Brayden Winn followed with a two-run single and Abshire scored on a balk by starting pitcher Hanson Raymond to cut Iowa’s lead to 7-6. With two outs, Gabe Buxton hit a single up the middle to tie the score.
But as quickly as Westlake took the momentum, Iowa turned the tables in its favor in the top of the sixth inning after a team meeting in the dugout.
Two walks by Westlake starter Evan Goss and a bunt by Bryce Buquet loaded the bases with no outs. Haeden Joubert put Iowa on top for good with a two-run, pinch-hit double to left field.
“They (Westlake) came back and tied it up like we expected,” Richard said. “Our kids had a little meeting and they decided that we do have a lot more in our heart and we had to dig deep, and they did.”
“It has been like that all year in our district. Games have been up and down.”
After a brief run as the sole leader in District 4-3A, Westlake (14-16, 5-3) now shares the lead with Iowa (20-8, 5-3) with two district games left.
“Iowa is a good team,” Westlake head coach Blake Reed said. “They run their offense well, they swipe bags and they play the short game well and then they get a timely hit here and there and the jump out on you.
“There is rarely a front-runner that leaves the pack behind. We have to keep going with that roller coaster.”
Goss (4-5) was hit with his first district loss after allowing nine runs on seven hits over five innings.
from American Press: Your Best News And Advertising Source - Home http://ift.tt/2oDJfP3
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment