Ottawa jumps on Emporia A-15 miscues, runs away with 12-2 victory
By Jesse Newell
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Emporia A-15 coach Dick Evans didn’t need much time to pinpoint a reason for his team’s 12-2 loss to Ottawa on Friday night.
“In a 21-out game, when you give up 37 outs, you can’t stay in a ballgame,” Evans said. “That just beats your morale.”
By the coach’s count, Emporia had seven errors, a few misplayed balls and also some mental errors that helped Ottawa to extend innings and build its lead.
All this from a defense Evans believed would be his team’s biggest strength.
“It was sad watching us tonight,” Evans said. “We’re a good team, and we should be fun to watch.”
The errors might have been toughest on A-15 starter Ethan Hall, who walked just two.
Emporia committed five miscues during his five innings.
“It’s hard with so many errors,” Hall said. “You’re out there on the mound thinking, ‘Why am I out here if no one is going to help me out?’”
Ottawa established its bats early, plating four runs on four hits in the top of the first.
Emporia battled back to score single runs in each of the first two innings.
In the first, Brett Lechien led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and then to third on a groundout by Matt Fry.
Lechien later scored on Bryan Little’s groundball to shortstop, sliding in safely around the tag made by Ottawa catcher Tyler Beebe.
Hall plated Emporia’s run in the second, beating out an infield hit and later scoring on an RBI single from Matt Weathred.
Ottawa added to its lead with two in the fifth and four in the seventh. Three of those runs were unearned.
“Our pitching is fine. We’re going to give up some runs and some hits, but nobody can stand out there when you give up 37, 38 outs,” Evans said. “There were some balls I thought we should have gotten to that we didn’t get a glove on. It was a tough night.”
Lechien, Hall, Weathred and Brian Keisler had the four Emporia hits.
The A-15s were scheduled to play again this morning, taking on Wichita at 9 a.m.
Wendy’s Classic
Friday at Emporia
Ottawa 12, Emporia 2
Ottawa 411 020 4 — 12 15 1 Emporia 15s 110 000 0 — 2 4 7
W — Conner Shea. L — Ethan Hall.
2B — Ottawa: Adam Maxwell, Tom Peters, Carson Dunlap. SB — Ottawa: Robert Settlemyer 2, Brendon White.
Emporia A-15 highlights — Ethan Hall 1-3, R; Matt Weathred 1-3, RBI; Brett Lechien 1-4, R; Brian Keisler 1-3.