A-15s take 2 games from Ottawa
Ottawa bats can’t keep up with hard-hitting Emporia
By The Emporia Gazette (Contact)
Friday, June 15, 2007
The Emporia A-15s got the bats going Thursday night in a doubleheader at Ottawa, taking both games of the twinbill, 14-6 and 7-5.
In the first game especially, the offense was clicking, as A-15s coach Dick Evans said every batter in the lineup had at least one hit and one RBI in the eight-run victory.
“It was just a very solid performance all the way through the lineup,” Evans said. “The bottom of the lineup really came through. That was big.”
Emporia didn’t stop there, though, as the A-15s took control early in Game Two and then held off a late Ottawa rally to win the second game, 7-5.
“We didn’t get as many hits,” Evans said, “but we still had some good things happen.
“We just played up to our capabilities.”
In Game One, Emporia wasted little time getting the offense going. Brett Lechien led off with a single and later scored off a hit from Brian Keisler. Ethan Hall then stepped up and blasted a two-run home run to put Emporia up 3-0 after one frame.
As Emporia added to its lead the rest of the way, Adam Ewy (5 1/3 innings) and Jacob Loucks (1 2/3 innings) combined to keep Ottawa at bay on the mound.
“Out pitching was very good,” Evans said.
In Game Two, after falling behind 1-0 after the first, Emporia came back with a two-run third inning to take the lead for good. Ottawa mounted a comeback in the sixth when Loucks — on in relief of starter Brian Keisler — surrendered a couple runs to pull Ottawa to within two at 7-5, but Ottawa would get no closer despite getting the tying run to the plate later in the seventh inning.
“We had to patchwork it in the second game,” Evans said. “We were playing our ninth game in seven days, and we had some tired arms.
“In the sixth inning, Jacob just tried to do a little too much, and he didn’t need to. But he found his composure and got through it OK.”
The A-15s have today off before traveling to Newton on Saturday.