Gold splits doubleheader at Wamego
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Emporia A-16 Gold team rebounded from a first-game loss to earn a doubleheader split on Monday night at Wamego.
Playing in uncomfortable heat, the Gold took a 10-7 victory in Game Two, banging out 10 hits and surviving a Wamego rally in the bottom of the seventh. Down 10-5 entering the final half-inning, Wamego scored two runs and had the bases loaded with two outs when Gold coach Alex Reyes decided to go to the bullpen to get the final out. He summoned Daniel Finch to relieve Chase Speer, who had gone the whole way for Emporia. Finch responded with a game-ending strikeout to improve the Gold to 5-6 on the year.
“He (Speer) told me the inning before that that he was getting a little tired, and you could tell his velocity wasn’t there,” Reyes said. “... He was sweating up a storm, and I asked if he wanted that last inning, and he said yes. But he got into some trouble, and you could just tell that his arm was getting tired.”
The Gold scored three runs in the second inning, two in the fourth and five in the sixth. Jackson Perez went 3-for-5 and had an RBI. Brady Marstall had two hits and reached on a walk, and Matt Weathered doubled and walked. Finch went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, and Taylor Hickey had an RBI hit.
Speer kept the ball down and walked just one batter in 6 2/3 innings.
“He just pitched really good,” Reyes said. “And (our) defense was still a little sketchy at times, but (we) outhit ’em.”
Emporia was run-ruled in six innings in the 11-3 defeat in Game One. Alex Benjamin had a rough six-inning outing, hitting five batters. Finch pitched the last inning.
“It felt like 100 degrees out there, maybe that was (part of) it, but it was really hot,” Reyes said. “But that other team played in it too. Just wasn’t (Benjamin’s) day, I guess.”
Emporia got all three of its runs in the fourth inning. Speer and Perez singled ahead of Weathered, who then grounded to third base. The throw to first got away, scoring two runs and allowing Weathered to move all the way to third. Brett McEvoy then drove him in with a single. Emporia had five total hits in Game One.
“The first game, I got on them,” Reyes said. “We just weren’t ready to play. Errors, and leaving runners on base. ... I kind of got on ’em after the game and left it up to them if they wanted to show up for this next game. They responded well by scoring (10) runs. ... It was good that they responded by hitting the ball.”
The Gold are scheduled to host doubleheaders on Thursday and Friday at Soden’s Grove, both at 6 p.m. McPherson comes to town Thursday, and Friday’s opponent will be Wichita.