This past Monday night, Manual’s boys’ varsity baseball team came out on top against the Eastern Eagles, 3-2.
“I mean we don’t need to do anything spectacular, I think if we do routine plays of good quality our bats will be really good and set to go for region,” Nicholas Ballard (#1, 12) said.
First:
The game began with Manual taking the field with Ballard pitching. The Eagles’ first hitter managed to walk after a full count. After two balls and two strikes, Eastern’s second hitter would be ruled out after his pop up was caught. However, Eastern’s first base runner managed to run to second base.
After the Crimsons managed to earn two quick outs to end the top of the first , the Crimsons themselves would also had a quick three-and-out to transition into the second inning.
Second:
Ballard remained strong on the mound, quickly garnering three outs to end the Eagles’ offensive playing time.
An infield ground ball allowed Kaden Bauman (#22, 11) to run to second base. Aiden Jenkins (#12, 10) then to bunt the ball, helping secure Bauman at third base on his second attempt
Jacob Sanford (#29, 11) would strike out after batting a full count, marking the end of the second inning, unfortunately leaving Bauman in scoring position on third base.
Third:
Eastern was able to quickly get their first hitter to second base. After a sacrifice bunt, Eastern secured their runner on third base. Eastern made effective plays and was able to get another man on first base. Fortunately, Manual caught a pop up hit towards the outfield and secured the second and third outs shortly after, bringing the top of the second to a close.
Manual’s first two hitters would hit pop ups, which were easily caught by Eastern’s outfielders. The atmosphere became much more enthusiastic after the Crimsons’ Preston Jolly (#32, 10) hit a line drive and slid into third base. Shortly after, Jolly would run to home plate, scoring Manual’s first point of the night.
Fourth:
At the top of the fourth inning, the Eagle’s first hitter struck out. However, the Eagles quickly recovered with runners on first and second bases. Manual soon achieved the second out, though. Kaden McCormick (#9, 9) then caught a pop up to end the top of the fourth.
Manual’s Ballard secured first base with a walk to start off the bottom of the fourth inning.. John Boylan (#4, 12) then hit a pop up that Eastern outfielders made an error on, allowing the Crimsons to have one man on second base and another on first base.
Shortly after, Manual had runners on all bases. A timeout called for Eastern to regroup. After a miscommunication, Manual had two players on first base, which led to the last out of the inning However, the bottom of the fourth inning would end with Ballard earning Manual their second point of the game.
Fifth:
The Crimsons started off the fifth inning with a new pitcher, Julian Thurston (#6, 9). After Eastern successfully got a man on first base, Manual’s second baseman would commit an error allowing the Eagles to steal second base.
Eastern received a walk and at that point, another timeout was called to help Manual regroup. Unfortunately, the Eagles would have bases loaded soon after. Eastern would get their first point of the game after an infield ground ball allowed their third base runner to score.
The bottom of the fifth inning ended quickly for the Crimsons after all hitters were thrown out at base.
Sixth:
Eastern’s first hitter quickly made it to second base following a double. Soon after, the Eagles would score their second point of the game, making the score tied at 2-2, with a runner still on second base.
The Eagles quickly made their way around the bases. However, they would all be ruled out after an amazing catch by catcher Boylan (#4, 12).
The bottom of the sixth inning would move quickly with Ballard running the bases swiftly and scoring the last point of the game. Bauman was able to make it to third base, while Cash Zuberer (#8, 12) was able to run to first. Attempting to steal, Zuberer made it to second base, but Bauman had to slide back to third after he realized he wouldn’t safely make it to home plate. However, with players on third and second bases for Manual, the sixth inning ended.
Seventh:
The seventh inning ended quickly. With the Eagles unable to score a point to tie the game, the bottom of the seventh was called. The final score was 3-2, in favor of the Crimsons.
“Felt like the first time we had a team effort, it’s been kind of selfish to start the year, we’re starting to make a turn just a little late in the year,” head coach Ryan Blackwell said.
