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Versailles
freshman Jake Watren scores for the Tigers in
the fourth inning. Versailles held
a 5-0 lead over Northmont but lost
late in the game as the Thunderbolts dropped a 13-5 loss
on Versailles.
The Tigers will battle GTI2 tonight at 6 p.m. at the Sater Diamond
Complex in the
losers bracket of the tournament. CNO photo by George
Starks
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GTI2 up next for Versailles
Northmont puts
on late rally to defeat Versailles
By George Starks
GREENVILLE- Versailles coach Max Kindell had a very sound game plan
going into Tuesday’s game with Northmont.
Throw the best pitcher he had, score early and keep the lead to the
end. Kindell hit two of the three. Playing an all freshman team,
Kindell threw his best, Jarred Neikamp. Versailles built a 5-0 lead and
kept the advantage through four innings, holding a 5-2 lead after four.
The fifth and sixth would spell disaster as the pitching would fall
apart and the offense would become non-existent.
After posting a 6-2 win over Butler Monday and the Tigers coming off a
12-1 blowout of Centerville on Sunday, Northmont proved it was too much
in the end for Versailles.
Scoring four in the fifth and a whopping seven in the sixth, Northmont
rolled to a 13-5 victory to stay in the winner’s bracket of the
District Seven Junior Varsity Baseball Tournament Tuesday.
Like a top rated prize fighter, Northmont was on the ropes but came out
swinging.
“We have played tough throughout the year and had pitching problems
along the way,” said Kindell. “We couldn’t get our guys to throw
strikes late and the defense wasn’t there when we needed it. We played
well until the fifth inning before everything started falling apart and
eventually collapsed.”
With Neikamp on the mound in the starting roll for Versailles, the
Tigers were in a position to win through the opening three frames. At
that point, Neikamp started to run out of gas.
With just 43 pitches thrown, Neikamp was looking like he would be
untouchable. Then came the fourth when the T’Bolts put two on the
board. In that inning, the young right-hander served up 26 more
pitches, three hits and two runs before being pulled.
“It was a hot day out here and you knew he wasn’t going to get past
four or five innings,” Kindell said. “When he ran out of gas you could
definitely tell he ran out.”
Versailles scored two in the top of the second when with two down, Cory
Rose drew a walk, Jake Watren singled with Brett McEldowney getting a
free pass to follow Watren.
Neikamp would then help his own cause with a two run single to center.
In the fourth, Versailles would tack on three more rbi hits from
McEldowney and Brett Gigandet, but that would be the end of the line in
the scoring department.
From that point on, the Tigers would collect just two more hits, a
single in the sixth from Gavin Mills and a single in the seventh from
McEldowney.
Northmont, trailing 5-2 heading into the fifth would send eight to the
dish and plate four but it was the sixth that put things out of reach
for Versailles. Northmont would send 13 up to hit and score seven of
them, leaving the bases loaded in the end.
Versailles will play GTI 2 on Thursday at 6 p.m.
The winner will advance to play Friday at 8 p.m. The loser will be
eliminated from the tournament.
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