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Versailles
junior Mitch Gigandet scores from second on a
double by Damien Richard during the
game with Russia Tuesday. The
Tigers took a 5-3 victory over the Raiders. CNO
photo by George Starks
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Versailles gets win in tough game
Tigers top Russia
By George Starks
VERSAILLES- Versailles scored single runs in the first, third, fourth,
fifth and sixth Tuesday and was forced to hold on for a tight 5-3
victory over its backyard rivals, Russia.
Through six innings, the Tiger pitching had checked the visiting
Raiders on just four hits while allowing a lone run, that coming in the
fifth.
At that point, Versailles had built a 4-1 advantage and things seemed
to be in cruise control.
That’s when things got a little dicey for sophomore pitcher Jace Barga.
In the seventh, Barga allowed two runs to cross the plate after
allowing a lead-off walk to Trevor Sherman, followed by a single to the
number two man in the line-up, Cole McEldowney.
“We’re still trying to recover a touch from basketball season,” said
Versailles coach Mitch Hoying. “Not all of our arms are where they
normally would be. Jace got a little tired, but he also needed to get
his pitch count up and build some arm strength. He did a great job of
gutting it out and making some great pitches when he had to.”
With four innings in the books, the Tigers had built a 3-0 lead behind
the pitching of senior Kyle “Smoothie” Niekamp.
“Smoothie looked real good,” Hoying continued. “He had good command of
his pitches and was getting the ball over. His curve ball wasn’t real
sharp. He had enough change of speed to make them miss here and there.
He did a great job.”
Versailles got the scoring underway in the opening frame when Mitch
Gigandet got things started when he was hit by a pitch delivered by
Austin Gainety and would later score on a RBI single off the bat of
Niekamp with two down.
Gigandet would once again cross the plate in the third. After he
doubled to center with one down, the Tiger junior would score on a
double to left center by Damien Richard on a ball that would find the
fence.
On the day, Versailles would collect nine hits, one from Gigandet, two
from Niekamp and three from Richard.
Of the nine knocks, Versailles tagged Russia pitching for five doubles
on the day.
Not big scoring innings, but runs in needed situations.
“We’ve been fortunate to hit a lot of doubles,” said Hoying. “They got
some pitches up today and we made them pay with big hits in the gaps,
from hitting balls hard. It’s pretty easy to jog in from second when
the next guy is sending the ball to the fence. So we made our hits
count. It makes it easy to coach when we’re trading bases.”
The win put Versailles at 6-2 on the season and the Tigers will play
tonight at Valley View.
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