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Hayden
Schlechty Gets back safely after getting caught in a
rundown in the fifth inning against Newton.
The Patriots won the Cross
County Conference game 9-4. CNO Photo by
George Starks
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Patriots use six run inning in victory
By George Starks
NEW MADISON- Tri-Village baseball coach Jim Maples, could have suffered
heart failure Tuesday in the Patriots Cross County Conference game with
Newton.
Down 4-3 heading into the sixth, Maples watched his crew put up a six
spot on the visiting Indians in a 9-4 Tri-Village victory.
“Games like this are tough,” said Maples. “You just can’t let teams
like this hang around. We caught some breaks in the sixth inning and we
came out with a win.”
Catching breaks is exactly what the Patriots did in the sixth inning.
Trailing 4-3, Tri-Village got things going when with one down, the nine
hole hitter, Travis Frech, drew a walk.
That walk opened the floodgates for the Patriots.
Lead-off hitter Kyle Pipenger drilled a pitch to center for a double
scoring Frech, getting the Patiotseven at 4-4.
Justin Royer followed with another free pass to load the bases.
Haden Schelchty reached on a bases loaded walk and the Patriots had a
5-4 lead. A lead they would never relinquish.
When the inning was over, the Patriots sent 10 hitters to the plate,
running Newton starter Chase Courtney from the mound in the process.
“We only got three hits in that inning but we had a couple of walks
that we took advantage of and taking advantage of their mistakes was
key for us,” Maples said. “Newton is better than what they’ve been in
the past and they came here to win. Travis Frech, when he drew that
walk and that was big for us. He’s not had a lot of at bats for us and
I thought it was big just for him to be on base for us and give Kyle
the opportunity to hit and he came through in the clutch for us. He
stroked that ball hard to left center to get Travis in and we followed
up on a few things also.”
Newton’s defense kept the Indians close with the biggest play coming in
the fifth by outfielder Logan Welbaum, robbing junior Tyler Cook of
extra bases.
“That kid in right field made an outstanding catch,” said Maples.
Despite making a handful of errors, the Patriots improved to 13-4 on
the season with the victory.
“Defense has not been out strong suite this year,” Maples stated.
“We’re making two or three errors a game and when you’re trailing 4-3
in the bottom of the sixth, you really start sweating things out.
As of late, we’ve had some clutch hitting but tonight, that wasn’t the
case until the end.”
With the win, the Patriots went to 6-1 in the CCC.
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