St. James Edges Sullivan
In a game that featured just one strikeout between two teams, every single ball put in play Thursday was crucial.
St. James made more errors (5) than Sullivan (3), but they were able to deliver timely hits when the opportunity presented itself.
The Tigers broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth inning without the benefit of the ball leaving the infield and held on for a 6-4 win.
Wyatt Schmidt and Dalton Englert combined to allow just one earned run across seven innings. Schmidt pitched five innings, struck out one, walked one and allowed six hits. He was charged with one earned run. Englert finished the final two innings and allowed one hit and a walk.
The two teams who split last year’s Four Rivers Conference championship went back and forth through the first four innings.
Sullivan struck the first blow. Jacob Miller drew a walk and stole second. He advanced to third on a bunt by Landon Hoffman, which was turned into an error by Tigers starter Gunnar Seams. Miller scored on a wild pitch, but Austin Frye lined into a double play.
Lucas Bahr led off the second with a single to left. Jaden Roark reached on an error and put runners in scoring position. Schmidt induced a ground ball from Alex Evans, allowing Bahr to score. Roark moved to third and scored on another ground ball out.
Sullivan matched it in the bottom half of the inning. Ty Wheeler singled and Cody McKinney was hit by a pitch. Lucas Cottrell dropped a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Derek Evans then reached on an infield score to tie the game at 2-2.
St. James went back ahead in the third when Andrew Branson singled, went to second on a passed ball and up to third on a sacrifice. Seams grounded out to drive Branson in.
The Eagles answered again in the third when Miller led off with an opposite field single to right and scored on a succession of errors.
St. James countered for good in the fourth. With one out, Roark reached on an infield single. He stole second and scored on an error off Evans’ bat. Sullivan’s defense took a run off the board one batter later when Gavin Caldwell singled to Hoffman in left. Hoffman fired to Derek Evans, who relayed the throw home and caught Alex Evans.
With two outs, Tyler Teague’s bloop single to center gave the Tigers a 5-3 lead.
Sullivan had an opportunity to strike back in the bottom of the fourth. Cottrell drew a leadoff walk and Will Allen reached on an infield single. But the Tigers turned a 6-4-3 triple play to wipe out Sullivan’s potential rally.
St. James tacked on another run in the fifth when Bahr dropped in a two-out RBI single.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Eagles brought the tying run to the plate with one out, but could pick up just one run o ground ball turned into an error.