Pioneers fall 7-3 at Oakland
The Pioneer baseball team’s streak of four straight District 7-AAA splits came to an end Thursday, as Oakland won 7-3 to sweep their two-day series with Warren County.
A four-run fourth inning made the difference for the Patriots, and completed their comeback from an early Pioneer lead.
WCHS, which fell to 10-15 overall and 4-6 in league play, posted three runs in the second to go on top 3-1. With the bases loaded and two out, Josh Bratcher drew a walk, forcing home Todd Gilley, and Jacob Bratcher came through with a single, scoring Steven Ehrhardt and Tyler Herriman.
Oakland answered with two runs in the third, both coming from bases-loaded walks by Pioneer starter Colby Killian. Killian’s control struggled after he was hit in the leg by a line drive from Blake Patterson. The sophomore walked eight batters over the course of the third and fourth innings.
The Patriots put up four more runs in the fourth on one hit and four walks.
The Pioneers went down in order in the fifth, and managed just one hit and one walk over the game’s final two innings.
Jacob Bratcher finished 2-for-2 at the plate for WCHS, with two RBIs. Gilley had a pair of hits, while Dylan Stephens and Joey Haston had one hit apiece.
Dougie Birkofer finished 2-for-2 for Oakland, with three runs scored and one driven in.
The Pioneers travel to Cookeville Tuesday, and are scheduled to play host to the Cavaliers Wednesday night.