Pioneer baseball splits with Siegel
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On Tuesday night, Joey Haston fanned 13 Siegel batters, but the Stars took advantage of eight Pioneer errors to score four unearned runs and held on for an 8-6 win.
Wednesday night, however, Colby Killian was all but untouchable on the hill for the Pioneers, striking out 11 and allowing just one hit as his team salvaged the split with a 12-2 blowout.
“The guys played well, and it feels good getting that first district win,” head coach J.W. Holt said after Wednesday’s game. “It takes a lot of weight off our shoulders, and we can breathe a little easier the rest of this week.”
While Killian was getting the job done on the hill, he also helped his own cause at the plate, going 2-for-4, including a two-run triple that capped an eight-run fourth for the Pioneers. Tyler Herriman added a two-run double in the frame, and Josh Bratcher and Todd Gilley both drove in runs as the Pioneers took control after being tied with the Stars at 2-2.
“Some of our hitters that hadn’t stepped up yet came through and did a good job tonight, and I’m very proud of them,” Holt said. “We jumped on (Siegel) early, and the big inning gave our guys the opportunity to relax up there and get the job done.”
Dylan Stephens went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run for the Pioneers Wednesday, while Killian, Steven Ehrhardt and Gilley all finished with two hits. Gilley added a two-run double in the top of the sixth that helped end the game via the 10-run mercy rule.
Other Pioneer hits on the night came from Jacob Bratcher, Herriman and Josh Bratcher.
Tuesday night, Siegel took advantage of two big errors in the fourth to break a scoreless tie and take a 4-0 lead. None of the Stars’ first four runs were earned by Haston, who fanned 13 batters and walked just four while giving up five hits in 6-1/3 innings.
The Pioneers answered with single runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, and Siegel added one more in the top of the sixth to go up 5-2 before a two-run double from Killian made it a 5-4 game heading into the final frame.
The Stars posted three runs in the top of the seventh, helping them hold off a late comeback attempt by the Pioneers, who scored twice in the bottom of the final inning and had the bases loaded when reliever Matt Carlton fanned Killian to end the game.
Jacob and Josh Bratcher had two hits each for Warren County, which also got base knocks from Chase McGee, Herriman, Haston and Killian.
The Pioneers (2-5, 1-1 district) traveled to take on Grundy County Thursday night, and are home against Lincoln County today at 5:30 p.m.
They’ll play host to La Vergne Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
WCHS Baseball
Siegel (Tuesday) 8
WCHS 6
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WCHS (Wednesday 12
Siegel 2