Above: Garrett Curran tagged out the Barnum runner who was trying to get to second base by a country mile. Left: Up to bat, Andrew Miller walked, stole second and then ended up scoring in this inning. Far left: Making a throw home was Joe Deschampe.
“Slump? I ain’t in no slump…
I just ain’t hitting.”
Yogi Berra
CCHS boys’ baseball team isn’t exactly tearing the leather off the ball with their bats this season, but a confluence of good pitching, good defense and a few timely hits when they need them, has brought the Vikings’ record to 3-3. More importantly though, the Vikings have won their last three.
Against Barnum, a game played at home on Tuesday, May 2, Ethan Sporn started and pitched a complete game.
“He was strong throughout and continued to feel more and more settled as the game progressed,” said head coach Arleigh Jorgenson. “His pitch count allowed it, and he reported feeling physically very good throughout.”
After three scoreless innings, Barnum scored one run in the fourth to take the lead.
The Vikings scored an equalizer in the fourth when Andrew Miller walked, then stole second. Erik Lawler hit a slow roller to third which resulted in an overthrow of first. Miller scored.
Defense and good pitching dominated the next two innings, and the score remained tied going into the seventh.
Barnum scored their second run at the top of the seventh on a walk, followed by an errant throw to second on the runner’s stolen base attempt that resulted in the runner moving to third. An error at shortstop allowed the run to cross.
After the Bombers had taken the lead in the top of the seventh, Wyatt Baker was sent to the plate in a pinch-hitting role. Baker hit a sharp grounder down the third-base line and into left field. Levi Sheils came on as a pinch-runner. Tristen Bockovich squared one up for a single. With no one out and runners on first and second, Joe Deschampe squared to bunt but instead was hit by the pitch, loading the bases. Josh Prom hit a fly ball to right field. Sheils scored, but on the relay throw to the plate, the ball got away from the catcher, and Tristen Bockovich scored from second to win the game.
“We had reached base a few times via the walk, hit by the pitch, or errors, but until Wyatt Baker came up in the seventh, we had had no hits at all,” said Coach Jorgenson. “We had, however, run the pitch count up on the Barnum pitcher and were, therefore, facing a reliever in the seventh. Back-to-back hits by Baker and Bockovich, and then a fly into right by Prom accounted for the win in the end.
“Ethan Sporn’s performance, however, was the story, along with fairly good defense.
“We did not take advantage of a couple of opportunities early, but this team is building confidence and is maturing in terms of the execution of their game,” said the coach, adding, “It was a great win.”
The Vikings played two games in Silver Bay on Saturday, April 29. The Vikings first defeated Cherry, and then played a tight game with Silver Bay, who they lost to by one run two weeks ago. The game was close, said Jorgenson, “Until we began to pull away for a 15-7 win.
“Tristen Bockovich was the hurler for that one. He performed very well, as did Ethan Sporn in relief. With a 3-3 record, we head to South Ridge on Thursday, and host Ely at home on Saturday, May 6, beginning at noon.”
“I never blame myself when I’m not hitting. I just blame the bat, and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn’t my fault that I’m not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?” Yogi Berra
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