After an error led to Sheldon scoring the first run of the game in the seventh, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to defeat the Orabs 2-1. The contest was the season-opener for both teams.
The seventh inning saw Sheldon’s leadoff batter reach base on an error and then steal second on what was a much discussed safe call. Samuel Heyn struck out the next two batters but a base hit plated the go-ahead run for the Orabs. Following the second error of the inning, Heyn recorded his 10th strikeout of the game and kept the deficit at 1-0.
Ben Haack got the bottom of the seventh started with a single to right. Nick Bronstad then drew a walk and Tyson Tessum entered the game to run for him. Keith DeBoer’s sacrifice bunt turned into a base hit and the bags were full. A passed ball allowed Haack to come home and the game was tied. After Sheldon got an out by way of strikeout, Jordan Ortega walked to reload the bases. With the infield drawn in, Dawson Schiphoff hit a ball that the shortstop misplayed into an error and Tessum touched home plate with the deciding run.
“Winning a game like this, especially to start the year, is huge for us,” declared HMS head coach Jeremy Gloden. “If we had lost, that could have potentially hurt our confidence a little. I’m just very proud of the effort and the fight we showed all night. They really wanted this game. To respond like we did in the seventh inning, that was a lot of fun. The guys couldn’t have executed any better in the situations they were put in. It was a great high school baseball game for sure.”
Heyn walked three batters and hit two more to go along with his 10 punchouts. He scattered three hits. Two of those walks and one of the hits came in the first inning, but catcher Jacob Cates gunned down one the of the runners at second base, and another at third. The game featured only three errors, two by the Hawks.
“I really liked our defense,” commented Gloden. “We made a lot of crucial plays, especially early to get out of jams. We stumbled a little in the seventh, but we were able to hold them to one run. Jacob Cates was also very strong behind the plate and threw out two base runners that helped take them out of key situations. Sam started off a little slow on the mound, but he got stronger as the game went on. The big key for him was getting his curveball to work. That helped keep the Sheldon hitters off balance.”
Schiphoff put the ball in play on all four of his at bats, including singles in the first and third innings. Trenton Vollink had a base rap in the second and Ortega and Keaton Graves each singled in the fifth. HMS left nine runners on base while the Orabs stranded seven.
Sheldon 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 – 1
HMS 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 – 2