The West Greene baseball team played from behind all night on Monday, but the Buffaloes never stopped fighting and after forcing extra innings they were able to rally to a 5-3 win at Chuckey-Doak.
“I loved the fight from these guys,” West Greene coach Adrian Sauceman said. “They battled back. We gave up a home run on the first batter of the game, and a three spot in the bottom of the first. It wasn’t pretty by any means, but we kept battling back and that is what I love about this team.”
The Buffaloes got a true ironman performance on the mound from Conner Campbell who went 8 2/3 innings to earn the win. He struck out five, walked five and allowed eight hits.
“You don’t see that much in high school ball, but he got out of two or three innings in under 10 pitches,” Sauceman said. “The defense played well behind him and he threw strikes. Even after a rocky start he came back and threw strikes.”
The game was decided in the top of the ninth inning when West Greene came up with two runs to break a 3-3 tie. Jayden Cox got things started when he worked a walk and Campbell followed by being hit by a pitch.
With one out Braden McCamey then sent ground ball deep in the gap on the right side. Shane Cook was able to stop the ball, but he went to the ground which gave Cox time to score the go-ahead run. It was the first time West Greene led all night.
With Jacob Greene up to bat McCamey took off for second base and when the defense went to cover the steal Greene slapped a single through the wide-open left side of the infield. Campbell scored from third to give the Buffaloes a 5-3 lead before the Knights could get out of the inning.
“This is a pretty mature team,” Sauceman said. “We’ve played eight games and we’ve probably only led the whole way in one or two of them. We’ve had to fight through a lot of things, but these guys are responding and finding a way to win.”
Campbell earned two strikeouts in the bottom of the frame, but Chuckey-Doak did send the tying run to the plate. Cox came out of the bullpen and after falling behind 3-0 he came back for a game-ending strikeout.
Chuckey-Doak got off to a hot start on Monday and on the Black Knights’ first swing of the night Jake Hinkle lofted a homerun over the wall in left field.
Kiptyn Ball then put a single into left field before walks by Cook and Gavin Crum loaded the bases. James Seidl pushed across two more runs when he smacked a single past the shortstop. Chuckey-Doak took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but could not push another run across the plate the rest of the night.
West Greene put a dent in the lead in the third inning when with two outs Campbell reached on an outfield error. Jhonen Bath knocked him in with a line drive down the eft field line.
McCamey led off the bottom of the fourth inning by blasting a double into the left-center gap. The senior first baseman had a big day at the plate for the Buffaloes going 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI.
Greene reached on a bunt that was thrown away at first base, and that allowed McCamey to score from second base. Bronson Brown then dropped a single into shallow left field that evened the score at 3-3.
All three runs West Greene scored in regulation were unearned.
Over the next five half innings only two runners reached base. West Greene’s Campbell was left stranded after a leadoff double in the top of the fifth, and Chuckey-Doak’s Cook was caught stealing in the bottom of the fifth.
West Greene looked like it might go in front in the top of the seventh when two walks and an error loaded the base, but an easy groundball ended the frame with no damage done.
Chuckey-Doak ended both the seventh and eighth innings with runners on the base path, but the Knights could not find a way to score them.
Crum threw a tough 6 2/3 innings for Chuckey-Doak, but after 10 strikeouts, three walks and six hits allowed he had to settle for a no decision. Hinkle took the loss in relief. He struck out one, walked one and allowed two hits in 1 2/3 innings. Ball threw the final 2/3 of an inning with two strikeouts and two hits allowed.
At the plate Hinkle went 2-for-4 with a home run. Seidl was 1-for-4 with two RBIs for the Knights.
The two teams will meet again on Tuesday at West Greene for another important District 1-2A matchup. West Greene is now 3-0 in league play, and with a win on Tuesday would take control of the league standings. Chuckey-Doak will be looking for a bounce-back win to pull even with the Buffaloes.
“Getting a win on the road is huge, but we have to come back tomorrow and protect ‘The Buddy’ and try to get the second one,” Sauceman said. “Chuckey-Doak is a good team, and having a two-game lead on them could be big late in the year. We’re going to see them again at some point, and I’d like to have the advantage on them if we do.”
