Late Wawasee Run Enough To Thwart Squire Rally At Parkview Field
May 17, 2023 at 9:40 p.m.
Late Wawasee Run Enough To Thwart Squire Rally At Parkview Field
By Connor McCann-
Neither side was able to manage a hit in the first inning, with both sides perhaps shaking off nerves and getting used to their new, and much larger, surroundings. The Warriors hit first as the visitors on the scoreboard, popping out to the Squire infield three times in a row.
Warriors’ starter Kaleb Salazar wasted no time creating a highlight for his squad, striking out Manchester leadoff hitter Ethan Hendrix on three pitches to get things started in the bottom half of the inning. It wouldn’t be the only great play from Wawasee in the field in the first frame, as centerfielder Kane Dukes made a nice catch on a line drive with a runner on second and followed it up by throwing him out on a failed hit-and-run attempt.
“I was actually surprised with how calm the guys were coming into this game, calmer than they usually are,” Wawasee head coach Joe Salazar remarked after the game. “We stressed to the guys that this is a fun thing and to just play the game the right way, and they definitely did so.”
Wawasee’s Ryan Menzie would put the first hit on the board in the top of the second, in an inning that saw three different Warriors get on base but none crossing home. The Squires had two runners get on in the bottom half of the inning, but shared the same fate. After two innings at Parkview, the game remained a scoreless tie.
The third inning featured the game’s first runs as well as controversy. A towering fly ball hit by Wawasee’s Daniel Wilson was caught by the Squire right fielder, but dropped on the transfer. Thinking the ball wasn’t caught, Dylan Cripe, who led the inning off with a walk, booked it to second. Despite not tagging up, Cripe was told by umpires to remain on second. The Warriors would take advantage of the break, as Reed Reidenbach would hit a single and drive in Cripe to start off the scoring a batter later. Salazar came up next with Reidenbach now on second. The cleanup hitter would do his job, taking the ball to right for another Wawasee hit and another run.
Now trailing by two, the Squires got their first hit in the bottom of the third on an opposite-field knock by Teegan Snyder. He would be thrown out on a fielder’s choice hit into by Ethan Hendrix, but that wouldn’t stop the Manchester rally. Hendrix would steal second and third to stand just 90 feet away from cutting the lead in half, but the third strikeout of the game by Salazar would put that to bed.
“Kaleb was on it today. That’s the second game in a row where he’s had some really good stuff,” Salazar said. “The defense behind him was very good too. We made some errors but didn’t panic.”
It looked as if the Warriors would extend their lead in the top of the fifth after Ty Brooks began the inning with a double down the left field line. Brooks even ended up on third after a throwing error by the Manchester defense. However, some nice defensive plays would get the Squires out of the inning. A ground ball back to starter Gavin Martin would strike down Brooks at the plate on a fielder’s choice. Martin wasn’t done there, picking Reidenbach off of first base to end the inning and keep the score at 2-0.
That would be crucial, as the Squires would finally get on the board in the bottom of the frame. Evan Estep led the inning off with a double and was advanced to third on a groundout by Davin Hendrix before scoring on an RBI groundout by Snyder. Manchester wouldn’t stop there though, putting the next three runners on to load the bases in a pivotal moment of the game. Salazar would get out of the jam from there, getting Reiss Gaerte to ground out to third to end the inning with the score now 2-1.
With all of the momentum now on their side, the Squires got another rally started in the bottom of the sixth. Evan Martynowicz reached first on an error to begin the inning, stealing second to get into scoring position. He would come around to tie the game on a soft grounder by Davin Hendrix, hit in a perfect spot of the infield that made it impossible to field cleanly. Heading into the seventh, both teams got ready to begin anew in a tie ballgame.
The tie didn’t last long. Gavin Malone would smash a double to the left field fence with just one out in the inning, before being moved over to third on a bunt from Cripe. With Brooks in the batters’ box and able to do some damage, Martin’s 1-0 delivery would sneak past the glove of catcher Garrett Sites and reach the backstop, allowing the go-ahead run to score from third.
“We’ve talked a lot this year about mental toughness, picking up the guy next to you,” Salazar said. “Tonight, you could tell that they believed in each other, trusted each other and guys came up big when they needed to.”
Manchester would have a chance to tie it in the bottom of the seventh. Sites would single with an out before Martin hit a gapper to give the Squires their scoring chance. Waved around by his third base coach, Sites would try to score from first on the play but was thrown out by a tremendous Wawasee relay. Now with two outs and Martin on second, the game concluded on a fly out to center field by Gaerte.
The Warriors (4-18) play their next game Friday night at home against Churubusco, while Manchester (9-12) faces off with Fort Wayne Wayne on Tuesday.
Neither side was able to manage a hit in the first inning, with both sides perhaps shaking off nerves and getting used to their new, and much larger, surroundings. The Warriors hit first as the visitors on the scoreboard, popping out to the Squire infield three times in a row.
Warriors’ starter Kaleb Salazar wasted no time creating a highlight for his squad, striking out Manchester leadoff hitter Ethan Hendrix on three pitches to get things started in the bottom half of the inning. It wouldn’t be the only great play from Wawasee in the field in the first frame, as centerfielder Kane Dukes made a nice catch on a line drive with a runner on second and followed it up by throwing him out on a failed hit-and-run attempt.
“I was actually surprised with how calm the guys were coming into this game, calmer than they usually are,” Wawasee head coach Joe Salazar remarked after the game. “We stressed to the guys that this is a fun thing and to just play the game the right way, and they definitely did so.”
Wawasee’s Ryan Menzie would put the first hit on the board in the top of the second, in an inning that saw three different Warriors get on base but none crossing home. The Squires had two runners get on in the bottom half of the inning, but shared the same fate. After two innings at Parkview, the game remained a scoreless tie.
The third inning featured the game’s first runs as well as controversy. A towering fly ball hit by Wawasee’s Daniel Wilson was caught by the Squire right fielder, but dropped on the transfer. Thinking the ball wasn’t caught, Dylan Cripe, who led the inning off with a walk, booked it to second. Despite not tagging up, Cripe was told by umpires to remain on second. The Warriors would take advantage of the break, as Reed Reidenbach would hit a single and drive in Cripe to start off the scoring a batter later. Salazar came up next with Reidenbach now on second. The cleanup hitter would do his job, taking the ball to right for another Wawasee hit and another run.
Now trailing by two, the Squires got their first hit in the bottom of the third on an opposite-field knock by Teegan Snyder. He would be thrown out on a fielder’s choice hit into by Ethan Hendrix, but that wouldn’t stop the Manchester rally. Hendrix would steal second and third to stand just 90 feet away from cutting the lead in half, but the third strikeout of the game by Salazar would put that to bed.
“Kaleb was on it today. That’s the second game in a row where he’s had some really good stuff,” Salazar said. “The defense behind him was very good too. We made some errors but didn’t panic.”
It looked as if the Warriors would extend their lead in the top of the fifth after Ty Brooks began the inning with a double down the left field line. Brooks even ended up on third after a throwing error by the Manchester defense. However, some nice defensive plays would get the Squires out of the inning. A ground ball back to starter Gavin Martin would strike down Brooks at the plate on a fielder’s choice. Martin wasn’t done there, picking Reidenbach off of first base to end the inning and keep the score at 2-0.
That would be crucial, as the Squires would finally get on the board in the bottom of the frame. Evan Estep led the inning off with a double and was advanced to third on a groundout by Davin Hendrix before scoring on an RBI groundout by Snyder. Manchester wouldn’t stop there though, putting the next three runners on to load the bases in a pivotal moment of the game. Salazar would get out of the jam from there, getting Reiss Gaerte to ground out to third to end the inning with the score now 2-1.
With all of the momentum now on their side, the Squires got another rally started in the bottom of the sixth. Evan Martynowicz reached first on an error to begin the inning, stealing second to get into scoring position. He would come around to tie the game on a soft grounder by Davin Hendrix, hit in a perfect spot of the infield that made it impossible to field cleanly. Heading into the seventh, both teams got ready to begin anew in a tie ballgame.
The tie didn’t last long. Gavin Malone would smash a double to the left field fence with just one out in the inning, before being moved over to third on a bunt from Cripe. With Brooks in the batters’ box and able to do some damage, Martin’s 1-0 delivery would sneak past the glove of catcher Garrett Sites and reach the backstop, allowing the go-ahead run to score from third.
“We’ve talked a lot this year about mental toughness, picking up the guy next to you,” Salazar said. “Tonight, you could tell that they believed in each other, trusted each other and guys came up big when they needed to.”
Manchester would have a chance to tie it in the bottom of the seventh. Sites would single with an out before Martin hit a gapper to give the Squires their scoring chance. Waved around by his third base coach, Sites would try to score from first on the play but was thrown out by a tremendous Wawasee relay. Now with two outs and Martin on second, the game concluded on a fly out to center field by Gaerte.
The Warriors (4-18) play their next game Friday night at home against Churubusco, while Manchester (9-12) faces off with Fort Wayne Wayne on Tuesday.
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