SOUTH WHITLEY – Whitko senior Drew Bradford was dominant on the mound, throwing a three-hitter and striking out nine in the Wildcats’ 4-0 Three Rivers Conference baseball win over visiting Manchester Wednesday.
Bradford held the Squires to one scoring threat, and that’s using the term loosely. Jeremiah Airgood, who doubled with one out in the fourth inning, was the only Squire to make it as far as second base.
“Give that Bradford kid credit; he threw the ball well,” Manchester coach Jack Rupley said. “We didn’t do much at the plate at all.”
With the win, Bradford improved to 6-0 on the season. Whitko coach Eric Hisner said “it’s probably unfair for us to expect that every time out, but that’s the level he’s at this year. Obviously he did a great job tonight, giving up three hits and striking out nine. We feel really good when he’s out there on the mound.”
The lower half of the lineup did most of the offensive damage for the Wildcats. Zach Hewitt, the No. 5 hitter, was hit by a pitch with one out in the second frame. He stole second, and scored on a two-out single by Alex Robbins. Robbins then stole second and scored on Bailey Platt’s single.
Hewitt and Robbins accounted for Whitko’s third run in the fourth inning; Hewitt doubled and scored on a single to right by Robbins.
“I jumped on our seven through nine (hitters) after the last couple of games, and they really carried us tonight,” Hisner said. To get three RBIs from our seven and eight hitters is a good thing for us.”
Rupley indicated he was satisfied with the performance from his starting pitcher, Hunter Boughman. He said it was more an issue of Manchester’s defensive lapses. Whitko stole four bases, and scored a run on a fielders choice when a fly ball was dropped in the outfield. A force out at second prevented an error in the scorebook.
“Hunter didn’t pitch all that bad. We had a couple of miscues behind him, and Whitko did a really good job on the bases,” Rupley said. “They used a little bit of a delayed steal, and we didn’t adjust to that very well. That’s something we’ll need to work on.”
Manchester is 9-4 overall, 3-2 in the conference. and is scheduled to take on Southwood at Fort Wayne’s Parkview Field today. Whitko improved to 14-3 (3-2 TRC) and will play a non-conference game at Bellmont Friday.
