|
 Brett Huff was on the mound for the Toppers in the first game and he
pitched five innings and allowed just one run. He was relieved by
Blake Collier, who despite giving up four runs, earned the 9-5
comeback win for Mount Pulaski.
The Toppers struck first in the bottom of the second inning as Beau
Collier doubled and following the sacrifice bunt by Matt Amidon,
Brett Huff singled in Collier to give Mount Pulaski a 1-0 lead. Huff
then stole second and advanced to third on a fielder's choice by
Aaron Durchholz. Huff would score on a passed ball and make the
score 2-0 at the end of two innings.
As has been the case often this season, a couple Topper errors and a
couple hits by the Panthers led to a run in the top of the third
inning, and the Toppers lead was trimmed to 2-1. In the Toppers half
of the third inning, they got the run back on a single by Blake
Collier, who then stole second and eventually came around to score
on fielder's choice grounders by Michael Lowery and Beau Collier.
It's pretty much a guarantee that when Blake Collier reaches base he
will somehow find a way to score.
The score remained 3-1 in favor of Mount Pulaski until the sixth
inning. Blake Collier came in on relief and was immediately tagged
for three runs, allowing Decatur Eisenhower to take a 4-3 lead. But
the Toppers rallied back in the bottom of the sixth inning to score
six runs. Huff got things rolling with a single and he scored on a
double by Durchholz. Eli Griesheim's triple put the Toppers back on
top 5-4 and they still were not done crossing the plate. Griesheim
would come home on a passed ball by the Panthers. Brayden Curry's
fielder's choice would allow Blake Collier, who had reached base via
a walk, to score and the Toppers were taking advantage of every
opportunity. Lowery would double in the inning and teammates Beau
Collier and Amidon followed with RBI singles to put the Toppers up
9-4, heading into the seventh inning.
A triple and a run scored were the only damage the Panthers managed
in the final inning and Mount Pulaski was able to hold on to the win
by a final score of 9-5. Blake Collier (2-1) was credited with the
win and Dylan Harvey was the losing pitcher for Decatur Eisenhower.
The Toppers pounded out ten hits in the win, with Brett Huff leading
the way going 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Beau Collier
was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
In game two the Toppers cruised to a 13-3 victory with Brayden Curry
on the mound getting his first win of the season.
Mount Pulaski carried the offensive attack into the first inning of
game two, scoring five runs early. Lead-off hitter Blake Collier
smacked an inside-the-park home run, his first of the season.
Following a walk to Curry, Lowery tripled to make the score 2-0.
Beau Collier's RBI fielder's choice scored Lowery and the Toppers
were on top 3-0. Amidon then singled and stole a base and Huff
walked and also stole a base to set up runners in scoring position
for Durchholz. Durchholz's double to left centerfield scored both
runs and the Toppers had a nice 5-0 lead after batting around in the
first inning.
[to top of second column] |
A shaky top of the second inning for Curry resulted in a walk and
two hit batters, thus allowing the Panthers to get on the
scoreboard. The Toppers, however, would add to the 5-1 lead in the
bottom of the second inning. A walk to Blake Collier led off the
inning. Curry was hit by a pitch and Lowery's ground rule double
scored Blake Collier. Beau Collier's triple then scored Curry and
finally Huff's sacrifice fly resulted in the Topper's 8-1 lead.
Curry retired the Panthers in the top of the third on only four
pitches. The Toppers bats remained hot as Mount Pulaski continued
smashing out hits in the bottom of the third inning. Durchholz
crushed another double, while Will Stewart base reached on an error.
Blake Collier walked, as did Curry, and as the Toppers ran out of
room on the bases, Durchholz trotted home to score. Lowery stepped
to the plate with the bases loaded and missed a grand slam by a
couple feet but the double was good enough to score a couple runs.
Lowery would then score on the fielder's choice by Beau Collier,
giving Mount Pulaski a 12-1 lead.
Curry surrendered one run in the Panther's fourth inning but again
the Toppers were able to get that run back in the bottom of the
fourth inning thanks to an RBI double by Durchholz, his third hit on
the afternoon. Beau Collier was on the mound in relief in the top of
the fifth inning and after giving up one run on a couple walks and a
single, the Panthers were retired.
The Toppers had won game two by a final score of 13-3, with Curry
(1-1) getting the win.
Lowery and Durchholz were both 3 for 3 for the Toppers, with Lowery
batting in four runs and Durchholz batting in two runs. Beau Collier
was 1 for 3 with 3 RBIs. The team batting average improved to .287
due to the team's stellar performances this week.
Remember this team started out the season 0-4 in the cold, wet days
of March and barely had any hits or runs. As the Toppers walked away
from Bob Gasaway Field on this beautiful Saturday April afternoon,
they had not only swept a doubleheader against a Central State Eight
team, but they had also jumped over that .500 mark and ended the
week on a high note: winning all five games on the schedule.
The Toppers busy schedule resumes this week with an away game
tonight at New Berlin, a home game Tuesday with Williamsville and a
conference game Thursday at Delavan. All games are scheduled to
start at 4:30 pm. Mount Pulaski will also host Decatur MacArthur on
Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 10 am.
[Teena Lowery] |
