Blaine Eddington lined a one-out single to left to drive in Jake Ogle with the winning run as Macomb High pulled out a hardfought 11-10 eight-inning victory over West Prairie/ Southeastern Monday at Phil Bradley Field.
With the win, MHS improved to 10-2 for the season and 1-0 in the Prairieland Conference while WP/SE fell to 3-4-1 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
“It was a battle,” said MHS head coach John Ogle. “(WP/SE) came out and punched us first and we really haven’t had that of late. We’ve jumped on some teams where we’ve scored first and had the challenge of staying engaged with the lead. They came out and smacked us in the mouth but we answered with four (runs) in the first which was awesome.”
“Then it was just a dogfight the rest of the way,” Ogle added.
Both teams took advantage of some early pitching wildness and a strong breeze blowing straight out to get on the scoreboard early.
MHS starter Jaxon Barclay walked Matt Whitman and Braden Coplan to start the game. After both runners advanced on a double steal, Case Marlow drilled a two-run single to give the Cyclones a 2-0 lead with nobody out.
Austin Nelson was retired on an infield pop-up before Kash Lantz reached on a fielder’s choice after Marlow was retired at second on a ground ball to shortstop Drew Watson.
Mason Whitman promptly hit a double to put runners on second and third before Eli DeCounter made it 4-0 after a two-run single.
The Bombers would respond right away against Marlow who got the start for WP/SE.
Isaac Leinbach drew a leadoff walk and the Cyclones intentionally walked Justin Elbe to put runners on first and second with nobody out.
Emmett Beck drew another walk from Marlow to load the bases for Kaden Knupp who reached on an infield error that allowed Leinbach to score and make it a 4-1 game.
Jake Ogle’s sacrifice fly to center brought home Elbe to bring MHS to within 4-2, but after Marlow struck out Barclay, Eddington came through with a two-run single to tie the game at 4-4.
Barclay would settle down and strike out the side in the top of the second.
The Bombers would capitalize in the bottom of the inning after Leinbach coaxed a one-out walk before a single by Elbe put runners on first and second. Leinbach eventually scored on a wild pitch to give the Bombers a 5-4 lead.
The score remained that way until the fourth when the Cyclones erupted for four runs to drive Barclay from the mound.
Mason Whitman and DeCounter got the inning started with base hits and Hudson Riebling drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out.
Cade Chambers was retired a flyball to shallow center for the first out, but Matt Whitman launched a grand slam home run over the left field fence to put WP/SE back on top at 8-5.
After a double by Braden Coplan and a walk to Marlow, Barclay was replaced by Tyler Schulz.
An infield error allowed Nelson to reach and fill the bases once again, but Schulz got Lantz to hit into an inning-ending double play to end any further damage.
MHS would close the gap against a pair of WP/ SE relievers in the bottom of the fifth.
Knupp led off with a single and Ogle followed with a double against Riebling who came on to pitch in the fourth. Braden Coplan would eventually come on to relieve Riebling and Barclay reached on an infield hit to load the bases with nobody out.
Eddington drove in Knupp with a sacrifice fly to center to make it an 8-6 score. Coplan then struck out Leighton Lambert for the second out, but Hayden Katz lined a two-run double to tie the game at 8-8.
The Cyclones came right back in the top of the sixth to retake the lead after Matt Whitman drew a lead-off walk followed by a Coplan single. Whitman stole third, and a throwing error by Lambert allowed him to score and send Coplan to third.
Marlow then hit a sacrifice fly to center to drive in Coplan and give WP/SE the lead at 10-8.
MHS would counter again in the bottom of the sixth as Beck, Knupp, and Ogle reached on singles to fill the bases against Coplan.
Beck would eventually score on a wild pitch to make it 10-9 and Lambert would later drive in Knupp on an infield groundout to deadlock the game at 10-all.
The Cyclones threatened in the top of the seventh but left the bases loaded and the Bombers could not take advantage in the bottom of the seventh as Coplan retired the side in order to send the game into extra innings.
Marlow led off the eighth with a base hit before Nelson drew a walk as WP/ SE threatened once again off of Katz who was the third pitcher used by MHS in the game.
Katz got Lantz to hit into a double play which allowed Marlow to reach third with two outs, but Mason Whitman was retired on a ground ball to second to end the threat.
Ogle led off the Bombers’ winning rally with a base hit and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Schulz. Holden Coplan came on as the fourth pitcher used by WP/SE and Eddington greeted the freshman hurler with a walk-off single to give the Bombers the victory.
“Jaxson didn’t have his best stuff today, but he hung in there and battled and did his best,” said Coach John Ogle. “Tyler (Schulz) came in and I thought he was awesome for us and he’s a sophomore who hasn’t made a ton of varsity appearances.”
Each team pounded out 10 hits apiece as Eddington led MHS by going 2-for-5 with four RBIs. Jake Ogle went 3-for-5 with an RBI and Knupp was 2-for-5 with three runs scored and one RBI for the Bombers.
Matt Whitman led WP/ SE with four runs batted in and a home run while Marlow finished with three RBIs. DeCounter was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored while Mason Whitman went 3-for-5 and two runs scored for the Cyclones.
“I was very happy with the fight we showed,” said WP/SE head coach Grant Bland.
“The offense was huge and Matt’s grand slam really shifted the momentum. Eli DeCounter had another big game at the plate and Mason Whitman had a solid day as well.”
“(WP/SE) hit the ball really well. Kudos to them,” said Coach Ogle afterwards. “Their guys came in and battled on the mound and made plays. That’s just good baseball. A lot of fun.”
Both coaches felt the familiarity between several players on each team who play for area travel teams added an extra motivation in the game.
“I’ve actually coached a lot of these kids in travel ball and Tyler (Schulz) has played with them, so those are his buddies out there competing with him,” said Ogle.
“I definitely think so,” said Bland referring to the familiarity adding to the motivation for each team. “It’s always fun to play a game against Macomb. We’ve been getting closer and closer each year.”
Photo by Andrea Ratermann
