The West Prairie/Southeastern High School baseball team did plenty of good in its non-conference contest against Rushville-Industry Wednesday afternoon at Rushville.
But those good elements were not enough as the Rockets scored the game’s final eight runs in recording a 12-5 victory.
WP/SE dropped to 5-8-1 on the season, while RIHS improved to 5-9.
After both teams scored once in the opening inning, the Rockets grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second, scoring three runs.
The inning included a pair of walks and an error, along with run-scoring singles from Rylan Reimolds and Keaton Ruth.
The Cyclones scored once in the top of the fourth on a two-out RBI double by Eli DeCounter that scored Austin Nelson, who had singled.
WP/SE grabbed the lead in the top of the fifth, scoring three runs.
Mason Whitman and Braden Coplan singled with one out. Both scored when Matthew Whitman tripled to right, tying the score at 4-4.
Case Marlow then reached on an error by Bradley Hollingsorth in right that allowed Matthew Whitman to score, giving the Cyclones a 5-4 lead.
But the Rockets responded in their half of the inning.
Reimolds reached on an error by Marlow at short. An errant pick-off attempt allowed Reimolds to advance to third before he scored when Jagger Bartlett tripled to center.
Bartlett scored when Brady McGinnis reached on a single to Marlow at short. Jackson Spencer singled to right with McGinnis advancing to second.
Matt Claudius then hit a ground ball to short. The Cyclones attempted to turn the double play, recording the out at second.
In the meantime, McGinnis rounded third and never stopped, scoring the third run of the inning in giving the Rockets a 7-5 lead.
The Cyclones used three singles to load the bases with two outs in the sixth, but Marlow grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Rockets then scored five times in the bottom of the sixth, taking advantage of three walks, three hit batters and two hits.
WP/SE out-hit RIHS 12-8, but the Cyclones also had three errors. In addition, Cyclones pitching gave up seven walks and four hit batters.
“You cant’ walk seven, hit four and only strike out four. That’s going to be tough,” said WP/SE coach Grant Bland. “And then the defense has to make plays behind them and we just didn’t do that.”
Braden Coplan had three hits, while Mason Whitman, Matthew Whitman and Nelson all recorded two hits apiece.
Matthew Whitman knocked in two runs, while Nelson and DeCounter added one RBI each. Mason Whitman scored twice.
“Offensively, that was really good,” said Bland. “They saw a couple of really good arms and got 12 hits, hit the ball hard and scored some runs. But we also missed a couple of opportunities early on with some of those baserunners.”
The Cyclones left the bases loaded in the sixth and runners at second and third in the fourth. WP/SE also stranded a pair of runners in the fifth.
Braden Coplan pitched five innings for WP/SE. He allowed seven runs, four earned, on six hits. He struck out three, walked four and hit a batter.
Hudson Riebling pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowing five earned runs on just one hit. He struck out one, walked three and hit three batters.
DeCounter recorded the final out in the sixth, allowing one hit.
Reimolds and Spencer each had two hits for RIHS. Reimolds also scored three runs, while Claudius scored twice for the Rockets.
Bartlett knocked in two runs. Reimolds pitched 5.1 innings, allowing five earned runs on nine hits. He struck out five, walked one and hit a batter.
Spencer pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowing three hits while striking out two.
As the calendar flips into May and the schedule gets busier, Bland continues to experiment in finding the best lineup.
“We been putting guys in new spots a lot this year, just trying to figure out who goes where, especially for these next couple of weeks,” said Bland. “We’re still a really young team, but at the same time a lot of these young guys have stepped up and done a nice job.”
“We’re still going to count a lot on them and our older guys too,” he added.
The Cyclones are slated to return to Prairieland Conference play Saturday, hosting Farmington (12-4-1, 3-0 Prairieland) at Colchester.
WP/SE is 1-4 in Prairieland Conference play.
