As another stunning evening began to settle into a star-lit night, the Woodville Eagles flew into battle against the Newton Eagles.
On Friday, April 17, at Hennigan Park, at 7 p.m. the dogfighting began as starting pitcher, #9 Louis Obregon, senior, set the bar high in the first few innings.
First three to hit were the first three to sit as the top of the first inning closed. Newton walked #5 Aiden Barnhart, senior, on the first pitch. He quickly stole second and capitalized on a bad throw to third base claiming home and the first point of the night.
Bryce Fowler followed suit with a solid base hit, then stole second base on the following pitch. Gage Tolar, senior, was struck by the ball and advanced a base. With two teammates on base, #16 Colton Armstrong, hit a well-placed single to allow another runner to fly home.
The Newton catcher errored on that play and enabled another Woodville Eagle to soar across home plate. The second inning greatly resembled the first. With some great pitching from Obregon, the top closed rather briskly, and the bottom proved to be just as thrilling. After a few batters Aiden Barnhart got walked, putting two runners on base, and set the field for what was about to come. Ace Esway, #3, slugged one to right field and got both players home.
Gage Tolar understood the assignment as he stepped up to the plate. With a well-placed hit, he advanced to first with ease and opened up the path home for Esway to glide home. Over the next few pitches, Tolar stole second and third base. So, when Obregon sent the ball to the outfield, Gage flew to home plate as Luis zipped around to third base. While Armstrong was batting, a fourth ball was thrown a little wide for the Newton catcher allowing him to walk to first and Luis Obregon the moment to dive home. The score was 8-0 to start the short-lived inning. The bottom of third played out similarly to the two former innings. After a few pitches Aiden Barnhart hit a daring single behind first base, but made it, just to steal second on the very next pitch. After a couple outs, Aiden decided to steal third. Bryce Fowler smacked a well-placed single base hit to get Barnhart in.
The remainder of the inning was riddled with pitcher and catcher errors that allowed two more Woodville Eagles to fly around the bases to home plate before the end. The Newton Eagles managed to get two runs in during the fourth inning showing their spirit still remained. It was not enough, however, to repel the game’s fate. After the top of the fifth inning ended with no additional points, the game was called with the Woodville Eagles winning 12-2.
