|
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 | BataviasBest.org
The Luck of the Irish. Is it real?
Some would say yes.
Others would say luck is the residue of design.
There was plenty of actions on the base paths for each team at Dwyer Stadium today.
Either way, the Notre Dame Baseball team has endured an extremely fortunate beginning to the 2017 season, which has included six-straight wins, three of which have been walk-off victories – including ND’s win over Oakfield/Elba this afternoon.
A back-and-forth game throughout at Dwyer Stadium today, the Irish would go on to defeat the Hornets by a final score of 14-13 on a walk-off base hit from Anthony Gugino.
Today’s game began in favor of OA/E, as ND starter Ryan Antinore allowed the Hornets to strike for three runs in the first inning. The big blow in the first frame came off the bat of OA/E’s Aiden Johnston, who drove in Trevor Fitch in order to increase his team’s lead to 2-0. Jake Borkholder then came through with a sac-fly for the Hornets, driving in Reice Woodward, and increasing the OA/E advantage to 3-0.
Despite the early momentum being on the side of the Hornets, however, the Irish came right back to tie the score at 3 in their half of the first. An RBI single from Zach Cocking got things going for ND during their at bat, which was then followed by an infield single from Reid Rademacker which took a bad bounce over the head of OA/E SS Joe Burdick – and scored Cocking who had advanced on a previous play. The inning ended after Hornets’ starter Tyler Ohlson allowed a bases loaded walk which forced in another Irish run, and tied the game at 3.
The Oakfield offense was on fire all day, but came up just short.
In the second, Oakfield/Elba failed to respond as Notre Dame had in the first, but during the bottom of the inning the Irish remained hot with the bat. RBI singles from Cocking and Jake Wetherwax gave Notre Dame a second inning lead, and going to the third it was 5-3 Irish in front of the Hornets for the first time.
Another base hit from OA/E’s Johnston led things off in the third, and then a few batters later – after another runner had reached base – Austin Kotarski got in on the action for the visiting team. The Hornets’ catcher roped a 2-run double down the right field line in order to tie the score at 5 with two out in the third, then subsequently scored to give his team the lead after Ohlson reached on an E-4. That wasn’t enough for OA/E though, as Ohlson too came around to score after stealing second, and third – then got home after the catcher’s throw to third went past the Irish third baseman, and into left field.
Moving into the top of the third, it was 7-5 Hornets back in front.
As you would expect though, in a game like this one, the scoring wasn’t even close to being done.
During the bottom of the third, Notre Dame came back to score one run and moving to the fourth it was 7-6 – Hornets still out in front of the Irish.
OA/E then came to bat in the bottom of four and scored another run, as a passed ball allowed Woodward to cross home plate and increase his team’s lead to 8-6 moving into the bottom of the inning. During ND’s at-bat in the fourth, an RBI infield single from Dylan D’Alba cut the OA/E lead down to 8-7, then he was able to score on a wild throw after stealing second and third – which tied the score at 8. That was all for each side in the fourth, and we moved to the fifth.
Here, Jake Wetherwax steals second for ND during the early innings of today’s game.
During the top of the fifth the Hornets would again get their offense rolling, as three runs came around to score – highlighted by an RBI single from Ohlson. Now behind 11-8, Notre Dame came back to score two of their own in the bottom of the fifth, and going to the sixth it was 11-10 Hornets clinging to a one-run advantage.
To start the sixth, Notre Dame replaced Reid Rademacker on the mound – who had relieved Antinore – with Devin Grimshaw and were hoping to stick within one run of the OA/E lead. However, during the sixth, despite a nice job of limiting potential damage, Grimshaw allowed another Hornets’ run to score and going to the bottom of six it was now 12-10 OA/E.
In the bottom of the frame, a leadoff walk for ND’s D’Alba got things rolling for the Irish, then Anthony Gugino made his first appearance and drove in D’Alba with an RBI single. The Irish were now within one heading into the seventh inning, with the score sitting at 12-11 Hornets.
During their half of the final frame, following the ejection of an ND assistant coach after a foul ball call, the Hornets managed to push an insurance run across and extend their lead to 13-11 heading into the bottom half of the inning.
The ND offense, after a slow start to the season, has been red-hot as of late.
Now, despite being down by two with just three outs remaining, the Irish were in a familiar – and some could even say comfortable – place. For, after walk-off wins over Lyndonville, and Holley a week ago, nothing seemed to be impossible in terms of a late-comeback for ND.
Today, though, with OA/E’s Joe Burdick now on the mound, who came on in relief of Ohlson, it was not going to be easy by any means.
Getting the ball rolling for the Irish in the final inning was Cocking, who improved his already fine day with a one-out bloop single to left field – which fell in just out of the reach of OA/E second baseman Fitch. Following Cocking was Wetherwax, who roped an RBI single to center field – scoring Cocking, advancing himself to second on the throw home, and cutting the ND deficit to 13-12. Up next was Rademacker, who moved Wetherwax to third on a ground out for the second out of the inning.
Now with Wetherwax on third and two out, D’Alba then drew a walk for ND, and while he was on his way to first base Wetherwax caught the OA/E defense napping, took off from third – and scored the game-tying run. It was a heady play from Wetherwax (and perhaps his third base coach), who came through as clutch as ever during the game’s biggest moment.
After the dust cleared though, despite the high-drama, there was still only two outs and the Irish still had a man on base. Next up was Gugino, and during his at bat D’Alba stole second base. After the steal, Gugino would come through and win the game for his team:
Anthony Gugino comes through for Notre Dame, roping a two-out RBI single to center – scoring D’Alba – and winning the game for ND! #Baseball pic.twitter.com/96ghtjwBxy
— Batavia’s Best HS () April 18, 2017
After the game-winning single from Gugino it was pandemonium at Dwyer Stadium, as the Irish had secured a 6-0 start to the season, and their third walk-off win of the year.
“It was a great win,” said Notre Dame senior shortstop Evan Bender following the game. “We didn’t give up and we pulled through a tough deficit. We had some big hits, smart plays, and risky moves when we needed to, and it was just overall a very satisfying win.”
On the other side, the loss was heartbreaking for the Hornets, who seemed to have secured the win several times throughout the final innings – only to see their opponent continue to battle and steal the win away from them in the end.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 1-0. They look ahead to a matchup with Lyndonville on Thursday.
For Notre Dame, they remain unblemished and look forward to a league contest vs Byron-Bergen on Monday.
“We need to get ready for our next few fames ahead of us and stay strong,” continued Bender. “Hopefully the winning streak continues.”
Stay tuned for our first edition of GR League Power Rankings – coming soon.
Other articles you may like:
Oakfield/Elba vs Notre Dame – Section V Baseball – PHOTO GALLERY (04/18/2017)
