By: Joe Blystone
FAYETTE (APRIL 20, 2023) – Fayette overcame their own mistakes by taking advantage of a pair of Pettisville errors in the bottom of the seventh inning, then had Shane Maginn ground a one-out run scoring walk-off single to left that gave the Eagles a 9-8 victory over the Blackbirds.
“We didn’t play one of our better games and they hit the ball better than the last time we played them (a 6-0 Fayette win), Eagle coach Matt Maginn said. “We were very lucky to get out of here with a win today.”
With both teams capitalizing on each other’s fielding mistakes, Fayette took a 4-1 lead after three.
The Eagles struck for two in the second when Carter Lavinder’s fly ball got over the right fielder’s head for a triple, Caden Leininger floated a pop fly single into short right, and after a pair of stolen bases, Zack Oehlers floated a single to left.
The Blackbirds cut the lead in half in the third on a walk and Rylan Warner’s single to center that got through the wicket to chase a run home.
Four Pettisville miscues and Lavinder’s single to center marked two more Eagle tallies in the bottom of the third but Fayette’s generosity helped Pettisville tie the contest in the fourth against Maginn.
A walk, then a pair of infield boots and Creighton Aeschliman’s sharp single knotted everything up at 4-4.
Oehlers’ second hit of the game started a Fayette rally in the fourth and Maginn’s windblown pop fly that started foul and blew fair coupled with a throwing error to the plate put the Eagles back on top.
However, the Blackbirds overcame the one run margin with Leininger on the bump in the sixth with some help.
Two base on balls and a throwing error tied the game again, then Aeschliman’s second RBI hit and a groundout put the Birds up 7-5.
However, the Eagles took advantage of another couple of gifts in the bottom half to tie as two more infield errors around a walk brought home a pair to make it 7-7.
Leininger plunked two Pettisville hitters around two outs before Kaden Wyse delivered an infield single to boost the Birds up 8-7 in the seventh.
Warner, who had gone the distance on the hill for Pettisville looked as if he would have an easy seventh as he got the first two Fayette hitters to pop up.
But on a day when every defensive play was anything but easy, both were dropped to give the Eagles runners on first and second with no one out.
After a fly ball, a pitch ran into Wyatt Mitchell to load the bases bringing Caden Bishop to the mound for the Birds with a 3-0 count on Braxton Jacob.
Bishop fired two strikes but walked Jacob on a 3-2 pitch to tie the game and Maginn followed with a base hit through the left side to win it.
“He has to understand that even though they didn’t score an earned run and there is a reason we took him out from the mound,” Maginn explained.
“He has to grow from that and refocus and after he got over it he comes up in a key spot and delivers a base hit.”
Leininger got credit for the win thanks to Fayette’s comeback effort while Warner took the loss despite giving up just two earned runs.
Oehlers and Lavinder each had a pair of hits out of the nine the Eagles marked up.
“Different people at different times have come through this year and today,” Maginn explained of his team’s comebacks in the sixth and seventh.
“We got the ball in play to keep an inning going when there have been times, we didn’t do that.”
“We just try to improve every game because it’s a long season, especially with four games next week, we will have to be ready to play.”
Aeschliman had three of the Blackbirds six hits. Fayette committed three errors while the Blackbirds had seven.
PETTISVILLE 001 303 1 – 8 6 7
FAYETTE 022 102 2 – 9 9 3
Records: Pettisville 0-10 (0-5 BBC), Fayette 0-6 (0-3 BBC)
WINNING PITCHER: Leininger (3 innings, 4 runs, 4 earned, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks) Other: Maginn
LOSING PITCHER: Warner (6.1 innings, 9 hits, 9 runs, 2 earned, 10 strikeouts, 4 walks) Other: Bishop
LEADING HITTERS: (Pettisville) Aeschliman – double, 2 singles, 3 RBIs; Warner – 2 singles; (Fayette) Maginn – 2 singles, 2 RBIs; Lavinder – triple, single, RBI; Oehlers – 2 singles, RBI, 2 runs
Joe can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com