By: Joe Blystone
Make one error in an inning and the chances of the hitting team scoring goes to 50-50. Make two mistakes and now you are trying to keep it to one. More than that? Well, that’s how you lose games.
Evergreen committed five errors, including two big ones in the seventh inning that gave Swanton a 5-4 win in NWOAL play.
The loss, the second in league play, put a big damper on the Vikings title chances.
“We talk about playing a complete game,” Swanton coach Josh Siewart explained. “We only committed one error and it didn’t hurt us and we definitely took advantage of theirs.”
The Vikings game long mistakes weren’t only on defense. Failure to advance runners took Evergreen out of numerous scoring chances including right away in the first.
Colton Robertson walked and stole second with no one out but a pop out then Robertson being thrown out at third took the Vikings out of a scoring chance.
Another chance went awry in the second after Brady Kanneman’s single and an error put two runners on with one down.
Lucas Bloom put away the next two hitters on strikes to squelch that threat.
“He got his curve ball working and yes he got behind some guys but he came back at them and he pitched his rear end off,” Siewart said of his senior righty.
“He kept us in the game long enough and we finally got it done.”
That proved important when in the top of the inning the Bulldogs put three on the board on just one hit.
Drew Smigelski’s bouncer through the left side led off the inning, then two errors on Bryce Bolger around a walk put the Bulldogs up 3-0.
Evergreen got two back in the third as Robertson doubled, Layne Vance followed with an RBI single, and Brady Kanneman delivered a two out single to right to bring Evergreen within a run.
Kanneman was riding a one-hitter on the mound until there were two down in the fifth. Smigelski reached when he beat out a nubber into no man’s land.
Then Bloom delivered the best ball struck by the Bulldogs all day, a line drive double into the left center field gap to plate Smigelski and make it 4-2.
Evergreen rallied in the bottom of the frame to force a tie but could’ve had more. Robertson was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on Cory Kanneman’s shot to left to slice the lead to 4-3.
Another hit batter and a walk jacked the bases, but Bloom escaped allowing only one more as a fielder’s choice and strikeout got him out of the inning.
The Vikes wasted another chance in the bottom of the sixth after a walk and a sacrifice put a runner at second with the top of the order coming up.
Adam Lemon came to the mound in relief for the Bulldogs and got Robertson on a pop to the catcher and Vance on a long fly to right.
The Bulldogs put up the game winner in the seventh, again thanks to Evergreen miscues.
Trent Eitniear looped a single to right with one out and when Drake Harris bunted, Brady Kanneman bounced the throw to first to put runners on first and third.
Isaac Overfield picked off at third Eitniear but the return throw to the plate in the rundown hit Eitniear and allowed the winning run to score.
“We talk about pitching, defense and some timely hitting and we basically had all three today,” Siewart concluded.
Lemon was the winner in relief while Connor Hewson took the loss on the unearned run in the last frame.
Brady Kanneman allowed just one earned run in the six innings he pitched. Bloom gave up four runs, all earned in his 5 1/3 innings of work.
SWANTON 030 010 1 – 5 4 1
EVERGREEN 002 020 0 – 4 5 5
Records: Swanton 4-10 (2-2 NWOAL), Evergreen 8-6 (2-2 NWOAL)
WINNING PITCHER: Lemon (1.2 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 3 strikeouts, 0 walks) Other: Bloom
LOSING PITCHER: Hewson (1 inning, 1 hit, 1 run, 0 earned, 1 strikeout, 0 walks) Other: B. Kanneman)
LEADING HITTERS: (Swanton) Smigelski – 2 singles, 2 runs; Bloom – double, RBI (Evergreen) Robertson – double, 2 runs; B. Kanneman – 2 singles, RBI
Joe can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com