(April 6th, 2015) – STRYKER: The term pitchers’ dual gets thrown around quite a bit in baseball. In a sport that glorifies pitching, it’s to be expected that such a phrase will see a great deal of overuse, with spectators exaggerating the performance of each man on the mound. Quite seldom does enough credit get awarded to the defenses behind them.
All of that being said, Edon’s Landon Bloir and Stryker’s Parker Ruffer were engaged in a pitchers’ dual when the Bombers and Panthers met for the first time this season on Monday, April 6.
And the result of that dual was a tight 1-0 victory for Stryker over the Bomber boys.
For most of the contest, neither side could find their way onto the scoreboard. In fact, there were only 6 total hits in the game between the two teams. Of those hits, 4 of them came off of Edon bats, while Stryker only managed 2 hits.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the seventh inning that a runner from either squad would cross home plate. Though it would only be the second hit he gave up in the game, Bloir gave up an RBI single that decided the contest.
That walk off single was hit by Stryker’s own Tyrel Patterson. He batted in teammate Austin Frisbe to secure the win over the Bomber boys. The only other hit for the Panthers came from Ruffer, who also hit for a single.
Brayden Miller led Edon with a pair of hits. The sophomore earned two singles in a defensive struggle. Senior Kaden Sapp hit his way to first base once. His classmate, Heath Brown, hit a single as well.
Ruffer simply dominated from the mound. Pitching for all seven innings, he gave up no earned runs and just 4 hits against a potent Bomber offense. The Stryker senior struck out 11 batters on the day as well.
Bloir was no less impressive, however. The Edon pitcher struck out 7 Stryker boys, giving up just 2 hits throughout the contest. He also gave up an earned run, though, and that made all the difference.