EATON — Three league games. Three league wins.
Eaton’s baseball team improved to 5-0 in the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division with wins over Oakwood (3-0), Bellbrook (6-4) and Brookville (5-4) last week.
The Eagles closed out the week with a pair of non-league losses at Kenton Ridge (5-4 and 14-10) to see their overall record fall to 6-3.
Eaton closed out the league portion of its scheduled on Friday with a home win over Brookville.
Donnie Nicodemus and Max Fadden each had two hits, while Ghye Wilson, Colton Gray, Bradley Curry, and Lew Bowser each had a hit.
Austin Dey started on the mound, but only went 2 innings. He gave up three runs on four hits, walked two and had a strikeout.
Max Fadden relieved Dey and went two innings, giving up a run on a hit.
Wilson came in in the 5th inning and went three complete and did not allow a hit or a run. He had two strikeouts to get credit for the win.
Blake Curry had the game-winning RBI when he fought off multiple two-strike pitches and then hit a long fly ball deep to center, scoring Lew Bowser who tagged from third.
“Today was a good team win. A couple guys struggled and we had other guys step up and get the job done. Ghye Wilson did a great job on the mound and we fought just enough at the plate to get the win,” first-year Eaton coach Patrick Flanagan said.
On Thursday, Eaton used a four-run fourth to give itself a cushion it would need to down Bellbrook.
“Compared to the last couple of games, we got an offensive surge on Thursday. We had nine hits as a team. Blake Curry, Trevor Pittman, and Lew Bowser all had two hits, while Ghye Wilson, Donnie Nicodemus, and Bradley Curry all had one hit,” Flanagan said.
Flanagan credited pitcher Brad Curry for his efforts on the mound.
“Bradley Curry showed a lot of heart on Thursday. He did not have his best stuff, but he battled through it and found ways to get outs. He struggled finding the zone a little bit, but when he had to bear down and get outs he did it.,” Flanagan said.
Curry gave up four runs on four hits, while walking four and striking out three.
On Wednesday, Eaton recorded a shutout of visiting Oakwood.
Trevor Pittman and Bradley Curry both had one hit (a double) and Colton Gray and Donnie Nicodemus each chipped in with a single.
Pittman threw an outstanding game, according to Flanagan. He pitched a complete game and gave up just one hit while striking out nine.
“We put enough pressure on their defense that we finally broke through for a couple runs late in the game. Trevor was great on the mound. He was in the zone all day when your stuff is as good as Trevor’s, if you are in the zone you will get a lot of outs,” Flanagan said.
Eaton lost both games of the double header on Saturday.
Saturday being their fifth day in a row and fifth and sixth games of the week, the Eagles just ran out of steam, according to Flanagan.
Gray started the first game and gave up four runs on one hit.
The Eagles jumped out to an early lead by scoring two in the first, but couldn’t hold Kenton Ridge off.
In game two, Eaton grabbed an early lead, but again could not keep the momentum going.
Every member of the Eagle lineup had at least one hit, but it was not enough to hold off Kenton Ridge’s explosive sixth inning. The Eagles had the lead (10-3) going into the bottom of the inning, when Kenton Ridge exploded for 11 runs.
“I could not be that disappointed with today. We had to have guys pitch that haven’t pitched in a long time, but that is the price you pay when you play six games in five days at the high school level. The guys fought hard and battled, but we just ran out of gas,” Flanagan said.
Eaton was scheduled to travel to Brookville on Monday, April 18, for another key SWBL game and they were to host Franklin on Tuesday in another SWBL match-up. On Friday, Eaton is scheduled to host Carlisle in an SWBL crossover game and close out the week by traveling to Twin Valley South on Saturday for a doubleheader.
