EATON — Eaton’s baseball team rebounded from a winless first week to collect three league wins and move above .500 on the season at 3-2 overall and in the SWBL Southwestern Division.
The Eagles softball team went 3-2 on the week as it opened and closed last week with wins, but suffered a pair of key SWBL losses in between to see its record improve to 8-3 overall and 3-2 in the SWBL Southwestern Division.
The baseball team used a three-run fourth inning to take a 4-0 lead and held off host Bellbrook, 4-2, on Monday, April 5.
Senior Travis Pittman picked up the win, pitching five innings and allowing two runs on three hits. Sophomore Carson Brower came on to finish off the game, striking out six in two innings.
Junior Jakob Keller led the offense going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Junior Brady Davis and junior Christian Reyna each drove in a run. Pittman was also 2-for-4 at the plate.
On Wednesday, April 7, Eaton rolled to a 17-3, five-inning win over visiting Brookville.
The Eagles scored one in the first, three in the second, four in the third and nine in the fourth on just seven hits. Eaton took advantage of 12 walks issued by the Blue Devils pitching staff.
Sophomore Brock Ebright had a hit and drove in three runs. Reyna added a hits, two RBIs and scored three times. Sophomore Reid Tinstman also drove in a pair of runs.
Senior Dawson Blaylock pitched a complete game, allowing just one earned run while striking out six.
Eaton closed out the week with a 6-2 win at Brookville on Friday, April 9, behind the pitching of Tinstman and Brower. The duo combined to allow just four hits.
Tinstman, who picked up the win, also collected a pair of hits and drove in two runs. Blaylock and Pittman each had a pair of hits.
Eaton scored twice in the top of the first and added single runs in the second and third to take a 4-1 lead. Brookville scored in the sixth, but the Eagles added two in their half of the seventh for the final margin.
Eaton’s game with Tri-County North on Sunday, April 11, at Day Air Ballpark (formerly Fifth Third Field) was postponed due to weather conditions. No make up date has been scheduled as of press time.
The Eagles were scheduled to play at Oakwood on Monday and host the Lumberjacks on Wednesday. On Friday, they are scheduled to play at Versailles and will close out the week with a home game on Saturday against Kenton Ridge beginning at noon.
The softball team took advantage of several Bellbrook miscues en route to an 11-0, 5-inning win on Monday.
After a scoreless first inning, Eaton added four runs in the second and five more in the third to take control of the game as Bellbrook committed seven errors on the night.
Senior pitcher Erika Wilkinson allowed just two hits and struck out four to get the win.
Wilkinson had a solid day at the plate as well, going 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs.
Senior Claire Sorrell added two hits, while senior Braily Ward drove in two.
On Wednesday, Eaton met Brookville in a clash of the only remaining unbeaten teams in the SWBL.
Each team had eight hits, but the Blue Devils made the most of theirs in claiming a 5-0 win.
“Going into the game our girls were probably the most focused we have been all season,” Eaton coach Maggie Neanen said. “We knew what was on the line and offensively we got the job done, we out hit them, had more runners on but couldn’t string them together enough to get a run across the board.”
Wilkinson suffered the loss in the circle.
“Erika pitched an incredible game, probably the best game she has had all season, it’s just unfortunate that we couldn’t back her up defensively,” Neanen said. “We once again had errors when they had runners in scoring position. We lost that game 5-0 and it hurt. But we knew we would see them again on Friday so we had to get better on Thursday at practice. No team had shut us out yet so that was a wake up call to us all.”
On Friday, it was Eaton’s defense that let them down again. After building 5-2 and 9-5 leads late, the Eagles faltered in the bottom of the sixth as the Blue Devils rallied for six runs to claim an 11-9 win.
Eaton committed four errors on the night.
“Going into Friday, playing Brookville, we were ready mentally, we had a game plan we worked hard Thursday at practice to make the adjustments we needed to at the plate,” Neanen said. “We started the game off with a 30 minute delay due to weather but even on the bus our team stayed locked in and wanted to play.”
Despite the loss and the four errors, Neanen saw a competitive side to her team.
“This Brookville game was the best game we have played all season. Yes we were on the losing side. However what I saw as a coach was just how competitive we truly are as a team,” she said. “We fell behind but we clawed our way back one run at a time. We were able to string hits together and we were more aggressive at the plate and baserunning and we took a lead.”
Senior Carsyn Lammers was 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. Sorrell added three hits, while junior Allison Mowen and senior Lexi Miller each collected two.
Eaton closed out the week with a sweep of visiting St. Henry, winning 13-3 in six innings in game one and taking the second game, 12-9, after falling behind 7-0 after two innings.
In game one, sophomore Kendall Miller had three hits and drove in two runs. Lammers went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Ward and Wilkinson each had two hits and two RBIs.
In game two, sophomore Olivia Baumann hit two home runs and drove in three. Lammers added two hits and three RBsI and Wilkinson collected three hits and two RBIs..
Eaton was scheduled to play at Oakwood on Monday, April 12, and are set to host the Jills on Wednesday, April 14. The Eagles will close out the week with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 17 at Carlisle beginning at 11 a.m.
