The Whiteoak Wildcats and Fairfield Lions varsity Baseball teams squared off in a Southern Hills Athletic Conference and cross county rivalry game on Tuesday at Fairfield High School and Whiteoak earned a 6-1 victory that spoiled Senior night for the Lions.
Evan Brill started for the Wildcats and threw a complete game while allowing four hits, one run and striking out 10 batters to earn the win over the Lions on the road.
“Evan Brill lead us to victory this evening with an impressive 10 strikeout four hit performance against a quality SHAC opponent on the road,” said Wildcats Head Coach Chris Veidt.
Traeten Hamilton reached on an error from the leadoff spot to start the game then stole second and third base before Mason Lehr drove him in with a sacrifice fly ball to center field.
Zach Harless, Ty Large and Trey Bogart each reached base in the inning but were left on base when Ryan Roberts struck out in the seven hole to end the inning.
In the top of the second inning the Wildcats added two more runs when Billy Oliver and Hamilton scored.
Oliver was the second batter to the plate in the top of the second for Whiteoak and singled before stealing second and advancing to third during Hamilton’s at bat.
Hamilton followed up with an RBI single that plated Oliver and went on to score on an RBI double by Harless in the next at bat for the Wildcats to bring the score to 3-0.
After a quiet third inning for the Wildcats they were right back at it in the top of the fourth when Hamilton led off with a single and went on to steal second and third base before being driven in for the second time in the game by Lehr who reached on an error.
Bogart drove in Lehr three batters later when he hit into a fielder’s choice that saw him safe at first and Evan Brill out at second as Lehr crossed the plate to make it 5-0 in favor of the Wildcats.
Oliver was back to his old trick at the plate for Whiteoak when he singled as the second batter in the top of the fifth inning and stole second base and then scored on a throwing error by the Lions to account for the sixth and final run of the night for Whiteoak.
“Billy Oliver played impressive baseball tonight both offensively and defensively,” Veidt said.
The Lions honored Seniors Ethan Grooms, Layne Morgan, Sam Buddelmeyer, Andrew Dingey, Griffin Irvin and Austin Setty prior to the start of the game.
Dingey scored the lone run of the night for the Lions after he led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and advanced to third on a double by Layne Morgan in the following at bat.
Jacob Morgan drove in Dingey from third base on a sacrifice ground ball to short stop that provided the final margin at 6-1.
Coach Veidt reflected on his team achieving a 12-1 SHAC record this season but he knows that now the team needs to focus on it’s remaining games and the post season.
“Concluding the conference schedule with a SHAC title and a 12-1 record is quite an accomplishment for these kids. Well deserved! Now on to the next rung on the ladder,” said Veidt.
Ryan Applegate is the Sports Editor for The Times-Gazette. Reach Ryan Applegate at 937-402-2572, or on Twitter @RCApplegate89.
