Baseball Results: March 25
NORTHWOOD 11, WESTVIEW 1
NorthWood’s baseball team opened the year with an 11-1 diming of host Westview Monday night.
The Panthers plated nine runs in the top of the first and never looked back. They dinged Warriors starter Hunter Schumacher for all nine of their hits and all of their runs before chasing him in the fifth. Only two of those runs were earned, however, as Westview collected three costly errors in the loss.
Wood starter Alec Holcomb surrendered just two hits and one walk versus seven strikeouts and one earned run in four innings of work. Jason Cripe gave up a pair of walks in the fifth but managed to preserve the runs-ahead-rule margin.
Matt Dutkowski went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Kyler Hauptli also scored a pair of runs on a 2-for-4 performance at the plate.
Matt Jones scored Westview’s only run on one of just two hits in the fourth.
Westview (0-1) plays Jimtown Thursday.
NorthWood (1-0) hosts Mishawaka Marian Tuesday at 5 p.m.
WAWASEE JV 16, WHITKO JV 0
Wawasee’s junior varsity plated six runs in the top of the first, then tacked on 10 more in the fourth, and Gavin Wilson threw a 12-strikeout no-hitter in a shelling of Whitko Monday night.
Grant Brooks went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a double, and Jacob Meek was 3-for-5 with a double for Wawasee (1-0).
The Warriors opened the game with three hits and capitalized on two first inning Whitko (0-1) errors en route to a six-run frame, but Ashton Shepherd was mostly steady for three innings on the hill for the Wildcats. Shepherd retired the final nine batters he faced.
The Wawasee JV will play Manchester Thursday.
SPRING ARBOR 11, GRACE 1
SPRING ARBOR 6, GRACE 6
Grace’s baseball team nearly ended its series with Spring Arbor on a high note Monday, but the Cougars held off a late charge by the Lancers to secure the doubleheader sweep in Michigan. SAU won the opener 11-1 before eking out a 7-6 win in the finale.
The Lancers (7-9, 3-6 Crossroads League) struggled to find momentum in the first game; SAU racked up seven runs across the first three frames, and Grace never recovered.
The Lancers were held to four hits while committing five errors in the field. Houston Haney hit a double, and Sid Elford recorded a pinch-hit RBI single as the bright spots offensively.
Grace’s bats were more lively in the second half of the twin bill. The Lancers jumped on the scoreboard early for a 2-0 lead.
RJ Snyder started the game with a walk, and he came around to score on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Haney.
Snyder plated again in the third again, benefitting from a pair of errors by the Cougars (11-18, 4-5 CL).
In response, SAU put up three runs in the bottom of the third and four more in the fifth to seize momentum. Conversely, Grace’s offense was quiet until the seventh.
Hunter Ackerman and Sam Newkirk started the seventh inning with singles and then later scored; Grace left two baserunners stranded in the inning, however.
In the eighth, Grace nearly tied the game. The Lancers loaded the bases with nobody out, and a balk allowed Haney a free pass to home plate to make the score 7-5.
On the next at-bat, Newkirk executed a squeeze bunt to score Wyatt Buzbee. But the potential tying run was tagged out on the basepaths to end Grace’s threat. The Lancers were retired 1-2-3 in the ninth to conclude their series with SAU.
Ethan Brooks was Grace’s sharpest pitcher; he went three innings in relief, yielding one hit and no runs.
Snyder scored two runs with two walks, Haney had a run and an RBI, and Newkirk finished 1-for-3 with a run and a run driven in.
The Lancers remain on the road Tuesday with a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader at IU Kokomo.