It wasn’t the prettiest, nor the driest, during Thursday’s baseball matchup between the Herbert Hoover Huskies and ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Catholic Irish in Elkview.
However, the Huskies prevailed in the bottom of the seventh inning as Riley Johnson walked with the bases loaded, which scored Brayden Bounds from third to lift Hoover 3-2.
The game was tied heading into the bottom half of the frame, with what seemed to be a monsoon pouring, after Catholic’s Zaden Ranson smashed a solo home run on a 1-2 count with two outs to knot the game at two.
Hoover’s Sam Salyers, Bounds and Tristan Harless all walked to begin the bottom of the seventh, but Salyers was thrown out at first in a rundown as he tried to steal second base.
Peyton Grigsby was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Johnson.
The one-run win for the Huskies pushes their win streak to six and takes the season series over ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Catholic.
“We’re two weeks away from the postseason, and we got a little run going on here,†Hoover coach JR Oliver said. “We’re playing good baseball right now. We’ve got guys getting healthy, and the kids keep doing what we ask them to do. They go out and do the little things to allow us to win.â€
The loss for the Irish (14-5) snaps a nine-game winning streak that included wins over Scott, Winfield and Williamstown. It’s their first loss since April 8, also against Hoover, 5-4.
“The guys were pretty focused tonight,†Irish coach Will Bobinger said. “Yeah, we had [at least seven] guys left on base, but a lot of that’s due to the way Hoover was playing defense. Their defense was extremely good today. We hit a lot of ‘at-them’ balls. Those normally fall for us, but they didn’t today.â€
The Irish led 1-0 through three and a half innings before Hoover finally cracked the scoreboard on a three-base error by Catholic.
Harless ran all the way home from first to tie the game at one. Catholic starting pitcher Xander Allara tried picking off Harless at first, but the throw was too wide, allowing Harless to race home.
The Huskies earned their first lead in the bottom of the fifth at 2-1 when Hoover’s Sam Kee rushed home after a wild pitch narrowly missed Bounds.
Catholic committed four errors, including two in the fifth inning.
The Ranson solo homer in the top of the seventh gave the Irish some much-needed confidence back after allowing consecutive innings with runs.
“One of our acronyms is H.I.T., which stands for hustle, intelligence and tenacity,†Bobinger said. “[Remaining focused] comes from the tenacity. You never give up and play every pitch, even if you’re down. You have to keep fighting for it all.â€
Hoover got a much-needed boost from its bullpen, with freshman Owen Jackson earning the start on the hill.
Jackson pitched the first four innings before Kaeden Johnson worked the final three.
The two struck out three batters, allowed six hits and walked three batters.
“[Jackson] is a freshman going out there against a talented ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Catholic team, with guys that can hit the baseball,†Oliver said. “He hit his spots. He didn’t have his curveball in the first inning. However, he went out there and found it. He did his job.
“Kaeden got in there and did the same thing by throwing strikes. Those are two freshmen playing with confidence. Their playing above their heads right now. I couldn’t be more proud of them.â€
Allara got the call on the mound for Catholic on Thursday. He threw six innings, struck out four, walked three and allowed two hits.
The Irish, like the Huskies, still have a few more games left before the opening pitch of the sectional tournament.
“I just want them to stay focused,†Bobinger said. “I want them to keep doing what they’ve been doing.â€
Oliver wasn’t worried that Hoover recorded just two hits in seven innings. He walked away optimistic about what’s to come, especially with getting a low hitting total hopefully out of the way.
“We’re going to run the bases well and put the ball in play,†Oliver said. “Not everything’s going to be a hit, but we need to put the ball in play and put some pressure on the other team. Make them get us out. It’s high school baseball, and that’s not always easy to do.
“We hit a lot of fly balls tonight. That was the problem, and we have to work on that. We’ve got plenty of opportunities to get better. Hopefully, that’s what we do heading into the postseason.â€
CHARLESTON CATHOLIC 001 000 1 — 2 6 4
HERBERT HOOVER 000 110 1 — 3 2 1
Allara, Blaydes (7) and Ranson; Jackson, Johnson (5) and Salyers.
Hitting leaders: (CC) Ranson 2-4, HR. (HH) Kee 1-2, BB.
