Bluejay baseball team kicks off conference season at 1-3

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TOM STOPPEL
The Tabor College baseball team split a pair of home games with Friends University on Saturday. After dropping a controversial opener, 8-7, Tabor bounced back with a 9-4 victory in the second game.

In the opener, starter Tyler McKim took the loss, allowing eight runs on only five hits.

Tabor trailed 8-1 heading going into the bottom of the fourth. But Jeremy Ball and Josh Craig singled with one out and scored on a home run to right field by Nick Green to cut the lead to 8-4.

Tabor inched closer in the fifth when Chance Miles doubled off the left-field wall and scored on a single by Casey Hillman, who scored on a single by Ball to whittle the lead to 8-6.

With relievers Josh LeTourneau and Layne Frick keeping the Falcons from scoring, Tabor stayed close and loaded the bases in the seventh on back-to-back singles by Kevin Peterson and Hillman and a walk to Brian Kimsey.

Craig singled Peterson home with two outs to make the score 8-7. With a full count, Tyson Bauerle was hit by a pitch but the umpire ruled he did it intentionally. The pitch was ruled a strike to end the game.

“Honestly, if we would have taken care of little things earlier in the game, that wouldn’t have been the big deal it was,” coach John Sparks said. “We didn’t lose the game on that play. But having said that, it was a difficult call to take.”

The Bluejays outhit Friends 11-8 and each team committed one error.

Hillman led Tabor’s attack, going 3-for-4 with one run. Miles went 2-for-3 with a double, Peterson 2-for-4 with one run and Jeremy Ball was 2-for-3.

The emotions generated by the controversial loss seemed to energize Tabor’s 9-4 win in the second game.

“We certainly came back even more determined,” Sparks said. “We did all the things we needed to do and beat them pretty badly.

“I think it was kind of a wake-up call as to what we’re capable of doing,” he added.

Tabor took a 1-0 lead when Ball singled and scored on a sacrifice by Green in the second.

Tabor extended the lead to 5-0 in the third inning as Miles, Hillman, Ball and Bauerle all singled and eventually scored.

The Bluejays pushed the lead to 9-2 in the fifth when Craig and Tyler Monhollon were hit by pitches, Green walked and Peterson blasted a home run.

Scott Wolf kept the Falcons at bay, throwing six strong innings, allowing just four hits. Frick pitched the seventh inning as Tabor improved to 13-13 overall and 1-3 in the KCAC.

Tabor knocked out 12 hits in the win. Peterson went 3-four with three runs batted in, Hillman was 2-4 with a run scored, Ball was 2-4 with two runs scored and Bauerle was 2-4 with a double and one RBI.

“Peterson continues to hit the ball well and do a great job with runners in scoring position,” Sparks said. “Green keeps getting on base and scoring runs and Ball makes things happen on the bases.”

Ottawa-Tabor opened its conference season Wednesday, losing both games of a doubleheader at Ottawa, 9-5 and 6-5.

“I was pleased with the way we competed but it still comes down to doing the little things consistently,” coach John Sparks said. “Both of these games were winnable if we’d have been consistent and done a couple of things just a little bit differently.”

In the opener, the Bluejays fell behind 1-0 in the second inning but answered with a two-run home run by Kevin Peterson in the third.

After Ottawa tied the game in the bottom half of the inning off starter and loser Casey Hillman (5-2), Tabor regained the lead in the fourth when Nick Green doubled and scored two outs later on an Ottawa error.

Ottawa extended its lead to 7-3 after five innings but Tabor battled back in the sixth as Green and Grant Brubacher singled with two outs and both runners scored when Ottawa’s right fielder misplayed a ball off the bat of Hillman, making the score 7-5.

But the Braves nailed down the win with two runs in the sixth.

Hillman pitched six innings, allowing 10 hits and six earned runs while striking out seven.

Tabor managed six hits.

In the second game, Andy Womack pitched six strong innings, allowing seven hits, three earned runs on six hits and struck out three batters.

Tabor opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. Peterson led off with a double and scored on a Chance Miles single. Miles scored on a double by Brian Kimsey to give Tabor a 2-0 lead.

But Ottawa answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning on one hit and two Tabor errors.

The Bluejays tied the game in the fifth when Green led off with a single, moved to second on Brubacher’s sacrifice and scored on Peterson’s sacrifice fly.

Ottawa scored single runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to take a 5-3 lead into the seventh.

That’s when the fireworks erupted for Tabor as Peterson and Miles hit back-to-back solo home runs to tie the game at 5 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

But Womack was his own worst enemy, hitting lead-off hitter Birch Roybal with a pitch. Roybal reached second on a throwing error and scored when Danny Holmes singled, giving Ottawa the 6-5 victory.

“It would have been nice to get this second game because we fought back to tie it in the seventh,” Sparks said. “The second one hurt a little more than the first one did, but if we compete the way we did in this game and clean up a couple little things, we’ll be fine.”

Tabor had 12 hits in the game compared to seven for Ottawa. Four Bluejay errors contributed to their demise.

Peterson, Miles, Kimsey and Jeremy Ball all recorded two base hits in the game.

Coming-Tabor was scheduled to host Bethany College yesterday (Tuesday), but rain forced the game to be rescheduled for 4 p.m., Thursday.

The Bluejays will host Sterling College on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.

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