HRV baseball defeats Gladstone, then loses heartbreaker to Sandy

HRV 11, Gladstone 3

It took a few innings for the Eagles (6-3) to get going in Tuesday’s game against Gladstone (1-6), with HRV remaining scoreless after three quick innings while giving up a run to Gladstone in the bottom of the third.

HRV capitalized on Gladstone errors in the top of the fourth and picked up some bases, with Skyler Hunter, who led the team with three stolen bases Tuesday afternoon, advancing to home plate on a throw. The Eagles grabbed the lead on the next play, thanks to a sacrifice fly hit by Adam Cameron that sent Dallas Buckley home. HRV rounded out the inning with a ground ball hit by Andrew Roberts that sent Patrick Harvey home.

From there, the Eagles continued to build on their lead with another big inning, putting up four runs in the fifth to go up 7-1. They added another two runs in each of the last two innings, while the Gladiators were only able to respond with a run in the bottom of the fifth and the seventh. Despite the low score, HRV barely outhit Gladstone, 9-8.

Cameron led the team with three RBI and Buckley led in scoring with three runs. Connor Coerper had a good day at the plate, going 2-for-2 (single, double) and notching an RBI and a run, as did Kellan Duffy, who went 2-for-3 (singles) and was walked once. Harvey also had a productive day, going 2-for-4 (single, double) and tallying two runs and as many RBI. Morgan Williams also had an RBI on a double and scored twice.

Isaiah Enriquez got the win on the mound for HRV, striking out four and surrendering six hits and two earned runs in five innings. Chase Lariza finished up pitching duties for HRV, sending three batters back to the dugout during his two innings on the mound while giving up two hits and an earned run.

Sandy 6, HRV 5 (8 innings)

Late in Thursday’s game against the Pioneers, it seemed as of the Eagles were well on their way to getting the team’s seventh win of the season after dominating Sandy with lockdown defense through six innings and by scoring four unanswered runs.

Williams got things going for HRV in the top of the third inning, scoring on a sacrifice fly hit by Buckley. In the top of the sixth, Williams helped stretch the lead out to 2-0 with a ground ball single to shortstop that allowed Duffy to score. On the next play, a sacrifice fly by Hunter gave Andy Schmidt the opportunity to score and on the next play, Lariza reached on a single from Buckley to make it 4-0.

Sandy cancelled out HRV’s hard work in the bottom of the seventh, making most of the team’s last ups. The Pioneers took advantage of some defensive breakdowns by the Eagles, scoring on wild pitches, walks, and reaching bases on errors to tie the game up at 4-4 and send it into extra innings.

HRV pulled ahead again in the top of the eighth, with Lariza advancing from third on a wild pitch to make it 5-4.

Once again, though, Sandy responded well when under pressure, loading the bases early and scoring the game-tying run off a ground ball single to third base. The Pioneers scored the game-winning run in anticlimactic fashion: getting walked with bases loaded.

Williams had one of his best offensive games of the season and was tops for HRV, going 2-for-2 (singles) and tallying an RBI and a run. Coerper started on the mound for HRV, striking out five and giving up three hits and one earned run in six innings. Duffy was tagged with the loss for HRV, pitching an inning and change, during which he struck out four and gave up three hits and two earned runs.