BOTKINS – The Ansonia baseball team lost both games of a doubleheader against Botkins on Saturday. Each game was only five innings instead of the standard seven due to incoming rain.
Ansonia lost the first game of the doubleheader 7-5.
Cloudy skies and a constant, cool breeze didn’t prevent Ansonia from starting off hot. Ansonia scored twice in the top of the first. A Rygh Fortkamp single brought in Logan Miller, and Kane Kimmel grounded out with Fortkamp scoring on the play.
Botkins wasn’t able to respond thanks to stingy fieldwork by Ansonia. The score was 2-0 at the end of the inning.
In the top of the second, Ansonia had a few hits but was unable to score. Just when it had seemed that Botkins’ batting was cooling along with the weather, the Trojans cranked out four runs – one on an error and three off two hits, leaving the score at 4-2.
With the wind picking up, Botkins refused to lose its momentum and scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning, leaving the score 7-2.
Ansonia rebounded in the top of the fourth thanks to Dane Wentworth scoring from a Lane Clark single, Clark scoring on a Kane Kimmel single and a Jarvis Thwaits scoring from a Fortkamp single. The score was 7-5 at the end of the fourth and would remain that way through the fifth and final inning after three straight outs during Ansonia’s at bat that ended the game.
Wentworth went 2-for-3 with a steal and a run scored. Clark went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Fortkamp went 3-for-3 with a run and a RBI. Kimmel went 1-for-3 with one run and two RBIs. Thwaits went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Ansonia had 11 hits and Botkins had 10 hits.
Clark pitched the four necessary innings with one strikeout, 10 hits, six earned runs, one unearned run, one hit batter and one walk.
Ansonia fell in the second game 6-2.
The temperature dropped and a light drizzle fell that chilled right to the bones during game two. Botkins carried over the momentum from its first win into the bottom of the first inning when the Trojans scored one run. The first inning ended with the score 0-1.
In the third, Botkins scored one run due to a walk, a run from a sacrifice bunt and a two runs from a single by Botkins pitcher Alex Jutte, ending the inning with the score 5-0.
Ansonia finally woke up in the top of the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, Fortkamp scored off a Tyler Neal single, but Ansonia was unable to knock in those extra men on base. Botkins scored a single run and left the inning with the score 6-1.
Wentworth was able to score in the fifth and final inning, bringing the score 6-2, but it wasn’t enough to break the stout Botkins defense.
Fortkamp went 1-for-2 with a run scored. Clark had three at bats with a RBI. Tyler Neal went 1-for-2 with a single.
Ansonia had three hits and Botkins had six hits.
Fortkamp pitched all four of the necessary innings with three strikeouts, seven hits, six earned runs and four walks.
With the two losses, Ansonia fell to 1-20 and Botkins gets above .500 to 9-8.
