Senior Landon Monnin celebrates from first base after driving in two runs in the seventh inning to put the Railroaders up 5-3, their first lead of the game.
Drew Terhall | The Daily Advocate
By Drew Terhall
DailyAdvocate.com
NEW MADISON — Bradford was down to their last out, last strike and had no one on base in the seventh inning. Tri-Village looked like they were going to bounce back and get back into the win column with a 3-2 win.
But sophomore Owen Canan had other plans. With two strikes, Canan protected the plate and popped the ball up short and down the third base line. The Tri-Village catcher tried to make the play, but couldn’t come away with the catch.
Canan raced down the line to first base and started a two-out rally that led Bradford to an 8-3 win at Tri-Village.
Bradford head coach Bill Sturwold said they’ve been in that position before and couldn’t get momentum to swing their way. This time, the team rallied around Canan to get the win.
“We’ve had that opportunity several times and we pop up or strikeout. The kids really had some great at bats. Monnin came through, Canan kept the game alive for us down to our last strike. The rest of the guys followed suit,” Sturwold said.
Tri-Village head coach Josh Davies said his catcher made a great effort to end the game, but the ball didn’t fall their way.
“Our catcher came out and made one heck of an effort. The ball went off of his glove and went fair where maybe if it didn’t get touched it would went the other way. But that’s baseball,” Davies said.
From there, junior Landon Wills got a single. After Wills stole second, Bradford had runners on second and third. Junior Garrett Trevino had an infield hit to score Canan and tie the game up at 3-3.
Senior Landon Monnin had the hit that would put Bradford out front with a two-run single to make it 5-3. The scoring didn’t stop as junior Hudson Hill drove in another run. Senior Brendan Baker put the finishing touches on the comeback with a two-run double.
Sturwold said they have started to see the guys at the bottom of the lineup starting to hit. It showed during the rally.
The rally also showed how far the Railroaders have come this season. The team stayed calm and got the job done when they couldn’t afford to make a mistake at the plate.
“It could’ve went south on us, but the kids stayed in it and they’re handling adversity better. Very happy with them,” Sturwold said.
The Patriots had a lead for most of the game. They scored three runs in the first inning. Sophomore Cameron Kimmel had two RBI and junior Carter Finkbine had a RBI. Bradford scored a run in the second and third innings, but the Patriots were still in the lead after that.
Davies said the team had some scoring chances here and there with some quality at bats, but couldn’t take advantage. He also said once Wills got into a rhythm on the mound, they had too many strikeouts at the plate.
In the bottom of the seventh, Tri-Village got back to back walks to start the inning. However, they couldn’t score any runs after that.
Wills pitched seven innings for Bradford and racked up 14 strikeouts. Senior Jace Lipps pitched 6.2 innings and had six strikeouts.
Tri-Village is now 9-5 with a 6-3 conference record. They lost their last three games, all to teams in the top five of the WOAC. Davies said the team is still playing good baseball, they just haven’t had many breaks go their way.
“They’re working hard. They’re doing what they need to do. Breaks aren’t going our way right now. It’s just what it is,” Davies said.
Bradford is now 13-5 with a 5-3 conference record. Sturwold said it seems, and he’s hoping, the team is hitting their stride with their fourth straight win after coming off a four game losing streak.
The Patriots will next play in the Dylan Williams Invite on April 29 for a double header at Union City. The Railroaders will host Dixie on April 27 for a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]
