Yellowjackets drop 9-8 slugfest to Polar Bears
Williamstown’s Max Molessa delivers a pitch during a high school baseball game against Fairmont Senior Friday. (Photo by Aaron Lee)
Williamstown’s Wyatt Powell (6) connects on a pitch during a high school baseball game against Fairmont Senior Friday. (Photo by Aaron Lee)
Williamstown’s Max Molessa delivers a pitch during a high school baseball game against Fairmont Senior Friday. (Photo by Aaron Lee)
Williamstown’s Wyatt Powell (6) connects on a pitch during a high school baseball game against Fairmont Senior Friday. (Photo by Aaron Lee)
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WILLIAMSTOWN -- In an inter-division baseball matchup between the Williamstown Yellowjackets and the Fairmont Senior Polar Bears on Friday, the 'Jackets managed to get ahead early, but that lead did not hold. Despite a late-game, four-run rally by Williamstown in the bottom of the seventh, the Yellowjackets lost 9-8.
Both teams were held scoreless through two and a half innings, with Wyatt Powell making an outstanding catch in the outfield in the first inning. He would have another excellent catch later in the game after shifting to the infield.
In the bottom of the third, Williamstown struck first with a single by Luke Ankrom that batted two runners in.
The Polar Bears responded in the top of the fourth with a sac fly by Hayden Jones that brought home Dylan Ours to make the score 2-1.
After the Yellowjackets went three up and three down, FSHS took the lead and added some insurance runs. Blake Straight made it to home plate on an error. Logan Canfield and Brock Martin both had base hits that sent runners home, with Martin recording two runs-batted-in. In the middle of the fifth, the score stood at 5-2 Polar Bears.
Williamstown pulled to one run away in the bottom of the frame. A double by Powell sent home Brody Bowyer, and Powell himself made it home safely on a Fairmont error to make the score 5-4.
Fairmont Senior continued the onslaught in the top of the sixth with another two runs. Polar Bear Cam Peschl batted home a runner with a single, and Sammi Viani did the same with a double.
The Yellowjackets went three up and three down again in the bottom of the frame, giving FSHS the opportunity to expand its lead. Jones and Peschl both had RBI singles to make the score 9-4 going into the bottom of the seventh.
Williamstown made the most of its final chance at the plate, but it was not enough. The 'Jackets started the rally with a sacrifice hit by Ty Ott to bring home Bowyer. Ankrom then had the biggest hit of the night, a triple that sent two runners home. Parker Schramm also added an RBI single, but the game ended on a double play with a final of 9-8.
Yellowjackets head coach Levi Maxwell had high praise for the Polar Bears, "That's a really good team there (Fairmont Senior). You can't make mistakes against a team like that, that's what we went into this game saying. You gotta minimize mistakes, because a team like that will take advantage of it. They'll capitalize on anything we do wrong."
The matchup against FSHS fits into a larger trend for Williamstown of taking on the best competition possible, which should pay dividends come the postseason, "That's the reason why we do it. I feel like our schedule is one of the best if not the best in single-A because we have to challenge these guys. By the time the playoffs start, everyone should be hitting on all cylinders, and we want to be prepared for anything. That may be the fourth or fifth lefty we've seen this year, and a couple years ago we didn't see any left-handed pitchers. It's good to see different pitching styles, and it's also good to see guys that can swing the bat," explained Maxwell.
With the loss, the Yellowjackets fall to 18-3. They will be back in action today against Toronto (OH) at 11 a.m. at Harrison Central High School.
Contact Aaron Lee at alee@newsandsentinel.com