Onekama drops
doubleheader to Buckley
ONEKAMA —
By MATT WENZEL Manistee News
Advocate Sports Editor
If the Onekama baseball team was
optimistic, it could have viewed Saturday’s doubleheader against Buckley
in a positive light.
The Portagers (3-6) dropped both games, but still had time to make the
most of a sunny, 60-plus degree day.
Buckley won the first game, 5-1, and took a 9-5 decision in the second.
In the opener, the Bears were paced by a strong outing from junior
pitcher Josh Ledford, who threw all six innings, allowing just three
hits while striking out 11.
“The story of the game was their pitcher Josh
Ledford,” said Onekama coach John Neph. “He was fantastic. I told the
kids after the game, great pitching is the best thing you can have.”
The Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead ion the top of the second inning, but
Onekama cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the frame.
Zach Teachout singled, stole second base and scored on an error to make
it 2-1.
But, that was all the offense the Portagers were able to muster against
Ledford.
Onekama’s only other hits came on singles by Dan Gillespie and Jared
Miller.
Buckley added two more runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to close
the scoring.
The Portagers didn’t do themselves any favors by committing four errors
in the game.
“Playing good teams like this, if you make a mistake, that leads to an
inning that they take advantage of,” Neph said. “We’ve got to get better
at not making so many mistakes.”
Gillespie pitched the first four innings and allowed just three hits and
two walks to go with four strikeouts.
“Danny threw hard for as long as he went and held them in check,” Neph
said.
Kyle Acker pitched the final two innings and allowed just one hit.
In the second game, the Bears jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the
first inning. |
Onekama’s Kyle Acker delivers a
pitch during the second game of a doubleheader against Buckley
Saturday. (Matt Wenzel/News Advocate)
Onekama battled back in the bottom of the
frame as Hunter Slade doubled and Teachout hit a two-out home run over
the leftfield fence to cut the deficit in half.
After Buckley scored two more in the top of the second, Onekama came
back with one in the bottom of the inning as Miller doubled to deep
center, Kevin O’Connor singled and Nathan Fitch drove in a run on a
fielder’s choice.
Trailing 7-3 in the bottom of the fifth, Onekama added a run as Teachout
singled, stole second and scored on Miller’s double to center.
Again, the Bears answered back with two more runs in the sixth.
At last call for the Portagers, Stephen Verrett
singled, and scored as Slade struck out but was safe at first on a
passed-ball third strike. But that was all Onekama managed offensively
as the Bears completed the sweep.
Teachout finished 2-3 with a home run and two RBIs, Miller had a pair of
doubles and drove in a run while scoring twice, O’Connor went 2-3, while
Slade and Verrett each had a hit and scored a run.
Neph said falling behind 4-0 in the first inning was too much for this
team to battle back from. “They got off to good start,” he said. “We
couldn’t get out of that inning and it was downhill after that.” |
