Onekama
bats come alive against Brethren
By DYLAN SAVELA News Advocate Sports Writer
BRETHREN — Onekama was firing on all
cylinders Monday in its doubleheader against Brethren, sweeping the
Bobcats 23-0 in the three-inning-long first game and 16-1 in the
nightcap.
“It was one of those games where everything came together for us,”
Portagers’ coach John Neph said. “The guys were so focused. They wanted
to make sure they came out and played a real good game. We knew Brethren
was going to throw a really good pitcher at us, so we were ready from
the get-go.”
“It’s all starting to come together now,” Onekama junior Kevin O’Connor
said of the Portagers sweep, while Onekama’s senior catcher Hunter Slade
said “We’re just looking to keep pace so we don’t lose the conference.”
It seemed to be Onekama’s night, and while hard-pressed to find too many
positives about the Bobcats’ losses, Brethren coach Jim Richardson found
one.
“At least we had the sunshine,” he said
smiling. “That was the one bright side.
“They’ve got a very very deep team,” he said of Onekama. “They obviously
hit the ball very well. It’s hard to come back when they are hitting
that good, and doing a nice job getting a lot of runs on us.
“There’s no one you can really pitch around ’cause everybody has a bat.”
At the plate for Onekama in the first game,
Thomas Koon went 3-4 with a double, two RBIs and a stolen base, Slade
went 3-4 with an RBI and scored four runs, O’Connor went 2-2 with an RBI
and three runs, Zach Teachout went 2-2 with three RBIs and three runs,
Jared Miller had two RBIs and two runs, Shawn Gonyon went 2-3 with two
runs, and Ryan Miller went 1-1 and scored three runs. |
Onekama catcher Hunter Slade
(right) tags out Brethren’s Roddy MacNeil during a doubleheader
Monday. (Photo by Dylan Savela/News Advocate)
Koon and Kyle Acker split time on the mound,
each picking up a strikeout.
Dylan Richardson and Wade Milnickel each picked up a hit for the
Bobcats.
Koon made another start for the Portagers in the nightcap, this time
striking out six Brethren batters.
“Thomas Koon pitched really well,” Neph said. “Hunter (Slade) calls a
good game and Tommy always seems to hit the glove. It’s a great
combination, and you got to have both.”
The dominant Onekama bats also continued through the night with Slade
batting 2-3 with three RBIs, O’Connor went 3-4 with three RBIs, Teachout
went 2-3 with two runs, Jared Miller went 2-2 and scored two runs,
Gonyon went 3-3 with three RBIs and Joe Kosiboski went 2-3 with three
RBIs and scored two runs.
Roddy MacNeil went 2-2 for the Bobcats while Richardson and Adam Conrad
each got a hit. |