ONEKAMA — When Brethren puts its
one-two punch of Roddy MacNeil and Dylan Richardson on the mound,
opposing teams may be hard pressed to reach home plate.
Onekama found the challenge difficult Monday, and with the Bobcats’
bats in full swing, the task became even harder.
Brethren swept the Portagers in two games, winning the opener 10-0
and the nightcap 14-4.
“We were able to sort of set the tone early,” Brethren coach Jim
Richardson said of the opener, in which Brethren jumped to a 7-0
lead in the first two innings. “They knew it would be a tough hill
to climb after that with Roddy on the mound." MacNeil threw for 13
strikeouts in a complete six innings, allowing just a pair of hits
off the bat of Onekama's Jared Miller.
At the plate, the bobcats struck
early and often paced by Richardson who batted 2-for-4 with two runs
and Eddie Lodin with two hits and three RBIs.
Also for Brethren, Josh
Cantrell hit a solo home run over the left field fence while MacNeil
had a hit and two RBIs, and Dalton Lakso, Jack Pickett, Lucas
Richardson and Nate Costello each had a hit.
“In that first game I thought we hit the ball OK, but weren’t as
patient as we should be,” Richardson said. “We want to keep good
habits and I think we were a little bit too aggressive. I think the
second game they got a little better doing that.”