Brethren takes two from Onekama

Posted by Dylan Savela, Manistee News Advocate

BRETHREN — Nate Costello couldn’t contain a wide smile as he trotted past third toward the swarm of teammates awaiting him at home.

And who could blame him?

The Brethren senior had just highlighted his near perfect day at the plate with a homer over the 343-foot marker in dead center at Dickson Township Park.

The grin could have been one of relief, too, as the Bobcats were in the midst of bouncing back from an opening scare against Onekama. Brethren swept the Portagers in a West Michigan D League doubleheader on Monday with a 5-4 Game 1 victory before notching 16-1 win by mercy rule in the four-inning nightcap.

Costello led all hitters, batting 3-for-3 in each game and collecting seven total RBIs in the series.

“The second game we came out swinging,” said Brethren coach Jim Richardson. “I think it sunk in that I wasn’t going to hesitate to take anybody out who looked like they didn’t want to be there.

“And obviously they showed in that second game they did.”

In the opener, Brethren (12-5, 6-0 WMD) scored a pair of runs in the first and one in the third to take a 3-0 lead that would last through four innings.

Onekama (3-7-1, 2-3 WMD), however, finally turned its hits to runs in a big four-run fifth to take a one-run lead.

“The first game was a great high school game,” said Portagers coach John Neph. “Almost everything you want in a game: comebacks, great plays and big hits — a lot of effort on both sides.”

Onekama had 10 hits in the contest, led by Morgan Ledford, Jon Eno and Dallas Hearit who each had two. Hearit, Joe Eno and Nick Osborn each batted in a run during Onekama’s rally in the top of the fifth.

Onekama’s Nolan Miller and Joe Eno split time on the mound, each giving up a pair of earned runs.

 Costello put the Bobcats back out in front with a two-run double in the bottom half of the frame, while Brethren ace Dylan Richardson closed the door, despite the Portagers loading the bases in the top of the sixth.

Richardson allowed two earned runs with 12 strikeouts in the win.

“I think the first game, we just weren’t prepared for them,” Jim Richardson said. “They’ve got a nice, young team that put the bat on the ball and made us make plays that we weren’t making.

“It was fortunate we had a couple guys in key spots doing what they’re out there to do at the end of the game.”

Costello went 3-for-3 in the opener with four RBIs while Dylan Richardson went 1-for-1 with an RBI and three runs scored.

The nightcap wasn’t nearly as back and forth, as the Bobcats plated eight runs in the top of the first for a cushion they’d keep throughout.

Onekama scored a run in the bottom of the second, but four different pitchers were unable to cool off the Brethren bats as a one-run second, a three-run third and four-run fourth notched the mercy-rule win for the Bobcats.

“I think we showed what kind of team we can be. And that’s in both directions,” Neph said. “I thought we put together some really good innings, and I thought we put together some bad innings.

“We’ve got to keep making those steps up the ladder to be the ballclub we know we can eventually be,” he added. “And we’re making those steps; tonight, four different players got their first hits of the year. Those are positive steps.”

Ledford, Cordell Williams and Curtis McKenney each had hits for the Portagers in the nightcap.

On the mound for Brethren, Dalton Lakso allowed one earned run with eight strikeouts in four innings.

At the plate, Costello was 3-for-3 with a solo home run and three RBIs while Gary Lodin was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Lucas Richardson was 2-for-3 with four runs scored.
   
     

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