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Jayhawks sweep Eagles in league
UNIONTOWN -- Fielding woes proved to be too much to overcome as the Uniontown High School varsity baseball team dropped both games of a Three Rivers League twinbill to Jayhawk-Linn, 16-2 and 7-3, at George Warren Field Friday afternoon.
"I thought at times that we played hard, and I thought at other times that we were just pressing too much," Uniontown head coach Jeff Reed said. "We've never had much success against Jayhawk (Linn). We came in on a four-game winning streak and we were confident. But I think we were overconfident the first game, and it got to us."
In the bottom of the first inning, Eagle center fielder Ethan Hale plated starting pitcher John Kuns on a double to left field as Uniontown (4-2 TRL, 4-3 overall) jumped out to a 1-0 lead. In the top of the second inning, with one out and runners on second and third base, Jayhawk shortstop Levi Mathews punched a base hit down the right-field line, scoring both runners, as Jayhawk-Linn took its first lead of the game, one it would never relinquish.
"We're playing a 2A-1A level ball, and I mean you're going to have some kids that are going to make some errors," Reed said. "Our biggest thing that I try to instill in the kids is that errors are going to come. But it's how you deal with the errors. And I treat it as -- if you make an error, you need to forget about it and try to move on and go to the next play. And when you hold onto it, the errors, they continue to cost you."
Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Uniontown shortstop Brodrick Glessner committed an error on a ground ball, allowing 2 runs to score, as Jayhawk-Linn pushed the lead to 4-1. A hit batter loaded the bases. Jayhawk pitcher Tommy Avery then singled to center field driving in 2 runs. The next batter, first baseman Justin Mark, belted a towering home run over the left field fence, as Jayhawk-Linn extended its lead to 9-1.
As the inning continued, a Kuns wild pitch allowed another run to cross the plate, which ended his afternoon on the mound. Devonte Robinson took over, allowing an inherited runner to cross the plate before finally getting out of the inning with Uniontown trailing 11-1.
In the bottom of the second, Eagles center fielder Dalton Furham tripled to deep right field, scoring Zach Schwalm with the Eagles' second run of the game. Jayhawk-Linn tacked on another run in the top of the fourth and four more runs in the top of the fifth inning, knocking Robinson out of the game in the process.
The duo of Mathews and Mark powered Jayhawk-Linn in game 1 as they combined to drive in 7 runs. Jayhawks pitcher Tommy Avery struck out five batters in five innings of work, while walking 2 batters and allowing 2 earned runs.
In the second game, Jayhawk-Linn led 4-0 after the first inning and 6-1 after four innings of play. The pitching matchup had Glessner facing off against Jayhawk Bryce Nation. While Glessner had a better performance on the mound, defensive issues, some of which were on routine plays early in the game, allowed Jayhawk-Linn to jump out to the early lead.
Reed said he liked the way his team played in the second game when compared to the first.
"I think more than anything it was our mental focus," Reed said. "The first game we weren't nearly as mentally focused as what we were in the second game. Like I said before, this is Jayhawk-Linn, and we really haven't had very much success against them."
The Eagles put a mini-rally together in the bottom of the seventh inning, slicing the lead to 7-3 and loading the bases with 1 out. Bryce Nation was replaced by Brett Nation on the mound, and he induced Hale into a game-ending 5-3 double play.
"I reiterated in between games, that we have to stay within ourselves," he said. "We have to minimize the errors and just continue to be positive and try to work through."
The Eagles play a Three Rivers League doubleheader Monday at Marmaton Valley.
A home doubleheader scheduled for April 14 against Oswego will be made up May 6.