Hornets stopped in road games
By Derick Kelly
The Wauzeka-Steuben Hornets hit the road last week for a triad of Ridge & Valley Conference league games against league leaguers Weston and Ithaca and were stopped short of their first win of the season in each game.
The Hornets began the week at Weston last Monday, April 14 and the host Silver Eagles used strong offensive and pitching performances to shut down the Hornets 7-0. The hosts scored five times in the second inning and once in the fourth and sixth innings to claim the win.
Weston pitcher Trevor Westphal earned a complete game shutout by allowing just two Hornet base hits in the win. Those hits came from Brett Wagner (who had a double) and Cooper Lomas. Bentley Dums (five runs allowed on five hits and three walks with one strikeout in 1.2 innings pitched) took the pitching loss on the mound with Clint Mitchell (two runs allowed on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched) finishing the game on the mound for the Hornets.
W-S traveled to Ithaca the next evening for a doubleheader with the Bulldogs. In game one, Ithaca jumped out to a 5-0 lead after five innings before the Hornets pushed a run across in the top of the sixth inning but that was all they would get as the Bulldogs held on for a 5-1 victory. Mitchell (2-for-3) had multiple hits in the loss, while Ruger Paetz (1-for-3 with one RBI), Mason Johnson (1-for-3), Dums (1-for-3) and Cody Wagner (1-for-3) each had a hit in the loss. Lomas took the loss on the mound for the Hornets, allowing five runs (only one earned) on six hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in six innings pitched.
The second game of the doubleheader saw the host Bulldogs (playing as the road team) take a 6-1 lead after two and a half innings before the Hornets roared back with five unanswered runs (including four in the fourth) to get within one run at 7-6. That momentum would not last as Ithaca responded with two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings and one in the seventh to extend the score to 12-6 in favor of the Bulldogs. The Hornets would add a run in the bottom of the seventh but it was not enough to extend the game as Ithaca earned a doubleheader sweep with a 12-7 victory.
The Hornets offense managed to score seven runs on just three hits with Brett Wagner (1-for-2 with two walks, one run scored and one RBI), Cody Wagner (1-for-4 with two runs scored) and Johnson (1-for-3) accounting for all three Hornet hits in the game. Starting pitcher Mitchell (nine runs allowed (eight earned) on seven hits and five walks with one strikeout in five innings pitched) took the loss on the mound with Dums (three runs allowed (two earned) on two hits and one walk with two strikeouts) pitching the last two innings in relief. Wauzeka-Steuben dropped to 0-6 on the season with the loss.
Following last night’s doubleheader at La Farge, the Hornets are back on the diamond this Friday when they host Boscobel at 5:00 p.m. The team then travels to Seneca next Monday, April 28 to face the Royals at 5:00 p.m.
