The baseball Montgomery County Championships were held on Tuesday, May 10, at Blake. The Wildcats faced Sherwood who had an impressive 18-2 record. The Wildcats’ energy lasted from the first pitch to the last hit and the boys were named Montgomery County Champions.
Junior pitcher Jay Wandell started on the mound pitching a scoreless inning and the offense did not disappoint.
Sherwood pitched their ace, Amari Allen. From pitching to up at bat, Wandell started the Wildcats off with a triple. Junior Jake Goldberg followed up with a sacrifice bunt getting Wandell home. Two singles and two walks led to WJ extending their lead to 4-0.
Sherwood switched pitchers to Garrett Smith and the Wildcats got another run, finishing the first inning 5-0.
Wandell went on to pitch three more scoreless innings before being relieved by senior Leo Simpson in the fifth inning. In the bottom of the fifth junior Aidan Watts hit a single and junior Nick Zayas pinch-ran for him. Zayas went on to steal second and third. Junior Vance Bonior got out at first but Zayas managed to get home making the score 6-0.
With Simpson’s scoreless pitching, the game ended 6-0.
Churchill
In the regional semifinals, the Wildcats faced the Churchill Bulldogs (12-7).
Wandell started out on the mound for WJ and Christian Kim pitched for the Bulldogs. Both pitchers held the offense, allowing no runs in the first two innings.
At the top of the third, Churchill hit a single. The runner went on to steal second and managed to get on third due to a defensive error. Senior Jeremey Davis collected a single, securing one run for the Bulldogs. With a runner on first and third base, a runner got caught in between first and second, the Wildcats were not able to see the Bulldog on third running home. Churchill secured their third run in the inning and they were up 3-0.
At the plate, sophomore Brady Chan and Bonior collected singles, but with sophomore Ethan Hsu’s hit to the second baseman, Churchill got a double play to end the third.
Wandell was able to calm the Bulldogs’ bats in the fourth inning. On offense, seniors Dan Avillo and Caleb Kasten collected singles. Watts hit a two-run single getting the Wildcats on the board 3-2.
Simpson relieved Wandell in the fifth inning. With no outs, Churchill had the bases loaded. The Bulldogs hit a single giving them another run, but Simpson stopped them there.
“Throughout the first couple innings Churchill pieced together some runs but we maintained a good streak of getting guys on as well,” Simpson said.
Bonior, Hsu and senior Braden LaChapelle loaded up the bases. Wandell’s flawless bunt got pinch-runner Zayas home. Churchill switched pitchers to senior Zane Gross mid-inning, Gross ended the fifth with a one-run lead of 4-3.
Simpson held the score and the Wildcats were back on offense. Simpson and Chan both walked. LaChapelle hit a double, Simpson and Chan got home from a defensive error. The Wildcats got their first lead of the game 5-4.
It all came down to the seventh inning. The Bulldogs had the bases loaded again and with a walk, gained another run. Churchill hit an RBI single and the top of the seventh ended 6-5.
With their last offensive run, Wandell and junior Geoffrey Kemp collected singles. With two outs it came down to Watts. With a bomb down center field, the Wildcats got two runs and won the game 7-6.
“It was a well hard fought game but expect better for Whitman,” Simpson added.
For regionals, the Wildcats were up against the Whitman Vikings who they had previously defeated 5-1.
Whitman
The regional finals were held on Tuesday, May 16 and unfortunately for the Wildcats, their season concluded after a 9-2 loss to the Vikings.
Pitching all seven innings for Whitman was sophomore Wells Twining. Twining challenged the Wildcats bats the whole game.
The game started out close, both teams were tied with one run starting the fourth inning. With two bases loaded, senior Liam Bowen for the Vikings hit a two-run triple. After another two runs, Wandell was relieved by freshman Spencer Gilcrest.
Gilcrest came in with two outs and two bases loaded. Giving up a single and three walks, the Vikings were up 8-1. In the bottom of the fourth, Twining maintained their lead.
Sophomore Shaun Rudick came in for Gilcrest to pitch the fifth inning. Whitman scored another run making it 9-1. Up at bat, the Wildcats were struggling to get a good hit off of Twining’s pitches.
After Rudick, sophomore Andres Johnson came out on the mound. Johnson had a very good inning, getting two strikeouts and only letting one Viking get a single.
In the sixth, the Wildcats offense looked stronger. With a battle from Goldberg and a 3-2 count Goldberg hit a bomb allowing Wandell on first base to get all the way home. Unable to keep it going, the sixth ended 9-2.
Senior Jake Sher came out for Johnson to close out the game pitching. Neither team was able to get any runs in the seventh and the regional game ended 9-2 knocking WJ out of the playoffs.
