Highland 18U rides pitching, timely hitting to doubleheader sweep of Trenton
Just halfway into the summer season, the Highland 18U baseball Bulldogs are beginning to look very much like a 20-plus win team that is steadily improving with each week.
The Bulldogs added to their strong start to the 2020 summer season June 28 with a 3-1, 4-3 doubleheader sweep of Trenton at Trenton City Park.
“We’re pretty much halfway through the season and I feel like our pitching is getting to the point where they are able to go longer distances and our hitting has been good some games and our defense has been solid,” Highland manager Kyle Schmitt said.
In the first game, Trenton started out as the home team and went ahead 1-0 with a run in the bottom of the first.
Highland (11-3) got that run back in the top of the fourth thanks to a pair of sacrifice bunts to tie it at 1-1. Meanwhile, Highland starter Kolby Frey kept Trenton from scoring the next three innings.
The Bulldogs finally established control in the top of the seventh. Carter Wiegman led off with triple and JD Barnes singled him home and, after Tyler Robards blooped a single to center, Highland led 3-1.
Frey went the distance for the win, surrendering just two hits and one run while posting 10 strikeouts.
“That was one of his best starts of the year and he pretty much had all his pitches working,” Schmitt said.
Highland batted as the home team in the nightcap and the Bulldogs had to overcome an early 2-1 deficit to prevail.
The Bulldogs went ahead 1-0 in the first as Jack Korte tripled to lead off before Werner drove him in with a sacrifice fly.
Trenton responded with a pair of runs in the top of the second to go in front 2-1.
In the bottom of the third Highland got the bats going again. Landon Oestringer reached base on a dropped third strike and later scored on an infield error. Werner singled home Korte from second to put Bulldogs back on top 3-2. Chad Barker doubled home Logan Doll in the top of the fourth, pushing the Bulldogs edge to 4-2.
“Chad Barker came up big in that situation to tack on another run for us,” Schmitt said.
Slick double play saves the day
In the bottom of the sixth, Trenton pulled within one, scoring a run off two hits and an error.
Trenton would not get closer as Bulldogs reliever Chase Wilson stopped them in the seventh, thanks in part to an amazing double play pulled off by Werner, as he made a dazzling over the shoulder catch of a ball in short left field, wheeled and threw to first base to double off a runner to end the game.
Griffin Frahm started and got the win on the bump. Frahm threw six innings, gave up two earned runs, struck out 10 and walked just three hitters.
Pitching key to doubleheader sweep
All things considered, it was a good trip for the Bulldogs.
“I mean overall our pitching was really solid,” Schmitt said ”They went much longer than I thought they would and they had their pitches working and they were striking guys out, so it was fun to watch other than the couple of errors.”
This story was originally published July 3, 2020 at 12:46 AM.