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Chiefs run themselves out of win against Wildcats
| Keokuk’s Matt Kelly dives back to first base as Columbus Junction’s Anthony Martinez waits for a throw from Michael Allen. Allen picked off three runners in the game. |
By Brad Cameron/Gate City Sports Editor
A bad night on the base paths contributed to the outcome of Keokuk's home baseball game Wednesday at Joyce Park.
The Chiefs had three runners picked off first base in the first three innings and lost a runner at the plate trying to score on a passed ball in the seventh. Columbus Junction escaped a bases loaded jam in the final inning and held on for a 7-5 win.
“Right now, we're just struggling from a baseball sense standpoint,” said Keokuk Head Coach Steve Worster. “I've never ever faulted their effort. Right now it is between their ears with this group.
“We literally ran ourselves out of three different innings on the base paths. We get three kids picked off first, and we have the bases loaded and no one out in the bottom of the seventh and try to score on a passed ball that doesn't get 20 feet away from the catcher. That was the straw that broke the camel's back right there. We didn't do a lot of anything good last night. It was pretty frustrating.”
Adding to Keokuk's woes was an injury to another starting player.
B.J. Billings broke his foot during Monday's doubleheader at Washington. Wednesday, the Chiefs lost senior Ryan Bell to a hamstring injury.
“Ryan has been playing hurt for four years, but this is the worst he has ever been,” Worster said. “He's been trying to play through a bad shoulder, and he popped it out of joint again Saturday at Community Field. He pulled his hamstring really bad in Babe Ruth, and he was just starting to get better.
“We're missing B.J. for probably three weeks, and we've probably, in reality, lost Ryan for the season.”
Columbus Junction took the lead in the first inning with two unearned runs off of pitcher Luke Davis.
Michael Allen led off with a walk, and Anthony Martinez was hit-by-a-pitch with one out. Both advanced a base on a passed ball.
Davis struck out Cody Boyd for the second out of the inning, and got Joe Zuniga to hit a ground ball to third base. Unfortunately, first baseman Bell could not come up with the throw from Matt Valuch, and both runners scored on the error.
Keokuk tied the game in the bottom of the second inning. Ryan Bell walked with one out and took second on a wild pitch. Nick Bell delivered an RBI double with two out, and he went to third on an infield single by Luke Davis.
The inning ended with courtesy runner Ethan Hotop getting into a run down between first and second base. Hotop stayed in the rundown long enough to allow Nick Bell to score the tying run.
“I asked coach Summers back in the dugout what is this kid doing that has us so baffled at first base,” Worster said. “To have three kids picked off in three consecutive innings, I just felt helpless over there. I wanted to be more aggressive with our base runners because we were getting guys on, but I felt crippled because I didn't know if we could execute something we wanted to try. That is a bad feeling to have as a coach. This kid took us so much out of our game that we had to go station to station instead of trying to be aggressive and make things happen.”
The Wildcats reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Boyd led off with a walk and scored on a triple by Zuniga.
Keokuk right fielder Matt Kelly made a running catch on a short fly ball hit by Luis Aguirre for the first out of the inning, but he was unable to come up with a diving catch on a ball hit by Tony Marin. Zuniga scored on Marin's double to give Columbus Junction a 4-2 lead.
The Chiefs, however, tied the game again in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kelly was hit-by-a-pitch, and Ryan Bell walked to open the inning. Both advanced on a wild pitch from Michael Allen. Nick Bell drove in Kelly with a ground out, and Davis delivered a two-out RBI single to score Ryan Bell.
Columbus Junction took the lead for good in the sixth inning. Brandon Harris was hit-by-a-pitch with the bases loaded to give the Wildcats the lead, and Allen blooped a single down the left field line to extend the margin to 6-4.
Keokuk got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning. Ryan Bell walked, and Valuch singled to start the inning. Nick Bell sacrificed the runners to third and second with a bunt, and pinch runner Ryan DeClairmont scored on a two-out wild pitch. Valuch was stranded at third to end the inning.
The Wildcats added a big insurance run in the top of the seventh. Harris delivered a two-out double to score Zuniga to make the score 7-5.
Keokuk made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh. Ethan Deyo and Nathan Kelly singled to start the inning, and Craig Baum was hit-by-a-pitch to load the bases.
Allen had thrown 132 pitches when Zuniga came in to relieve. His first out came when Deyo tried to score on a ball that popped out of the glove of Marin, the catcher. Marin raced to pick up the ball and threw to the Zuniga covering the plate for the out.
Zuniga struck out Kelly for the second out, but a wild pitch moved Nathan Kelly and Baum to third and second. Columbus Junction decided to intentionally walk Kyle Baum to load the bases.
The game ended when Valuch hit a hard ground ball to Allen, now playing shortstop. He fired to first to beat Valuch diving for the bag.
Davis took the loss for Keokuk. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits, three walks and hit four batters. Davis finished with 10 strikeouts.
Davis led Keokuk at the plate with two hits and an RBI. Nick Bell was 1-for-2 with two runs batted in. Deyo, Nathan Kelly and Valuch each had one hit, and Ryan Bell walked three times and scored two runs before leaving the game with the injury.
Keokuk (2-4) hosts Fairfield in a Southeast Conference doubleheader today. The first game starts at 5:30 p.m.
The Chiefs had three runners picked off first base in the first three innings and lost a runner at the plate trying to score on a passed ball in the seventh. Columbus Junction escaped a bases loaded jam in the final inning and held on for a 7-5 win.
“Right now, we're just struggling from a baseball sense standpoint,” said Keokuk Head Coach Steve Worster. “I've never ever faulted their effort. Right now it is between their ears with this group.
“We literally ran ourselves out of three different innings on the base paths. We get three kids picked off first, and we have the bases loaded and no one out in the bottom of the seventh and try to score on a passed ball that doesn't get 20 feet away from the catcher. That was the straw that broke the camel's back right there. We didn't do a lot of anything good last night. It was pretty frustrating.”
Adding to Keokuk's woes was an injury to another starting player.
B.J. Billings broke his foot during Monday's doubleheader at Washington. Wednesday, the Chiefs lost senior Ryan Bell to a hamstring injury.
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“We're missing B.J. for probably three weeks, and we've probably, in reality, lost Ryan for the season.”
Columbus Junction took the lead in the first inning with two unearned runs off of pitcher Luke Davis.
Michael Allen led off with a walk, and Anthony Martinez was hit-by-a-pitch with one out. Both advanced a base on a passed ball.
Davis struck out Cody Boyd for the second out of the inning, and got Joe Zuniga to hit a ground ball to third base. Unfortunately, first baseman Bell could not come up with the throw from Matt Valuch, and both runners scored on the error.
Keokuk tied the game in the bottom of the second inning. Ryan Bell walked with one out and took second on a wild pitch. Nick Bell delivered an RBI double with two out, and he went to third on an infield single by Luke Davis.
The inning ended with courtesy runner Ethan Hotop getting into a run down between first and second base. Hotop stayed in the rundown long enough to allow Nick Bell to score the tying run.
“I asked coach Summers back in the dugout what is this kid doing that has us so baffled at first base,” Worster said. “To have three kids picked off in three consecutive innings, I just felt helpless over there. I wanted to be more aggressive with our base runners because we were getting guys on, but I felt crippled because I didn't know if we could execute something we wanted to try. That is a bad feeling to have as a coach. This kid took us so much out of our game that we had to go station to station instead of trying to be aggressive and make things happen.”
The Wildcats reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Boyd led off with a walk and scored on a triple by Zuniga.
Keokuk right fielder Matt Kelly made a running catch on a short fly ball hit by Luis Aguirre for the first out of the inning, but he was unable to come up with a diving catch on a ball hit by Tony Marin. Zuniga scored on Marin's double to give Columbus Junction a 4-2 lead.
The Chiefs, however, tied the game again in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kelly was hit-by-a-pitch, and Ryan Bell walked to open the inning. Both advanced on a wild pitch from Michael Allen. Nick Bell drove in Kelly with a ground out, and Davis delivered a two-out RBI single to score Ryan Bell.
Columbus Junction took the lead for good in the sixth inning. Brandon Harris was hit-by-a-pitch with the bases loaded to give the Wildcats the lead, and Allen blooped a single down the left field line to extend the margin to 6-4.
Keokuk got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning. Ryan Bell walked, and Valuch singled to start the inning. Nick Bell sacrificed the runners to third and second with a bunt, and pinch runner Ryan DeClairmont scored on a two-out wild pitch. Valuch was stranded at third to end the inning.
The Wildcats added a big insurance run in the top of the seventh. Harris delivered a two-out double to score Zuniga to make the score 7-5.
Keokuk made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh. Ethan Deyo and Nathan Kelly singled to start the inning, and Craig Baum was hit-by-a-pitch to load the bases.
Allen had thrown 132 pitches when Zuniga came in to relieve. His first out came when Deyo tried to score on a ball that popped out of the glove of Marin, the catcher. Marin raced to pick up the ball and threw to the Zuniga covering the plate for the out.
Zuniga struck out Kelly for the second out, but a wild pitch moved Nathan Kelly and Baum to third and second. Columbus Junction decided to intentionally walk Kyle Baum to load the bases.
The game ended when Valuch hit a hard ground ball to Allen, now playing shortstop. He fired to first to beat Valuch diving for the bag.
Davis took the loss for Keokuk. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits, three walks and hit four batters. Davis finished with 10 strikeouts.
Davis led Keokuk at the plate with two hits and an RBI. Nick Bell was 1-for-2 with two runs batted in. Deyo, Nathan Kelly and Valuch each had one hit, and Ryan Bell walked three times and scored two runs before leaving the game with the injury.
Keokuk (2-4) hosts Fairfield in a Southeast Conference doubleheader today. The first game starts at 5:30 p.m.
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