The Solanco baseball team won a game it desperately needed to win. The Mules defeated host Elizabethtown 11-1 in five innings Friday. "It was certainly a must-win game for us," Solanco coach Tom Fish said. Solanco (2-4, 1-2 league) scored five runs in the top of the first which would be more than enough support for freshman pitcher Hayden Fox. "With a freshman who was making his first start, we really needed to help him out early and the guys responded," said Fish.
Joe Murray singled up the middle to drive in the first run of the game. Trent Myers added an RBI single. Colin Ewaka, inserted into the seventh spot in the lineup as the designated hitter, delivered an RBI single to start a huge day. He later added another RBI single and a two-run double. "Colin really sparked out offense," said Fish. "He made the most of his opportunity. He barreled up the ball and hit to all fields." Tony Osborne knocked in the fifth run on the frame with a single. Fox did not allow an earned run and gave up two hits and three walks while striking out two. He walked the bases loaded in the first but wriggled out of trouble unscathed. "Hayden had a rocky start. He was probably close to coming out [of the game]," Fish said. "He had to battle through his jitters." Fox induced several ground balls. Fish said shortstop Brady Thomas had a great game on defense. Third baseman Derek Lavin made two diving grabs in the fifth inning, the second one ending the game. "We needed a win bad and we got it," said Fish. Last Wednesday, the Mules lost 9-3 to Conestoga Valley. Solanco scored three runs in the second to go on top. Thomas had two hits on the day and scored a run in the second. "Brady was very aggressive on the bases," Fish said. Osborne added a two-out RBI single. The Mules did not score again. "Unlike the Elizabethtown game, we didn't tack on runs," Fish said. Murray sailed through the first four innings and fanned the first batter in the fifth. Two walks and three straight doubles later, Solanco trailed 4-3. "It happened so fast," Fish said. "You could see the air come out of the balloon in our players and coaches. It got away from us before we, as a coaching staff, were able to react." CV led 5-3 before adding four more runs in the sixth inning. On Tuesday, April 5, Ephrata upended the Mules 11-2. "Ephrata is the best team we've faced so far this season," said Fish. "They are as good as you would expect." The Mules cut their deficit down to 3-2 in the fourth before Ephrata exploded for eight runs in the fifth. "We went toe-to-toe with them until the fifth," said Fish. Thomas had a strong start. "Brady was awesome on the mound," said Fish. "He did a nice job battling to keep it 3-2." Things came apart in the fifth. "It was a bad inning," said Fish. "We made errors on a drag bunt and a chopper and a fly ball we didn't see off the bat. All of a sudden, a 3-2 really good game turned into 11-2. We're trying to find a way to stop those innings from happening. We need to find a way to identify them quicker." Fish said the Mules pitchers have deserved a better fate. "There hasn't been one game where I would hang the loss on the pitching staff," he said. "It's been great. We ended the week on a high note to save our season a little bit. There was a different vibe Saturday [at practice]." With no cupcakes on the schedule, Fish knows it won't be easy to climb back into the section race, but he believes his team is capable of doing it. "I told them, a couple of winning weeks and we'll be right back where we want to be," he said. Comments are closed.
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