Worth waiting for
EAST BUTLER — Youth and enthusiasm powered the East Butler Bulldogs’ 8-6 win over the Butler BlueSox in Rust Belt League baseball action at East Butler’s Speed-O Field Tuesday night.
The game was shortened to seven innings, as the two teams had to wait an extra 50 minutes for an umpire to show up.
Trailing by three heading into their turn at bat in the fifth inning, the Bulldogs (5-5) notched five base hits — including three RBI knocks in a row — to take a 7-6 lead that they wouldn’t give back. The hosts tacked on an insurance run when Conner McTighe worked a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the sixth.
Starting pitcher Shane Thompson went the distance, throwing 122 pitches. He likely would have retired the final seven batters he faced if not for a bad hop on Seth Helgert’s two-out single in the top of the seventh.
“A lot of energy,” Bulldogs manager Greg Folk said. “This is a young team and they’re full of energy. Shane pitched a gem of a game. He had his stuff tonight, his fastball. He was mixing it up nice.”
Brendon Koroly, Nico Melagrane, Evan Kircher, and Tommaso Floro all got on base in both the Bulldogs’ fourth and fifth turns.
The pitcher that East Butler was able to get to in that fifth frame, Brayden Hageter, had pitched against the Bulldogs the first two times the teams faced off.
“The more you see a guy, there’s a certain way to catch up to him,” Folk said.
The BlueSox (6-4) scored two runs apiece in the first, fourth, and fifth innings. Andrew Bokulich belted a two-run homer over the right field wall in the fourth.
He and his teammates didn’t look up at East Butler until the outburst in the following frame.
“We’ve been doing that the last couple games,” BlueSox manager Dan Helgert said. “We’re getting the leads and we’re letting teams back in for no reason, other than lack of focus. We’re playing good, but it’s just something that can’t happen.
“Give them credit. They hit the ball, they swung the bats, and they put the ball in play.”
It was the Bulldogs’ first win in three tries against the more established BlueSox.
“Lesson learned from us guys,” the elder Helgert said. “Good for those guys. They needed to beat us. They were more intense than we were.”
BLUESOX 200 220 0 — 6 9 0
BULLDOGS 010 241 x — 8 13 3
W: Shane Thompson 7IP (8K, 3BB). L: Brayden Hageter 3IP (2K, 1BB)
BlueSox (6-4): Sean Connolly 2-1B 2R, Seth Helgert 1B R, Quinn Burke 1B RBI, Joey Woodrow 1B 2RBI R, Andrew Bokulich HR 2RBI R, Zach Johnston 2B, Chase Vrabel 1B, Tate Minich 1B R
Bulldogs (5-5): Marco Vesce 1B, Conner McTighe 1B, Chris Mullins 2R, Brendon Koroly 2-1B R, Nico Melagrane 2-2B 1B 2R, Evan Kircher 1B 3RBI R, Tommaso Floro 2B 1B 3RBI, Tristan Kenzevich 2B R
Thursday: BlueSox at DuBois
Friday: Bulldogs at BlueSox
