By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
Sunday was one of those sun-baked glass half-full, half-empty days for the Calhoun Reds in a doubleheader loss at St. Marys.
While Calhoun improved by leaps and bounds and made a game of both games after being throttled the first three games of the season (half full) it could have and maybe should have won both games (half empty).
The Reds lost the opener 18-10 as St Marys (the Pleasants County Minutemen) mounted a tremendous comeback late in the contest. The Reds dropped the second game by a 12-4 margin where once again an early lead was wiped out, although not in as a dramatic fashion as the first game.
The Reds grabbed a quick lead in the first game with four in the first inning.
The top of the order did most of the damage with Ben Frederick hitting a two-run single to highlight things.
Allen Matheny started things off on the right foot for the Reds as he hammered a single, stole second and went to third on a throwing error by the catcher, coming ahead around on another error on the Minutemen.
Soney Wilson, Austin Hicks and Seth Moore all got aboard to load the bases and a walk to Jerry Jones drove in the second run of the inning.
After Frederick's two-run single made it 4-0 the Reds suffered back-to-back strikeouts with a base runner being thrown out as he tried to score.
St. Marys got three back in the bottom of the first but the scoring ended there for the next couple of innings.
In the fourth the Reds scored five times for a 9-3 lead seemingly putting things out of reach for St. Marys.
In the inning Frederick had a two-run double, Matheny a run-scoring double, coming around to score on a passed ball. Moore and Jones also added singles in the inning.
That six-run 9-3 lead did not last long, however, as St, Marys scored six in the bottom of the inning to know things at 9-9 at the end of four.
Calhoun regained the lead in the top of the fifth when Kaleb Nicholas led off with a walk, took second on a single by pinch-hitter Caden Hicks, went to third when Trevor Lynch walked and scored on a two-out walk to Austin Hicks.
But that was it.
In the bottom of the fifth St. Marys sent 11 men to the plate scoring nine of them putting the game away as Calhoun was shut out in the sixth.
The second game did not have that kind of drama although it did feature three innings of no-hit ball by Calhoun starter Caden Hicks.
The Reds got two in the first as Matheny doubled and scored on Wilson's single. Wilson scored on a single by Caden Hicks.
St. Marys took the lead with three in the fourth and added six more in the fifth for a 9-2 lead.
The Reds rallied in the bottom of the fifth (Calhoun was the home team in the second game of the DH) as Matheny, Wilson and Austin Hicks had three consecutive base hits with Hicks' hit plating Matheny. With two down Caden Hicks was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Wilson scored when Jones walked and Calhoun appeared to be heading for a big inning when a ball hit by Jordan Heiney appeared to snake its way through the infield. Unfortunately the umpire ruled the ball hit a Calhoun base runner causing him to be out - the third out of the inning ending the rally.
Three more runs by the Minutemen in the sixth setting the final score at 12-4 as Calhoun came away empty handed in the bottom of the inning.
Calhoun is idle until Thursday when it travels to Marietta Orange for a single game.
DIRECTIONS: From I-77 go west on 7th Street (toward downtown Marietta); turn left on Jefferson Street (McDonald's is on the corner); turn right on E. 8th Street; Patriot Park is on the left.
First Game
Calhoun 400 510 - 10 8 6
St. Marys 300 69x - 18 6 8
WP - Jaden. LP - Moore.
Second Game
St. Marys 000 363 - 12 9 2
Calhoun 200 020 - 4 9 6
WP - Noah. LP - C. Hicks.
| 
