Eagles Blank Marksmen On Baseball Diamond

 

A no-hit, shutout performance delivered by Eagle starting pitcher Cohen Drake combined with a 10-hit day from Holden batters led to a home win over Sherwood for the Holden baseball team by the final score of 11-0 on Monday, Mar. 24.

Following two scoreless innings from both teams to open the game, the Eagles opened the floodgates to plate nine runs in the bottom of the third frame.

“It just took us a couple innings to kind of just make an adjustment,” said Holden baseball coach Jeff Smith. “We faced some pretty good pitching on Saturday. This was a little bit slower, so it took us a little bit, we end-capped a few, hit a few soft fly balls there, and then finally made that adjustment, stepped back and got it.”

Eagle senior first baseman Trace Angell sparked the nine-run third inning with a leadoff ground ball to reach base.
With Angell perched at second base, senior center fielder Kale Tryon followed Angell with a ground ball that was mishandled by Sherwood, allowing Angell to score the first run of the game.

Junior left fielder Justin Brown doubled to plate Tryon before Drake singled to put runners on the corners.
Junior catcher Drake Gard scored Tryon and Drake with a double. Junior designated hitter Tucker Kauffman followed Gard with a single to plate courtesy runner Chasen Hall for a 5-0 Holden lead.

A single from senior shortstop Tyler Barker was followed by a single from junior right fielder Justin Brown. Brown’s hit forced an error from Sherwood which allowed both Barker and Kauffman to score.

Eagle senior third baseman Vance Davis welcomed Marksman relief pitcher Von Spangler to the mound by knocking a single.

With one out, Tryon hit a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Davis for the ninth run of the inning.

On the mound, Drake allowed just one Marksman batter to reach base through Sherwood’s half of the fourth and fifth innings.

“It felt really good to have some runs on the board so I could pitch with a lead and not be worried about staying ahead in counts and everything, and I knew that my defense could work for me and more runs would come,” said Drake as Holden’s defense handled multiple plays in the field to help preserve the no-hitter.

“Big no-hitter, it’s good to see that through some of the struggles he had a little bit last year with control,” said coach Smith. “Today, he came out there and he knew he was the guy, and we’re hoping we get that from him here, obviously not no-hitters every day, but we hope we get that command of the strike zone and that mental toughness up there.”

“Kale’s play there in right-center, he did a good job throughout the game knowing that they were late on Cohen, and he made the adjustments and moved towards right and that helped him get to that one,” noted coach Smith in regard to the Holden’s defensive effort and adjustments.

Drake tipped his cap to the Eagle defense, as well.

“Kale and Tyler were being good leaders on the field,” said Drake. “They were moving everybody around based on the tendencies of the hitters, and it was just great defense all around how they backed me up today.”

Drake also noted the performance of Gard in the backstop and signal caller position.

“We were on the same page almost every pitch,” said Drake. “I think I only shook him off once. We were just rolling as a unit together.”

Drake ended the game with nine strikeouts while giving up two walks in the no-hit pitching performance.
Holden totaled 10 hits off of a combined pitching performance from Marksmen starter Dalton McKenzie and reliever Spangler.

“Justin had a good day at the plate, I think Vance had a pretty good day at the plate, Barker had at least a hit, we had eight or nine hits there, I think, so it was a good day, especially when we didn’t have any before the second inning,” said coach Smith. “I’m proud of these guys. They’ve come out and they’ve played hard the last few days.”

The game moved the Holden baseball team to 2-0 on the season prior to a setback against Harrisonville in a game added to the schedule on Wednesday, Mar. 27. The Eagles turn around to play the Wildcats again this week in a regularly scheduled game as Holden’s schedule shows four total games this week with match-ups against Knob Noster on Monday, Harrisonville on Tuesday, Lexington on Thursday, and Crest Ridge on Friday.

“We’ve had two games, and we’ve used three pitchers, so it’s a good thing to have,” said coach Smith after the win against Sherwood. “Hopefully, on those four-game and five-game weeks, hopefully, we get those same kind of pitching performances. We’ve got a tough week coming up next week with Knob and Harrisonville. We’ll have to have a lot of those other guys that pitch step up and throw quite a few innings next week, too.”

Versus Sherwood, Kauffman had 2 hits and 1 RBI. Gard had 1 hit and 2 RBIs. Wes Brown and Justin Brown each had 1 hit and 1 RBI. Drake and Barker each had 2 hits. Davis had 1 hit. Tryon and Angell each had 1 RBI.

Wildcats Hold Off Eagle Rally
Playing in a game added to the schedule last week, the Holden baseball team fell at home to Harrisonville by the final score of 11-10 on Thursday, Mar. 27.

The Eagles rallied from a 10-0 deficit in the game by scoring a run in the fourth inning, four runs in the sixth, and five runs in the bottom of the seventh. The game ended with Eagle base runner Tucker Kauffman on third base as the final out of the game was recorded by the Wildcats.

At the plate for Holden, Cohen Drake totaled 3 hits and 2 RBIs. Kauffman had 1 hit and 2 RBIs. Wes Brown had 1 hit and 1 RBI. Justin Brown, Vance Davis, and Trace Angell each had 1 hit. Tyler Barker had 1 RBI.

On the mound, Kale Tryon, Kauffman, and Angell each saw time on the mound in the game. Tryon and Kauffman each recorded 5 strikeouts as Harrisonville totaled 9 hits to offset Holden’s 8 hits.

At the end of last week, the Holden baseball team held a record of 2-1 on the season.

The Eagles were set to begin MRVC-East play on Monday, Mar. 31, with a home game against Knob Noster.
The Holden baseball team travels to Harrisonville for a rematch Wednesday, Apr. 2.

The Holden baseball team hosts Lexington on Thursday, Apr. 3, for an MRVC-East game. Varsity plays at 4:30 p.m. with a JV contest to follow.

On Friday, Apr. 4, Holden travels to Crest Ridge for a varsity game at 5 p.m., and a JV game to follow.