Eagles Baseball Team Finishes Runner-Up To Panthers In Holden Tourney

 

The Holden baseball team faced off against Knob Noster in the first-place game of the Holden Classic Baseball Tournament Friday, Apr. 18, with the Eagles falling to the Panthers in the title game by the final score of 11-3.

The Panthers accumulated 13 total hits in the game as a combined pitching effort from Panther pitchers Mason Eames and Garrett Eames held Holden to four hits in the game.

“They (Knob Noster) swung it really well,” said Holden baseball coach Jeff Smith. “We took really bad at-bats. The guys they threw out there, I didn’t think were super impressive, and we didn’t compete. We didn’t compete at the plate, we didn’t compete defensively, we didn’t compete on the mound. All around, we weren’t beating anybody in that game.”
Knob Noster took a 4-0 lead after two innings of play with three runs scored in the top of the first inning and another run crossing the plate in the second inning.

A throwing error committed by Knob Noster allowed the Eagles to put two runs on the scoreboard in the third inning as Wes Brown and Drake Gard crossed home plate during the Panther miscue.

Brown would score Holden’s final run of the game on a wild pitch after reaching base in the fourth inning on fly ball that was dropped by Knob Noster.

Knob Noster scored one run in the fifth inning and pushed six runs across the plate in the sixth inning to set the final score.

The loss in the first-place game came after the Holden baseball team won its two pool play games in the tournament to advance to the title game. Those two wins provided a rebound from consecutive losses on the road to Warsaw and Adrian the previous week.

“We just didn’t come focused today, and there’s been a couple games like that,” said coach Smith. “I thought that last week would have been a little bit more of a wake-up call to make sure they were focused in the beginning of the game, but hopefully, this one was. We’ve got to refocus. We’ve got five conference games next week, so we’ve got to figure out a way to take better approaches at the plate.”

Pitching in relief for Holden in the tournament first-place game, Eagle senior pitcher Tyler Barker closed out the final 1 2/3 innings for Holden. Barker held the Panthers to one earned run on two hits and two walks while recording two strikeouts.

Eagle starting pitcher Cohen Drake worked through five innings on the mound. Drake allowed five runs (2 ER) on nine hits and two walks while recording two strikeouts.

Eagle relief pitcher Kale Tryon entered the game prior to Barker. Tryon allowed five runs (1 ER) on two hits and two walks while recording one strikeout.

At the plate for Holden, Drake, Gard, Barker, and Justin Brown each had 1 hit. Wes Brown had 2 stolen bases as Drake and Justin Brown each had 1 steal.

Eagles Sweep Tourney Pool Play
Playing in two pool play games in the Holden Classic Baseball Tournament, the Holden baseball team defeated El Dorado Springs by the final score of 6-2 on Tuesday, Apr. 15, and defeated Clinton by the score of 3-2 on Wednesday, Ap. 16.
Versus El Dorado, Holden plated two runs in the first inning, three runs in the second inning, and one run in the fourth inning as the Bulldogs scored two runs in the top of the seventh.

Holden totaled 11 hits versus five hits for the Bulldogs.

For Holden, Wes Brown had a team-high 3 hits. Drake Gard and Vance Davis each had 2 hits and 1 RBI. Tucker Kauffman had 1 hit and 2 RBIs. Cohen Drake had 1 hit and 1 RBI. Justin Brown had 2 hits. Trace Angell had 1 RBI.

On the mound, Cohen Drake started in the game with Kale Tryon, Blake Naumann, and Tyler Barker pitching in relief. Drake recorded 4 strikeouts as Tryon recorded 1 strikeout.

Versus Clinton, Holden did all of its damage on the scoreboard in the first inning by plating three runs as the Cardinals plated one run in the third inning and one run in the fourth.

The Cardinals threatened to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning. With a base runner on third base, Clinton hit what appeared to be a sacrifice fly to allow the runner to score. The run was ultimately erased when the field official determined the base runner had left third base prior to the catch made by Holden on the play.

Versus Clinton, Wes Brown had 2 hits and 1 RBI, Tyler Barker had 1 hit and 1 RBI, and Drake Gard had 2 hits. Tryon, Justin Brown, and Trace Angell each had 1 hit.

Wes Brown started on the mound for Holden. Through five innings, Brown allowed 2 unearned runs on 1 hit and 3 walks while recording 12 strikeouts.

Barker pitched two innings in relief. Barker held the Cardinals scoreless, allowed 2 hits, walked 1 batter, and recorded 1 strikeout.

“The ElDo game, we played really well,” said coach Smith. “Wes had a really good game. Drake had a good game against Clinton. The top of our lineup started picking it up a little bit. Wes had been struggling a little, and he definitely picked it up this week. I thought our arms were great Tuesday and Wednesday there against ElDo and Clinton.

“Today, Knob just came with a better approach at the plate, and that’s the hardest Cohen’s been hit all year,” continued coach Smith. “I think he missed quite a few spots, but you’re not always going to have your best stuff when you come out there.

“I really think that after the first inning on Wednesday, we lost the focus because we scored three in the first inning on Wednesday, and didn’t score again through six innings. Through the last 13 innings of baseball, we really haven’t played very well. Hopefully, we can change that next week because we’ve got five conference games in a row.”

At the conclusion of the Holden Classic Baseball Tournament, the Holden baseball team held an overall record of 7-5, and stood at 3-0 in MRVC-East play.

The Holden baseball team turns around to play Knob Noster in an MRVC-East game at Knob Noster this Thursday, Apr. 24. The varsity game on Thursday begins at 4:30 p.m. with a ­­­­ contest to follow.

The Holden JV baseball team plays in the Odessa JV Baseball Tournament on Friday, Apr. 25, and Saturday, Apr. 26, with game times to be determined.

The Holden baseball team travels to Higginsville for an MRVC-East match-up on Monday, Apr. 28, with a varsity game at 4:30 p.m., and a JV contest to follow.