P.K. Yonge Baseball Rallies Late to Beat Chiefland

Comeback wins against the Chiefland Indians have been a theme for P.K. Yonge baseball this season, and the Blue Wave climbed from behind again Tuesday to win 6-5.

It was a windy night at Bobby Hawkins Field when the Blue Wave looked to bounce back from a disappointing 20-3 loss to Newberry on Friday.

Indians pitcher Emory Alford struggled to find the strike zone early, and the Blue Wave (13-7) took advantage by scoring two runs with disciplined at-bats and baserunning.

“We had him taking more pitches early, trying to get his pitch count up a little bit,” P.K. Yonge coach Rob Brunson said. “We had to make them be more patient in this game.”

Cooper Schackow drove in the first run with a sacrifice bunt that was misplayed. Following a patient at-bat by Noah Grogan with the bases loaded, the second run scored to put the Blue Wave up 2-0.

Starting pitcher Matt Knott held the Indians scoreless through the first three innings before surrendering four runs in the fourth when Chiefland (6-12) took a 4-2 lead. Knott was replaced by Sam DePaul after pitching 31/3 innings and finishing with three strikeouts.

Hustle remained the theme when the Blue Wave responded in the bottom of that inning. They used singles and aggressive baserunning to tie the game 4-4. Nico Wheeler, who finished 2-for-4 at the plate, drove in a run, and Schackow’s second RBI of the night tied the game.

DePaul allowed a leadoff home run to Jolan Doty that put Chiefland up 5-4 and a double to Payton Gulledge in the fifth knocked the P.K. Yonge sophomore off the mound. Wheeler then took over and escaped a bases-loaded jam to keep the game tied.

The score remained deadlocked until the bottom of the sixth. The bottom of the order sparked the momentum for P.K. Yonge, as DePaul and Ezekiel Young reached on walks. Gerardo Barrios, who reached base in all four plate appearances, drove in the tying run at 5-5 with a hard single to left field.

“With the runner on second, I was thinking of going backside to score him, but the pitcher gave me the cookie down the middle and I just drove it to left field,” Barrios said.

Barrios, an eighth-grader, is among the youngest players on the team and is batting .340 with 12 RBIs this season.

“He’s been a very lights-out hitter,” Brunson said. “He puts the ball in play, hits it hard and is great on defense behind the plate. He’s one you can count on to get on base.”

Following Barrios’ second single, Schackow drove in the go-ahead run with a bunt to put the Blue Wave ahead 6-5. Wheeler (3-1) closed out the game in the seventh to finish a three-inning shutout relief effort to seal the win.

P.K. Yonge finished the game with zero errors, better results for a young team which has struggled defensively this year.

“We had zero errors, so that’s a huge improvement,” Brunson said. “Any time you can do that in high school baseball, it’s huge.”

The Blue Wave travel to face Branford (10-6) Thursday at 7 p.m. The Buccaneers are seeking redemption after seeing the Blue Wave rally for a 5-4 win March 13 in Gainesville.

Category: High School Sports, PK Yonge High School