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Runs were scored left and right Tuesday night when the P.K. Yonge Blue Wave took on the Oak Hall Eagles. The Blue Wave fell to 0-2 on the season after a heartbreaking 18-16 loss in a game over four hours long.
Scrappy Play
The first three innings were filled with scoring on both sides. Both sides were visibly nervous, taking several pauses at the mound and plate. Despite this, the teams came out of the gates with a scrappy brand of baseball, fighting for each base. In just the first three innings, there were three errors and an outstanding 9 bases stolen between the two teams. Of those combined nine steals, four came from the Eagles’ Darion Medley. Senior Lane Sparkman followed, hitting a single and eventually landing at home plate off of two stolen bases.
The scrappy play led to lots of back-and-forth scoring. After just two innings, the score sat at a high scoring margin of 10-8.
Chipping Away
Soon after the scrappy first few innings, the game slowed down quite a bit. Not a single player got on base from either team in the fourth inning. Momentum slowly picked up the next inning: this time off of several singles. Oak Hall stole yet another base in the top of the fifth and polished off another run with a couple of walks and a single. P.K. Yonge retaliated with 5 singles, resulting in 3 runs. After another error from the Eagles, another Blue Wave crossed home. They took the lead 12-11 following the run.
An Offensive Race
Later in the game, it seemed every time a team scored, the other would strike back with twice the momentum. They both got into an offensive groove, stealing more bases, and slowly chipping away at each other’s defenses with single-base hits. With just two innings left in the bout, both teams were looking to pull away. Several small plays tethered together by a double homerun from Jackson Beach gave Oak Hall just what they were looking for. Of course, the Blue Wave followed soon after with a double (which barely grazed the fence) and a few stolen bases to chalk up 3 runs of their own.
The two teams had fought tenaciously so far, but the Eagles were barely holding onto a lead of 17-15. In the final inning, Oak Hall squeezes in one more run, and in the bottom of the seventh, the Blue Wave desperately tried to close the gap. A home run from the Blue Wave senior Aidan Mansfield just wasn’t enough as they fell short of the win, 16-18.
14 stolen bases and a total of 34 runs combined between the two teams made for an explosive and exciting game. The Eagles’ 17 base hits proved to be just enough to overcome the great offensive performance of the Blue Wave. P.K. Yonge now falls to 0-2 early on in their baseball season. they’ll look to bounce back on their Thursday night game against Williston at home.
