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Blue Eagles Fly By Cee-Bees, 15-7

By Staff | Apr 26, 2017

The Eagles Eli Nice looks to be tagged out at third base, but his slide eluded the tag and was safe. Photos by Bruce Crawford

Magnolia broke-open a close game with a nine-run third inning and held on for a 15-7 victory over Clay-Battelle April 21 at George Mullet Field.

The Cee-Bees tallied a run in the top of the first, when Nick Priem reach on a one-out error and later scored on a Patrick Mirandy single. Mirandy also later scored on a Dalton Pritchard double to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead after one full inning of play.

The Cee-Bees tied it back up in the second, but the Eagles took back the lead when Billy Nice singled and later scored on a Clay-Battelle fielding and throwing error.

Clay-Battelle tied it up once more at three in the third, but Magnolia put the game away with a nine-run third on a Dylan Conner, Leo Herrick and Pritchard single, five walks and a fielders-choice.

The Cee-Bees added two runs in the fourth and fifth to keep Magnolia within reach, but the high-flying Eagles soared to three runs in the six to put the nail in the coffin.

The Eagles catcher Austin Klug tags out a Clay-Battele base-runner out at home, while first baseman Billy Nice looks on.

Leo Herrick started and work for innings, struck-out two and walked four, while Mirandy finished and got the win from the mound in relief, struck-out six and didn’t walk a batter.

Mirandy helped the cause with three singles and three RBI’s, while Pritchard doubled a singled twice, and knocked in three runs. Conner plated two runs with a single, while Leo Herrick knocked in one with a single. Derrick Kocher and Brody Cartwright each plated a run.

**

Magnolia Trips-Up Lumberjacks, 5-3

Magnolia pushed across three runs in the top of the fifth inning, and held off the Valley Lumberjacks, 5-3 in baseball action, April 20 at Tom West Field in Pine Grove.

Ty Freed singled to open the bottom of the first and scored a little later on a Blue Eagle Boo-Boo. However, the Blue Eagles reached on a Valley error and Dalton Pritchard made them pay with a two-run home-run to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead.

The Magnolia lead was short-lived as the Lumberjacks tied it up in the third without the benefit of a hit.

The score stayed dead-locked until the top of the fifth when Magnolia scored three runs with two outs. Nick Priem singled, stole second, and scored on a Billy Nice RBI single. Patrick Mirandy knocked in Nice with a RBI double that sealed the deal.

Priem, Nice and Drew Herrick each singled, while Mirandy and Leo Herrick each doubled. Pritchard knocked in three runs with a single and a home-run. Jack Gamble got the win. He struck-out one and walked a pair.

The Lumberjacks’ Freed poked a pair of singles, while Tyler Stoneking ripped a double. Gavin Morris, Hunter Woods and Colby Bucher each singled, with Bucher knocking in a run. Ethan Greathouse took the loss from the hill, he struck-out three and walked seven in going the distance.

**

Blue Eagles Defeat River Pilots

Editor’s Note: Magnolia/River coverage by Tracy Watson, for the Wetzel Chronicle

Veteran Magnolia coach Dave Cisar believes his team has lost four games this season that they should have won, which could have made this a much different campaign.

Wednesday Big Blue again let a lead slip away against a strong River team. However, with their backs against the wall in both the bottom of the seventh and ninth innings, the Blue Eagles managed to avoid a fifth heartbreaker.

Sophomore Eli Nice capped a three-run outburst in the bottom of the ninth inning with a two-out, two-run single to right-center field as Magnolia posted a come-from-behind, 10-9 victory over the cross-river rival Pilots at George Mullett Field.

“I am real proud of this team and especially sophomore Eli Nice,” a smiling Cisar said. “This was a real good, competitive and clean high school baseball game. The kind of game that makes baseball so great.

“But one of the biggest things we are so excited about, is that we found a way to win this ball game. There have been four other times this year, in the same type of games, that we managed to find a way to lose.

“We are a 4-7 baseball team, but our record is very deceiving and we have the potential of getting better and winning some more games.”

While Magnolia trailed only once during the initial six frames, that coming at 1-0 going to the bottom of the first, things headed south quickly in the top of the seventh as Coach Mark Romick’s Pilots (6-2) finally got the lead back.

Trailing 6-4 entering the seventh, Big Blue had to go to the bullpen with starter Will Nice reaching his pitch count limit to end the sixth. Reliever Jake Gamble got ahead 0-2 on No. 8 hitter Dylan Grimes before issuing a free pass.

After throwing a ball on the first pitch to the next hitter, Nick Priem was brought in to pitch and allowed another walk to put two on. Following a flyout and groundout Hunter Dennis worked a four-pitch walk to load the bases. That brought up Trey Isaly, who was 0-4 and had hit into two double plays.

But this time Isaly got the job done, walking to push across a run to make it 6-5. Jordan Doty then ripped a two-run single to right field to give River a 7-6 upperhand.

Trey Isaly, who pitched the final six and a thirds innings and took a loss, fanned a batter to start the bottom of the seventh before designated hitter Pat Mirandy singled, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. Mirandy then scored the tying run on Leo Herrick’s run-scoring single to force extra innings.

Walks again hurt Priem, who picked up a win, and Magnolia in the ninth as Lukas Isaly was issued a free pass and went to second on Ike Curtis’ bunt single. Hunter Dennis then popped-out to the Priem, but with the third baseman standing next to him on the mound and no one covering third, Isaly tagged and moved up.

After Trey Isaly was intentionally walked to load the bases, Doty worked an RBI free pass on a 3-2 count to put River back in front. Curtis later scored on an error, however, Trey Isaly was tagged out in a run-down between third and home to end the inning after trying to get an early break for the plate.

“Base running mistakes were something that hurt us, but there were other things as well,” Romick said. “We fumbled away opportunities the entire game with chances to score and we were very impatient at the plate too often.

“I told the coaches that we needed more than the two runs we got in the ninth with the top and middle of their order coming up in the bottom of the inning.”

Romick’s words ended up ringing true in the end. Priem, the Blue Eagles No. 2 hitter, singled leading off the home-half of the ninth and went to second on a wild pitch. After an out, Dalton Pritchard went down swinging, but the ball got away from the catcher and while Pritchard reached first, Priem moved to third.

Mirandy’s base hit to left score Priem and when the ball was mishandled in the outfield the remaining two runners moved up to put runners on second and third. Herrick was intentionally walked before Trey Isaly recorded his eighth and final strikeout of the contest.

That brought Eli Nice to the dish and things only got more dramatic when the sophomore worked the count full. With the runners off and running on the pitch, Nice laced a pitch to right-center that brought home both Pritchard and Mirandy and set off a huge Magnolia celebration while the Pilots left the field.

“Both teams had the game won a couple of times and both teams lost this game a couple of times,” Cisar said. “But give River a lot of credit. They trailed most of the game and battled back in the seventh to make it come down to what it did.

“This is the kind of win that we have needed this year, and hopefully it is something that will bring us a little bit of confidence.”

**

Knights Score 10-8 Victory Over Magnolia

Tyler Consolidated scored five runs in the final two innings to defeat Magnolia in a come-from-behind 10-8 victory April 13 in George Mullett Field.

Tyler Consolidated stacked a 2-0 lead in the opening stanza only to see the Blue Eagles paste three in the bottom half to grab a 3-2 advantage.

However, the Silver Knights raced back to grab a 5-3 advantage in the top of the third, only to see the young Eagles fly back to tie the gap up in the bottom half.

The Knights and Eagles did it again in the top and the bottom half of the sixth, when the Silver Knights posted a two-spot only to see the home team plate three to grab a 8-7 lead heading into the seventh.

Consolidated tallied three runs in the top of the seventh, but this time the Eagles didn’t have a come-back.

Patrick Mirandy led four Magnolia pitchers with six strike-outs and six walks from the rubber, while Leo Herrick took the loss in relief, walked two in the seventh. Austin Klug doubled and singled twice, while Dylan Conner and Nick Priem each singled twice, and Drew Herrick belted a two-RBI double.

**

Eagles Cruise Past Running Rebels, 9-4

The Eagles’ Dalton Pritchard limited Ritchie County to a pair of hits from the third on in relief to lead Magnolia to a 9-4 comeback victory April 12 in George Mullett Field.

Pritchard struck out eight and walked five, got the win, while Nick Priem set down two and gave seven free passes. Pritchard helped himself out at the plate, had an RBI single. Mirandy singled four times, while Conner belted three, and Klug, Drew Litton and Derrick Kocher each singled.