Bay County takes rematch with Hagerstown
How difficult is it to defeat a baseball team twice in a row in a double-elimination tournament?
Just ask Hagerstown, Md., manager Steve Berger or Bay County, Mich., manager Craig Revette.
Hagerstown defeated Bay County by a run in the opening game of the Pony League World Series Friday. On Monday morning, it was a different situation.
Bay County broke the game open with three runs in the top of the fifth to take an 8-2 victory from Hagerstown in an elimination game at Lew Hays Pony Field in Washington Park.
“It’s gotta be tough beating a team twice in a row,” said Bay County manager Craig Revette. “Hagerstown came out today, planning on sending us home. We had to do our job and we did. We came out better than the first time we played them.”
Bay County got on the board first, scoring in the first inning. Center fielder Ben Briggs singled to right, stole second base, was sacrificed to third on a bunt by second baseman Aiden Revette. Briggs scored on a single by left fielder Jeffrey Hartman.
Bay County aded two more runs in the second inning. Shortstop Jackson Andreski and catcher Jack Wetters walked. Andrew Shufel hit into a 1-6-3 double play, sending Andreski to third base with two outs. Pitcher Dawson Lavender helped his cause by hitting a slow dribbler between third base and the pitcher’s mound for an infield single that scored Andreski.
Lavender came around to score off singles by Briggs and Revette.
“We just didn’t have any energy. I could tell during batting practice,” said Hagerstown manager Steve Berger. “We tried getting them up but we couldn’t.”
Hagerstown got a run back in the bottom of the second when a single to center by shortstop JJ Hull scored first baseman Jackson Riser, who opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch.
Andreski scored his second run of the game in the third inning. He made it to second base when a grounder he hit got Hartman caught in a rundown along the third-base line. He scored on a double to left center by Wetters.
Briggs went 3-for-4 and is now 5-for-11 in the series. Jaxon Jenkins went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Wetters drove in two runs.
Hull went 1-for-3 with two RBI for Hagerstown.