Baseball team in winning territory
Published 8:00 pm Wednesday, April 3, 2002
A lengthy outing by hurler Bryan Wenker Friday and a complete-game performance from Ben Schultz on April Fool’s Day kept opposing batters guessing through the weekend as Falcon baseball entered winning territory over the past week.
Though they suffered through a six-error, 8-1 loss to the Meridian Trojans on the road Wednesday, the Falcons managed a measure of revenge as they broke open two games in the following days. They beat the Trojans 5-2 when South Whidbey’s diamond was the game site, then cut loose for the first time this season with an 11-2 shelling of Sultan.
Not that Meridian really deserved the South Whidbey’s ire for something the Falcons brought on themselves. Down just 2-1 going into the seventh inning, the Falcons faltered when junior reliever Josh Coleman — who had provided most of the Falcon offense with two hits and an RBI — got into walk trouble. In all, the Trojans victimized Coleman for five walks after starter Ben Shultz kept the lid on things for two unearned runs over five innings. Two errors in the field only added to the damage, allowing Meridian batters to rack up six runs in the inning and put the game away.
In a rematch two days later, the host Falcons used steady hit production in the middle innings and perfect fielding to put up better numbers on the scoreboard. Behind senior Bryan Wenker’s five-hit, six-inning starting work on the mound, and 10 total hits on the day, the Falcons got ahead early and stayed ahead.
The Falcons picked up two runs in the first inning when Tim Gabelein knocked in Dane Guetlin. Bryan Wenker followed with a double to score Gabelein. In the third inning, the Falcons scored the winning run when Brady Switzer singled, stole second, then charged home on a Josh Coleman single. The team picked up two insurance runs in the fourth on four straight singles.
Putting the game away was Coleman, who came back from his unsettled performance earlier in the week to retire the side in the seventh.
In Monday’s home game against Sultan, the Falcons used the sort of offensive aggression every coach wants. With the Turks April Fooled by Ben Schultz in his four-run, six-hit complete-game victory, South Whidbey batters and base runners had their way with the visitors. Senior Chris Hahn was the day’s batting champ, going 3-for-4, scoring twice and swatting in two RBI’s.
Though Sultan grabbed the game’s lead early with an unearned run in the first, the Falcons hit back by picking up three runs on hits from Tim Gabelein and Hahn. The Falcons scored runs in every inning except the fifth. They also ran wild on the base paths, snagging six stolen bases.
Falcon Coach Dave Guetlin said the two wins were big for the team, especially the victory over Meridian, last year’s conference runner-up. The Falcons are now 3-2 in the North Cascades Conference.
