Baseball Recap: Hillsdale gets first doubleheader sweep of the season against Homer

HILLSDALE COUNTY — It was a week for firsts for one Hillsdale County varsity baseball team that was in search of a much-needed win, which would end up becoming a doubleheader sweep. It was also a week for bounce back series wins, and former rivalry sweeps for other local area teams.

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The biggest winner from the week of April 22-28 was none other than Hillsdale varsity baseball. Searching to end their losing streak, the Hornets found not one, but two wins against non-conference opponent Homer High School. Hillsdale got the series sweep against the Trojans in 11-7 and 2-1 finals. It was its first doubleheader sweep of the season, coming after two losses to Onsted earlier in the week.

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In the 11-7 final, Wyatt Wahtola got the win for Hillsdale, throwing five innings and striking out five batters whilst giving up just one earned run and five hits. He pitched in relief for teammate Jace Ringman, who had one strikeout through two innings.

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Wahtola had three hits for Hillsdale, two RBIs and one run. Wahtola also had a stolen base. Brady Kast had four hits, two RBIs and three runs. Aaron Webb had two hits and two runs. Ben Champion had two hits and one RBI. Anderson Hollaway had one hit, one RBI and one run.

Ben Kunkel had the only double for Hillsdale and two total hits, one RBI and one run. Carter Davis had two hits and a run. Ringman had one hit, two RBIs and one run. Thayden Welch had one run. Davis and Webb each had one steal.

Thanks to strong pitching from both teams, game two was a tough earned 2-1 victory for the Hornets. Kast went seven innings on the mound, striking out three while giving up just one earned run and five hits. Webb had one hit, one run and two steals. Champion had two hits. Kast scored one run. Carter Davis had the RBI out that drove in a run. Lane Pearson had one base hit. Kast and Champion both had steals.

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Other Winners

Another team looking for important wins this past week was the Litchfield Terriers, and the team won two of their three matchups, including a win against the Reading Rangers and a win over rival SCAA East and in-county team: the Pittsford Wildcats.

The Rangers were able to win game one against the Terriers 12-6. Earning strikeouts on the mound for Litchfield were Tyler Bills with one, Hunter Snyder with six and Brady Kerr with five. Getting the win for Reading was Zack Peiffer with five strikeouts over three innings, giving up just three earned runs. Foley closed out the game with two strikeouts and two earned runs.

Reading was led by Lukas Strine with three RBIs. Peyton Green scored two runs and had two RBIs. Caiden Baker had two RBIs. Drew Elder had two hits and three runs. Anderson had three runs.

Junior Alvarez had one hit, two RBIs and one run to lead Litchfield. Snyder had two runs. Jerome Vasquez, Kerr and Gavin Gutting each had one RBI.

Litchfield returned the favor, winning game two in a 7-5 final. Kerr had six strikeouts. Bradley had two. Junior Alvarez got the win, closing out the game with six strikeouts in two innings. Elder had eight strikeouts for Reading.

Leading the way for the Terriers was Miguel Pedroza with two RBIs, one hit and two runs. Tyler Bills had one hit, one RBI and one run. Alvarez and Gutting each had an RBI. Reading was led by Dominic Badgley with two hits, two RBIs and one run. Cayleb Wright had an RBI.

Litchfield then defeated Pittsford in a 9-3 final on Thursday night. Alvarez got the win on the mound with 16 strikeouts and just three earned runs. Snyder closed out the game with two strikeouts.

Bills, Pedroza and Wilson all had three stolen bases. Brandon Campbell and Kerr had two runs each. Bills led the team with three hits, three RBIs and two runs. Pedroza, Wilson and Alvarez each had two hits and a run. Alvarez and Vasquez each had an RBI. Simon Collins had one hit and two RBIs.

Jonesville sweeps Reading

Closing out our weekly winners are two teams that still continue to lead the county with winning records.

The Jonesville Comets played three games against Columbia Central this week, earning a win in a 5-0 final. Drew Bradley won the game on the mound with five strikeouts just five hits. Carson Cornila and Wade Sommers each had a double base hit. Sommer led the team with two RBIs and two hits.

The Comets followed the win up with a doubleheader sweep of their former county rivals over in Reading, winning 11-2 and 15-0.

In the 11-2 final, Marshall Baker earned the win in relief of teammate Ian Doyal. Baker had seven strikeouts and allowed just two hits through six innings. Bradley, AJ Bowers, Micah Calligan and Cornila each had a double. Sommers had one triple. Bowers had two hits, three RBIs and one run. Doyal and Bradley each had a hit and an RBI. Sommers and Cornilla both had two hits and two runs. Sommers had an RBI. Calligan had one hit, one RBI and two runs.

Elder had four strikeouts and Peifer had three for Reading. Foley had a double base hit and an RBI.

The 15-0 final saw Conner Vanbuskirk throw a no-hitter with six strikeouts, allowing just one walk. Bradley led the team with three stolen bases and two runs. Damon Newell had a double and two RBIs. Sommers had two hits, three RBIs and three runs. Devan Herendeen scored three runs. Doyal had one hit, two RBIs and two runs. Bowers had one hit and two runs. Calligan had one hit, three RBIs and one run.

Camden-Frontier bounces back with two wins

The Camden-Frontier baseball team opened up the week with a doubleheader loss to the Sand Creek aggies, losing 11-3 and 12-2. The RedHawks played two league games after that, winning both by double digits. They beat North Adams-Jerome 18-3 and defeated Tekonsha 16-5.

Against the Rams, Rodney Weir got the win on the mound with 11 strikeouts and three earned runs. Weir also had a double base hit. Teammates Zach Franks and Kaiden Conroy also had doubles. Conroy blasted a hit for a triple. Franks had three hits, four RBIs and two runs. Jaden Martinez had two hits, one RBI and three runs. Weir had three hits, two RBIs and two runs. Conroy had two hits, three RBIs and two runs. Byron Hukill had three runs. Weir had three stolen bases. Luis Castro Thilo had three steals. Franks, Dawson Shaw and Logan Legget each had two steals.

Jacob Smith had one hit and one RBI for North Adams-Jerome. Conner Arsenault, Nathan Todd and Connor McKay each had one run. Arsenault, Ryker Campbell, Nolan Paradine and Todd each had one hit.

In their 16-5 final over Tekonsha, Dawson Shaw got the win on the mound with 12 strikeouts and four earned runs. Martinez, Weir, Hukill and Leggett each had a double. Weir added another triple to his stat sheet this season. Martinez had four hits, three RBIs and two runs.

Weir had two hits, three RBIs and three runs. Shaw had two hits and two runs. Hukill had two hits, one RBI and four runs. Leggett had two hits, two RBIs and two runs. Thilo had one hit, one RBI and one run. Franks had one hit and one RBI. Hukill had three steals. Shaw, Franks and Leggett had two steals.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale baseball highlights last week's biggest winners