Baseball: Union City splits with K-Christian, takes game two walk off win

UNION CITY, MI. - The Union City varsity baseball Chargers managed an exciting two game split with Kalamazoo Christian Thursday night. The Chargers dropped a back-and-forth game one by the score of 7-5 before coming back and taking game two in yet another dramatic walk-off barnburner, winning in extra innings by the score of 5-4.

Game one of the night saw Kalamazoo Christian overcame a two run deficit thanks to a run scored in the fifth inning and three scored in the sixth as the Comets took the 7-5 win.

K-Christian scored first, putting up a single run in the first inning and two in the second for the early 3-0 lead.

Union City came right back however, plating five runs in the third inning thanks to an Owen Jackson RBI double, scoring Luke Watson; a Ryan Zweng RBI single, scoring Jackson; an Aidan Decker two run double, scoring Zweng and Rick Austin; and Phoenix Elkins scoring on a wild pitch, giving the Chargers a 5-3 lead after three innings.

K-Christian closed out the game with four unanswered runs after that, scoring one in the fifth and three in the sixth for the 7-5 win.

Rick Austin took the loss on the mound for Union City after throwing all seven innings in the start. Austin allowed nine Comet hits and seven runs, four earned, with three strikeouts.

Owen Jackson packed the big bat for Union City in game one, finishing a perfect 3 for 3 with two singles, a double, one walk and one RBi with a run scored.

Aidan Decker also recorded a double to go with two RBis to help the Chargers offense.

Also adding to the Charger effort was Rick Austin with two walks and a run scored; Ryan Zweng with a single, an RBI and a run scored; Phoenix Elkins with a run scored; and Luke Watson with a single and a run scored.

Game two of the twin bill saw Union City tie the game up with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning before winning the whole thing in walk-off fashion in extra innings.

K-Christian kicked off the scoring with three runs in the third inning and a single run in the fifth to build a 4-0 lead. Union City came right back to tie things up with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Union City’s four runs came courtesy of an Owen Jackson two run double, scoring Jakob Fosmore and Luke Watson; a Rick Austin fielder’s choice, scoring Ethan Neveraski; and Ryan Zweng with an RBI double, scoring Jackson.

Both defenses buckled down and kept the runs off the board, eventually forcing extra innings as the game stood tied at 4-4 after seven.

After the Charger defense sat Kalamazoo Christian down in order in the top of the eighth it was Union City’s turn to provide the dramatics once again. Senior Tyler Wagley started off the Charger effort with a one out walk, followed by a clutch double from Aidan Decker, putting runners at second and third with one out.

Stepping to the plate was senior Jakob Fosmore who has seen his share of big at-bats over his four year varsity career. Thursday was no different as Fosmore stayed patient and took a 2-2 count to deep centerfield, allowing Wagley to tag-up and score on the Fosmore sac fly, giving Union City the exciting 5-4 walk-off win.

Phoenix Elkins secured the win on the mound for Union City after throwing two innings in relief, allowing no hits or runs with one walk and four strikeouts.

Ethan Neveraski made the start on the mound for Union City, throwing six innings while allowing nine hits and four runs with three walks and three strikeouts.

Union City out hit Kalamazoo Christian 10-9 in the win with four of those 10 hits coming as doubles.

Leading the way for the Chargers was Owen Jackson with a single and a double with two RBIs and a run scored while Jakob Fosmore added a double, and RBI and a run scored.

Also adding to the Union City victory was Rick Austin with an RBI; Ryan Zweng with a double and an RBI; Phoenix Elkins with a single; Tyler Wagley with two singles, a walk and a run scored; Aidan Decker with a double; Luke Watson with a single and a run scored; and Ethan Neveraski with a single, a walk and a run scored.

With the non-conference split the Union City record now stands at 20-7 overall on the year. Union City will next see action Friday when they travel to Comstock for more non-conference tune-ups.

Early lead propels Climax Scotts past Bronson 

BRONSON, MI. - The Bronson Vikings dropped a non-conference matchup with Climax Scotts Thursday night, falling by the score of 5-0.

Climax Scotts raced out to the lead and never really looked back, scoring four runs in the first inning. The Panthers went on to add an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning as Climax Scotts took the shut-out win. Climax out hit Bronson 8-2 in the 5-0 victory.

James Jourdan took the loss on the mound for Bronson after throwing two innings in the start, allowing five hits and four runs, all earned, with two walks.

Owen Kimmons came in to pitch solid in relief, throwing three innings while allowing two hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Dawson Soergel finished out the game on the bump, throwing one full inning while allowing one hit and one unearned run.

Seth Withington led the Bronson offense with a double while Landyn Watkins added a single. Owen Kimmons, Carson Stevens, and Ashton Wells all drew walks in the loss.

With the loss Bronson falls to 5-17 on the season. The Vikings will next see action Saturday when they host their annual Polish Classic.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Baseball: Union City splits with K-Christian, takes game two walk off win