Advertisement

Eagles split with Shamrocks in HCC doubleheader

will willems, the lebanon reporter, ind.
·2 min read

May 3—WESTFIELD — Zionsville head coach Jered Moore always had belief in senior right-hander Simon Wilkinson.

While Wilkinson hasn't pitched poorly this season, coming into Thursday's double header with Westfield with a 1-0 record and a 3.61 ERA, he also hasn't quite been fully locked in either.

Wilkinson took a big step forward to reaching that potential Thursday, pitching his best game of the season in helping the Eagles win game two 7-1 and earn a two-game split with the Shamrocks.

"That's the best he has been all year," Moore said. "He is a heck of a pitcher. He has had a few outings that weren't quite as clean as this one, but this was the best he has been all year and I am proud of him."

Wilkinson pitched six innings, allowing just two hits and one earned run. He struck out nine and walked two.

The nine strikeouts were a season high.

"When he throws strikes, he is really good," Moore said. "We are really going to need him come tournament time."

After Wilkinson worked around a one-out error for a scoreless top of the first, the Eagles gave him all the run support he would need.

Josh Girvan and Tyler Hughes drew back-to-back walks to start the game, before a Riley Agbonhese ground out made it 1-0. Nolan Osterling followed with a RBI-single, and later stole home to make it 3-0.

The Eagles added a run in the second, then added three in the fifth on an Agbonhese single, a passed ball and a Jackson Tielker ground out.

"Those runs put our pitchers and defense at ease," Moore said. "They knew they didn't have to be perfect to finish it off."

Luke Murphy was 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Eagles.

Hughes was 0-2 with two walks and two runs scored, and Brayden Ring 0-1 with two walks.

The Eagles lost game one 10-1.

After four scoreless innings, the Shamrocks scored five in both the fifth and sixth.

Tielker and Lincoln Belser each had two hits in the game.

"We just had a couple relievers come in that couldn't find the strike zone," Moore said. "We gave away 17 free bases, and you aren't going to win a game like that."

The Eagles face Carmel on Monday.

Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.