By Stephen Smoot
Historically, no one looks forward to a visit from pirates. From the days of the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean Sea to the fearsome fights forced on unsuspecting ships by Blackbeard and the like, people pray to avoid tangling with pirates.
Friday night, however, the Pirates of Paw Paw High School proved a welcome sight.
The Wildcats got their claws out early in the first game of what the major leagues call a twi-night doubleheader. Chase Owens set Paw Paw down in order in the first inning on a mere seven pitches.
After Owens, the deluge.
Allden Rexrode drew a leadoff walk. With one out, James Vincell’s ground ball to second resulted in an error that also brought Rexrode in for the first run of the game. In the next at bat, Vincell stole second and got into scoring position, setting the table for Cashton Kisamore who hit a line drive single to right field. Vincell crossed the plate, setting the score at 2-0.
Caleb Armentrout drew a walk, followed by a free pass to Dillon Smith, courtesy of his being hit by a pitch. With the bases now loaded, Spencer Hartman drew a walk and earned a run batted in the easy way. In the next at bat, Josiah Kimble laid down a bunt to advance the runners. All advanced and reached safely, setting the score at 4-0.
Incredibly, the next four batters took bases on balls, setting the score at 8-0. Kisamore singled for the second time in the inning to drive home Rexrode and put the score at 9-0. Another flurry of free passes helped Pendleton County exit the first, almost an hour into the game, with a 12-0 lead.
In the top of the second, the Pirates got two baserunners on, but could not drive them home.
That put the Wildcats back up in the bottom of the second. Rexrode singled. During Owens’ at bat, he stole second, then reached third on an error. He reached home when Owens lofted a sacrifice fly to deep center. Vincell followed with a line drive over the left field wall to push the score to 14-0.
With the bases empty, Kisamore reached on an error and Armentrout followed with a line drive to centerfield for a single. Then, Smith went to first after being hit by a pitch, bringing up Hartman with the bases loaded. He grounded to short, all reaching safely when the throw home did not beat the runner.
With the bases loaded again, a Kimble base on balls put the lead at 16-0. Dusty Smith then hit his brother in on a sacrifice fly for the final run in the inning, putting the advantage at 17-0.
Hartman relieved Owens in the top of the third, taking over the pitching duties. He struck out the first batter, then the young hurler walked the bases loaded.
With one out and all bases filled, Hartman settled in. He jumped on the next batter, quickly earning a no balls and two strikes count. His next throw, a big looping breaking ball, barely missed the strike zone. The batter struck out swinging on the next pitch. Having earned two outs, Hartman ended the Pirate threat by striking out the final batter of the top of the third.
In the bottom of the inning, Cayden Boone hit a looper into centerfield, and Will Smith reached after being hit by a pitch, but ended up stranded on base.
Hartman continued pitching in the next stanza. The initial batter hit the ball to Colby Simmons at third. Simmons misplayed the ball at first, but he stayed with the play, settled in, and fired an excellent throw to get the baserunner.
In the bottom of the fourth, Jonas Turner earned a one out walk, followed by Barrett Cook who reached safely. Tucker Smith sharply hit a ground ball into centerfield. With the bases loaded, Boone legged out a ground ball hit back to the pitcher, picking up an RBI and helping his team build the lead to 18-0.
Noah Lockard came up to bat, also with the bases loaded. He battled over seven pitches to get a walk and an RBI. Will Smith came up next, got hit by a pitch, and also helped to drive in a run.
The final score of the first game came on a Henry Warner line drive to left, which scored Boone.
Will Smith entered as pitcher in the final half inning, allowing no hits, striking out two, and closing the game.
Game Two: Pendleton County 16 Paw Paw 3
Cole Harper opened on the mound for the Wildcats in the second game of the evening. He got into some trouble initially, but closed out the inning only surrendering a single run.
In the bottom of the first, Rexrode led off with a single, followed by Owens garnering a walk. During the at bat, the intrepid Rexrode stole both second and third. Vincell also drew a walk in his first at bat of the second game. With one out and the bases loaded, Armentrout was walked on five pitches, bringing in Pendleton County’s first run. This was followed by walks from Dillon Smith and Harper to extend the lead to 3-0.
Harper struck out the first batter in the top of the second, but was relieved by Boone. He efficiently struck out the remainder of the side on nine pitches.
Dusty Smith led off the Wildcat half of the inning with a walk. He stole second to get into scoring position, then scored on a Rexrode double, which was followed by an Owens walk. Vincell hit a sacrifice fly to advance Rexrode to third. Later in the inning with two outs, an Armentrout double drove in two runs. Dillon Smith knocked in Armentrout on a hit that he drove hard into the ground directly in front of the plate, but which then took a mammoth hop that allowed all to reach safely and Armentrout to score for a seven to one advantage.
Boone continued to cruise in the third, only allowing one baserunner. In the bottom of the frame, Vincell came up with Rexrode and Owens on base, driving them and himself home with a line drive to the centerfield wall. Vincell sprinted around the bases to pick up an inside the park home run and a 10-1 lead for his team.
Kisamore followed with a towering fly ball driven over the left field wall for the 11th run of the game. Two batters later, after an Armentrout walk and two steals, Dillon Smith knocked him in.
In the top of the fourth, the Pirates picked up two more runs. As the Wildcats moved to the bottom of the inning, Tucker Smith led with a humpback line drive to right. Two batters later, Owens drove a pitch to right field, reaching second standing up and hitting in Tucker Smith. Noah Lockard then came to bat as Cook replaced Owens on the basepaths.
That brought up Kisamore with Cook on third. David Noble entered as a courtesy runner for Lockard on first. Kisamore lofted a pop fly to second, which the fielder could not handle, allowing Cook to score and earn the 14th run.
Later, with two outs. Will Smith hit a high fly ball to shallow right, which dropped and allowed Kisamore and Noble to score.
Kimble came in to close down the Pirates and end the night. He got the first two to ground out, but the next three batters got on to load the bases. Kimble then buckled down and forced the next batter to strike out on three pitches, ending the ballgame.
