Entering the 6th inning, Carlmont was leading 1-0. They almost had it, but couldn’t hold onto the lead.
The game against Sacred Heart on Wed. night started off with strong defenses from both teams with the score remaining 0-0 until the fifth inning.
Center fielder Nick Thompson started off the fifth inning with a single, followed by a bunt by designated hitter Ryan Callahan. First baseman Alex Pennes followed up with a line-drive to left field, advancing Thompson to third. With the adrenaline kicking in, Thompson attempted to steal for home, but was tagged out.
The pressure was on for catcher Connor Loucks as he stepped into the batters box. He hit a line-drive to center field, and brought in Pennes for a run batted in (RBI) single. The fifth inning ended with Carlmont leading 1-0.
Second baseman Tyler Brandenberg said, “We played well until the last two innings. We just made a couple of bad mistakes that cost us the game. Joe [Pratt] pitched great throughout the game. It was just bad mistakes behind him.”
The sixth inning consisted of strong offenses from both teams. Multiple hits were made by Carlmont at the top of the sixth, but no runs were made.
Sacred Heart felt the pressure, and stepped up their game at the bottom of the sixth. Right off the bat, number 21 on Sacred Heart was walked by Pratt, followed by a hit by number four. Number 14 then got an RBI single as he hit a grounder past second base, scoring the tying and winning runs. The inning ended with Sacred Heart leading 2-1 as more hits were made.
Carlmont entered the seventh inning with motivation as they were falling behind. With the pressure on, Callahan hit a line-drive to center field, followed by a grounder to third by Pennes. Even with their determination, the Scots were not able to earn any more runs, ending the game with a loss.
“We only had one bad error, which is noticed, but it wasn’t the biggest part of the game as to why we lost. We popped up too many times,” said Pennes.
Although they lost, the team is optimistic about their next game.
Loucks said, “We got to know that we can’t underestimate the opposing team. We have to make sure we don’t come out flat. We’re ready to play on our home turf.”
Varsity baseball will play Sacred Heart again on Mar. 13 at 4 p.m., with the drive to come out with a win.
