BENTON - Benton Ranger fans nearly witnessed a real rarity in Wednesday's 11-1 winning effort against the Eldorado Eagles; a walk-off-inside-the-park-grand-slam.
Derek Oxford was both the first and final batter in the fifth, and with the bases loaded and two strikes against him he absolutely hammered the ball out to deep centerfield, and then proceeded to round the bases as fans and teammates went wild. Unfortunately, all the extra running was unnecessary, as he was only credited with an RBI single, since the winning run was on third base at the time of the drive.
The game got off to a touch and go start for the Rangers. Hamilton Page was on his way to a one, two, three inning in the top of the first when Eldorado's Stanton Hathaway cracked a solo homerun to put the Eagles up 1-0. In a great recovery, Page struck out the next batter, and did not give up another run the rest of the day.
Benton's bats fell silent in their half of the first, as the first three Rangers went down in order. Then the next three Benton batters did the same in the bottom of the second. Momentum changed decidedly in the third when Tyson Houghland and Caleb Rock both got lead off hits, and Oxford drew a walk to get on base. All three would score in the inning to take a 3-1 lead. Benton scored two more times in the fourth, and then exploded offensively in the fifth inning, completely batting around, and driving in six runs to win the game via the ten run mercy rule.
Page threw 56 pitches over five innings, consisting of 43 strikes and 13 balls. He faced 17 batters, allowing only three hits, collecting three strikeouts in the winning effort. Page also made many great defensive plays in the game scooping up some tough ground balls, including a diving effort on the left side, and a throw from a kneeling position to record a tough out. For Eldorado, Hathaway was the losing pitcher. Hathaway, in sharp contrast to Page's precision, threw 66 pitches including 32 balls, allowing seven hits and 11 runs over four innings of work. Joe Mayberry also pitched one inning for Eldorado, throwing 13 pitches, and giving up two hits.
Benton's leading hitters were Oxford who was 2-for-3 including a walk, and one RBI, Houghland who was 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Dillan Chamness also had a big game, with one hit and three RBIs. Cole Richardson recorded a hit and two RBIs. Bryden Pickleshimer also had a hit and an RBI as Benton knocked the ball all over the park. Logan Threlkeld was hitless but did score two runs in the game, as did Oliver Davis. Chase Owens also had an RBI in the game.
"I was proud of the kids, and the adjustments that they made in their second at bats. Caleb Rock had a big hit that kind of got us going, and once we got that hit we responded well. Everybody up and down the lineup hit the ball hard today," Coach Brett Blondi said.
"Hamilton did a good job. He was attacking more of the middle of the plate, and up in the zone a little bit in the early innings, and they got some decent swings on him, but once he got patient, and started working the ball down, then some good things happened."
This win moves the Rangers record to 3-2 on the young season.
