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So often in the game of baseball, dominated pitching prevails. Such was the case Monday evening in Blanchardville where Barneveld coach Lance Schmitz called upon two relievers - who both came up big for the Eagles in a 5-2 Six Rivers Conference Eastern Division win over host Pecatonica.
Devon Schult started on the mound, and after the Vikings had scored twice and put two more runners on base, Schmitz called upon right-hander Dustin Hodgson to put out the fire. Hodgson induced a pop-up and then got a strikeout, with coach Jim Strommen's Pec squad stranding runners at second and third.
"That was a key - because we just weren't able to come up with a big hit then," said Strommen following the McKellar Park contest.
Later, Schmitz was able to call upon catcher - and in this case, closer - Carson Carmody, who struck out the side in the seventh, after Hodgson had hurled 5 2/3 innings to qualify for the win. Hodgson fanned 6.
Pitching was strong for the Vikings as well, although Strommen pointed to the five Pec errors behind its pitchers as being costly in the early season matchup.
Eagles Cole Breuer and Carmody both had RBI singles in the first inning - and in the second inning, an error, an intentional walk, a passed ball, and a fielder's choice grounder, all contributed to two more Barneveld runs.
No one in the game had more than one hit - but Brooks Chandler, Lucas McKeon and Geoffrey Daley all blasted doubles for the Vikings. McKeon and Schliem shared mound duties for the home team with both fanning 4 and they combined to walk 5.
"Pitching for both teams was good overall," added Strommen.
"Our pitchers kept us in the game, but for us, we just stranded too many runners, could not come up with some big plays on defense when we needed them - or that timely hit," said Strommen.
The Vikings host the conference's traditional Western Division powerhouse team - the Potosi Chieftains, in a Friday night doubleheader tomorrow (April 12) evening in Blanchardville.
"We had a couple of unfortunate errors we usually aren't accustomed to," said Barneveld coach Schmitz. "Dustin and Carson both were exceptional on the mound. Also,we pride ourselves on defense and it really came therough for us today."
"Pec is an improved team from last year," the Eagle coach added. "But, for us, we left way too many on bast - four times innings ended with the bases loaded."