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Late-game errors hurt Scouts

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Scouts catcher Zach Wylie waits to apply the tag as the Southern Ohio Copperheads’ Ted Williams slides into home. Thanks to a bullet throw from Xenia’s Levi Gilcrease, Williams was called out on the fifth inning play.

Kyle Carnahan bumps batting helmets with teammate David Gauntt (17) after Carnahan had bashed a solo home run in the third inning of Friday’s game at Grady’s Field in Xenia.

 

XENIA —The weather had cooperated with Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League baseball game between the host Xenia Scouts and the Southern Ohio Copperheads. It lightly rained enough to get everybody soggy, then it went away.

But in terms of committing late-inning errors, for the Xenia Scouts when it rains E’s, it pours.

The Copperheads took advantage of a pair of Scouts 10th inning errors to claim a 3-2 win, Friday night on Grady’s Field in the Athletes In Action Sports Complex.

Xenia’s second baseman muffed a catch that would have been the third Copperheads out in the inning, then the same player threw wildly to first to put Southern Ohio’s Trevor Ezell onto second base. Ryan Rippee then singled into right field, and Ezell raced home.

Miles Wright’s throw from right field to catch Zach Wylie got there in time to throw out Ezell, but the ball was knocked loose and Ezell scored what turned out to be the winning run.

Xenia (16-13) had Christian Binger perched on second with the potential tying run in the Scouts’ half of the 10th inning, but Snakes pitcher Eddie Kirkpatrick got Kyle Carnahan to ground out, and struck out David Gauntt, to end the game.

The extra-inning loss snaps Xenia’s two-game winning streak, while Southern Ohio (15-9) has now won two straight.

Scouts starter Dylan Donley had a wild first inning where he walked the first two Copperheads batters, threw a pair of wild pitches that ultimately scored them both, then struck out the next three Southern Ohioans to end the inning.

Donley had six walks during his five innings of work, but the Snakes struck out seven times and could muster up just a couple hits. Thomas Waning then pitched in relief and had yielded just one Copperhead hit, until the errors came in the 10th.

Xenia scored its first run in grand fashion in the third inning. That’s when Carnahan launched a solo home run over the left center field fence. It wasn’t until the Scouts got their leadoff batter on base in the eighth that they were able to tie things up.

With the next two Xenia batters having gone down on consecutive strikeouts in the eighth, it looked as if Christian Binger was going to be the eighth Scout base runner to be left stranded on base.

Instead, Lake Erie College infielder Cale Giddings smacked a single into right field and Binger came flying home to tie the game at 2-2.

Giddings and Levi Gilcrease were the only two Xenia batters to come up with two hits. A Scouts player in the announcer’s booth gave Gilcrease the nickname “Cannon” after the Baylor University center fielder gunned down Ted Williams at home plate in the fifth inning.

No, not the Hall of Famer who is cryogenically frozen somewhere. This Ted Williams hails from Millersville University.

Xenia heads south to play the Cincinnati Steam for a 7:05 p.m. ball game tonight. The two teams will then meet up at 4:05 p.m. Sunday at Grady’s Field in Xenia.