GILLESPIE - On a warm, sunny Thursday afternoon in Gillespie, the Carrollton Hawks racked up 12 hits and got a runner on base every inning as they defeated the Gillespie Miners 12-5.
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The Hawks improve their record to 9-2-1.
Unfortunately, there was an injury that took place and could potentially be serious.
In the top of the fifth inning, Blake Struble took a wild pitch, which bounced several feet before reaching home plate into his nose. He had to be removed as he started coughing up blood. He eventually was taken to a hospital. It’s unsure if his nose is broken and it’s possible he could return to play as soon as today.
“He was in an awful lot of pain and bleeding profusely, so it was best to get him out of here,” Carrollton coach Jeff Krumwiede said. “He’s a key part of our team and sometimes with a [possibly] broken nose they’re going to shut people down for quite awhile. It’s the risk of re-injury that you put yourself into, and it kinda depends on the individual.”
Back to the baseball.
Nathan Walker went 3-for-4 with a triple, two doubles, and two RBI. Alex Bowker, Hayden Stringer, and Gabe Jones all got two hits, while Bowker and Stringer each bagged a home run.
“I was really seeing the ball today. They were throwing all fastballs, so that was easy,” Nathan Walker said.
Carrollton took an early 1-0 lead and then made it 2-0 in the third, but Gillespie would get a run back in the bottom half of the inning and threatened again. With two outs, Tyler Barnett field a base hit in left field and threw out a runner by several feet to deny Gillespie tying the game.
In the top of the fourth, Walker rammed an RBI double followed by a sacrifice fly by Kyle Waters. Then with two outs, Stringer launched a two-run home run to make it 6-1.
After adding two additional runs in the fifth, the Hawks were cruising along at 8-1, but in the bottom half of the inning, Gillespie got the bases loaded and managed to hit a grand slam with two outs. It was 8-5 all of a sudden and a brand new game.
“I was right there, and that [home run] went over the fence by an inch. I could’ve got that if I was a little bit to the right, it kinda made me mad,” Walker said. “I knew we were going to get through it, but it was a little nerve-wracking.”
Carrollton added a run in the top half of the sixth, but the Miners loaded the bases again with new pitcher Clay Schnettgoecke walking all three batters. The defense would get him out of the inning. A line shot was hit to the right side, but Waters at first base was at the right place at the right time as he made a leaping catch to deny at least a two-run base hit.
Ultimately, Schnettgoecke would earn the win after retiring six batters in the last two innings while walking three and allowing a hit.
Sophomore Ethan Brannan started for the Hawks and tossed 3.1 innings allowing three hits and one run while striking out three and walking one.
“My arm felt good. I just came in and threw strikes, and I trusted my fielders to make plays,” Brannan said. “Our outfielders do a pretty good job especially today because the wind was blowing pretty hard.
