By Nicholas Huenefeld
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
PEMBERVILLE — Andrew Badenhop tossed a gem on the mound while the Eastwood baseball team exploded late offensively in a 10-0 season-opening victory in six innings over Liberty Center on Monday.
Eastwood got a two-out RBI double from Bryce Miller in the second for the game’s first run. Colton Woodward then scored from third on a fielding error with two outs in the third for a 2-0 lead through four innings.
The Eagles produced more two-out magic in the fifth as three walks loaded the bases for Xander Greulich, who cleared them with a three-run double to deep left center.
“The first couple innings, we told our guys, just stick with it,” Eastwood head coach Kevin Leady said. “We felt like we were pressing a little bit. Our guys were jumpy. We had some weaker fly balls, and as the game went along and we got our timing in, we really tagged some as we moved along.”
Eastwood struck for five more runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by a walk-off RBI single from Greulich. Back-to-back bunt singles started the rally, and Badenhop delivered the first run via a sacrifice fly to right.
Kadyn Donnell then picked up an RBI with a bases loaded hit by pitch before a passed ball and an RBI single from Connor Norton accounted for the other runs.
In just under 80 pitches, Badenhop scattered a pair of singles while striking out seven and walking a pair. He retired eight of the final nine batters he faced, which included a diving snag from Brandon Falls for the first out in the fifth.
“When you talk about Andrew, you know what kind of competitor you’re going to get,” Leady said. “Every time he’s on the bump, he goes out and he just battles. Later on in the year, we’d let him close it out, but early on, especially when we got that three-run fifth, we decided to get another guy in there.”
Drew Kachmarik made the short walk over to the mound from first base with two outs in the sixth for Eastwood, securing a strikeout for the final out.
Eastwood played error-free defensively, securing a 4-6-3 double play to close the first along with the diving catch from Falls in the fifth. Greulich also threw out a runner attempting to steal to end the third.
“If we can play clean baseball and throw a lot of strikes and not give away any of the free things, I really like our chances,” Leady said. “If we have a lot of no-error games, I’ll be pretty happy.”
Greulich finished 2-for-4 with four RBI while Woodward and Falls combined to hit 2-for-5 with four runs and three walks out of the top two spots in the lineup. Donnell led the team with three runs scored. The Eagles also stole six bases, led by a pair from Falls.
Eastwood is scheduled for road games on Tuesday and Wednesday at Start and Northwood, respectively, before returning home against Bellevue on Friday at 5 p.m.
