BENTON — In the span of a few hours at Eovaldi Field, the Benton Rangers (6-6) pulled off both their most dominating victory and suffered one of the most painful defeats of their season.
The first game of the afternoon was the very definition of a blowout as the Rangers defeated Hamilton County in 17-0 drubbing. The second game saw the Foxes top the Rangers 9-5 in a game that was heavy on Ranger mistakes and miscues. In game two, Benton's shortstop Derek Oxford sustained an injury to his throwing hand that took him out of the game and left him wincing in severe pain in the dugout.
The Rangers ran wild on the Foxes in game one. Oxford, Chase Owens, Caleb Rock, Oliver Davis, and Dillan Chamness all had stolen bases. Oxford kicked off the first with a double, and was later joined on base by Logan Threlkeld, who knocked in a single. Both of them would come around to score after a two-run RBI double by Caleb Rock which got the offense rolling. The Rangers scored two runs in the first, three in the second, four in the third, and eight in the fourth as the scorekeepers began to develop carpel tunnel trying to keep up with Benton's ballistic bats.
The big hitters for Benton in game one were Oxford who went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and four runs scored, and Cole Richardson who was 2-for-4, also with two RBIs and one run in the game. Ian McMahon went 2-for-3 with one RBI, while Chamness was 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs. Levi Pearce was 1-for-2 with both an RBI and a run to his credit, and Tyson Houghland was1-for-2 with an RBI. Benton totaled 14 hits, 12 RBIs, and 29 ABs, in their big shutout victory. For the Foxes in game one, the top hitters were Holden Dodson who went 2-for-2. Remington Carell, Kyle Van Abbema, and Sawyer Lueke also recorded single hits for Hamilton County. The Foxes finished the game with five hits, no runs, and only managed 19 at-bats, 10 less than the Rangers.
McMahon pitched the entire five-inning affair for the Rangers, using up 69 pitches including 49 strikes, as he picked up the shutout win. McMahon fanned eight batters, including the first three hitters he faced in the top of the first. For the Foxes, Carell took the loss. He had two strikeouts and three walks, and gave up 16 runs, and threw 100 pitches in three and two-thirds innings of work. Brent Beard also pithed a third of an inning, giving up one run to the Rangers.
In game two the Foxes bats came to life, as they cracked off 16 hits to Benton's 10.
The Rangers had a 2-1 lead coming out of the first, but then allowed the Foxes to go on a three-run-rally, with one run in the third that came after two Ranger errors, and then two more in the fourth. It was 4-2 going into the top of the fifth when Hamilton County had a two-out surge that gave them a big five run inning to push the game out of Benton's reach. During that disastrous inning Oxford caught an infield fly ball that resulted in an injury to his throwing hand. According to the Rangers' trainer, it is questionable if he will be available for Monday's game.
In game two the top batters for Benton were Chamness, who was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, Houghland, who was 2-for-2 with an RBI, and Davis who was 2-for-2 with a run scored. For Hamilton County, Logan Hunt was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored, while Lueke was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Oakley Dial was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and Derek Endicott was 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Hunter Adams picked up the win for Hamilton County, throwing four innings in which he gave up six hits, three runs, and walked three. Austin Potter also pitched two innings for the Foxes, facing 11 batters and giving up two hits and two runs. Abbema pitched one inning, giving up two hits while facing five batters. For Benton Oxford took his first turn in the mound early in the game, going three innings. He faced 16 batters, throwing 33 strikes in 52 total pitches, with two walks, two strikeouts, seven hits, and allowing two runs. Richardson took the loss for the Rangers, as he gave up seven runs on nine hits, with a balk and a wild pitch recorded against him in one and two-thirds innings. Bryden Pickleshimer and kept the Foxes off the scoreboard, throwing four strikeouts in two and a third innings.
"[Hamilton County] played really poorly in the first game, and we played okay, and then in the second game it was the exact opposite — we played really poorly and they played pretty well," said Benton coach Brett Blondi after the game.
Blondi did not mince words about his team's performance. "They haven't figured out yet, that they're not very good, and that they have to do everything right," said Blondi. Blondi mentioned two dropped pop flies in the top of the first inning for game two, and other various errors and mistakes, including not getting an out on a ground ball in the fifth that could have prevented the big five-run-rally.
Blondi continued, "You know they like to do things their own way, and they suck when they do things their own way. They're kids, and they can't understand yet that doing things their own way is not how they get better. They need to listen to adults that know what they're talking about." Blondi concluded, "I am very confident that this was a learning experience, and hopefully they can get back on it against Herrin on Monday."
