The Benton Rangers (3-0) showed how much fight they have during their second home game Monday afternoon when they hosted the Fairfield Mules.
They started out slow while the Mules took a 4-0 lead after one and a half innings. But the Rangers battled back to earn a 5-4 victory thanks to solid defense and active bats.
"In the first inning we rolled over on a couple," said Brett Blondi, Rangers' coach. "Then they made some errors and we got some breaks. It was enough for us to take the lead on them."
The scoring for the Rangers started in the bottom of the second inning. After Parker Williams was walked and junior Ian McMahon blasted a double into right field, catcher Brett Bonenberger hit a ground ball which brought Williams across the plate, but Bonenberger was called out at first base.
McMahon was brought home when senior Bryden Picklesimer drilled an RBI base hit into center field. This cut the Mules' lead in half (4-2) and the Rangers were able to hold them to their four runs for the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, the home team continued to charge. In the fourth inning, they scored three runs to take the lead (5-4). Williams again led off in the inning and he hit a double into right field. McMahon brought him home with an RBI single. He was able to make it to second base after the Mules made an error. Moments later, McMahon made it to third base due to a wild pitch. He was brought home thanks to a base hit from junior Zack Avery.
Senior Derek Oxford nailed a base hit to center field to bring Avery across home plate for the winning run.
Down by one, the Mules did all they could to take back the lead, but the Rangers remained strong behind Wynn, the relief pitcher for starter Hamilton Page. Wynn made two great plays in the top of the sixth inning; he caught a pop fly and then picked off a base runner at second base.
"Hamilton battled [on the mound] and he did what he had to do to leave with a lead. He gave us a shot," Blondi said. "We wanted to see Gehrig throw and he did well. He threw strikes and our defense made some good plays."
But it was McMahon who made the key play of the game.
"I knew we had the guy at first," McMahon said after the game. "I just had to stay low and give a good pass to Park [Williams]."
In the top of the seventh--with the tying run on first base--the Mules smacked a line drive into right field. While the base runner sped around to try to make it to third base, McMahon scooped up the ball and launch a rocket pass all the way to a waiting Williams.
Williams received the pass and tagged the base runner seconds before he hit the base to end the inning and the game.
"Right now we're a good group, just staying together," McMahon said of his team's early success. "We're finding ways to hit the ball and score some runs. We just need to keep scraping and get back into games."
The Rangers' next game is Wednesday when they travel to Eldorado High School.
