Undefeated in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference, the Benton Rangers (16-2, 6-0) welcomed another conference foe, the Harrisburg Bulldogs, to Eovaldi Field on Tuesday afternoon.
After a slow start for both teams, the Rangers pulled together as a team and pulled out an 8-0 victory over the Bulldogs to remain undefeated in conference.
"I liked how they played… the little things, if we can get all the guys to play that way we will be good," said Brett Blondi, Rangers' coach. "I felt as if we did a better job of putting pressure on them. All nine guys contributed offensively to the game."
After a long rest, junior Ian McMahon returned to the mound and pitched six of seven innings for the Rangers. Though he struggled at first with the new rubber which was recently placed on the mound, McMahon performed at his usual standard; earning seven strike outs and giving up only six hits.
Behind him, the Rangers' defense took care of business from all ends of the diamond; especially the outfielders who chased down several fly balls which could have resulted in runs earned for the Bulldogs.
The visitors started the game with junior Christian Williams on the mound. He pitched for five innings, giving up six hits and earning three strike outs.
The score remained locked at 0-0 until the bottom of the third when the Rangers were finally able to tally two runs. It began when junior Hamilton Page smashed a base hit into right field and then junior Gehrig Wynn made it to first on an error by the Bulldogs' short stop Carson Burtis.
Page was caught stealing third base when senior Tyson Houghland was walked by Christian Williams.
Both Wynn and Houghland made it home thanks to a long RBI base hit by junior Parkers Williams. Parker ended up on third base after Bulldogs' third baseman Dalton Lambert over threw the ball at first.
The Rangers earned three more runs in the fourth inning starting with an RBI triple by Page to bring in senior Bryden Picklesimer. Then, Page and senior Derek Oxford were brought across the plate when Houghland blasted an RBI single over the head of Bulldogs' centerfielder Jordan Gould.
The visitors showed some life in the fifth inning; with two outs, freshman Jack Martin blasted a double to left field that Houghland had to chase down. Unfortunately, he was stranded when Picklesimer snagged a fly ball from Gould to end the inning.
Meanwhile the Rangers tallied one more point in the fifth (6-0) when McMahon cross the plate on a shot by Zack Avery who was called out at first base.
In the sixth inning, the Bulldogs came feet away from scoring a run when Isaac Crabb and Presley Gauch hit back-to-back doubles to left field. On the Gauch hit, centerfielder Houghland threw a rocket all the way to home where Rangers' catcher Brett Bonenberger tagged out Crabb before he could cross the plate.
The final two Rangers' run came at the bottom of the sixth--after the Bulldogs brought in relief pitcher Kent Cletcher--when Oxford tagged up at third and scored. Then, Wynn came home on an RBI triple from McMahon.
The Bulldogs had one more chance in the top of the seventh to score eight runs at least to keep the game going. The Rangers brought in Page from third base to finish the game for McMahon who jumped into right field.
Page struck out the leadoff hitter and then the Rangers' defense did the rest to end the game without needing the bottom of the seventh.
"We still have four conference games left… but anyone can beat anyone on any given day," Blondi said. "We've put ourselves in a good position, but you can't be too comfortable."
At the softball diamond, the Lady Bulldogs did not have luck against the Rangerettes either. The home team shut out the visitors by a score of 2-0 at Benton Park.