BRANCH COUNTY – Baseball teams from around Branch County took to diamonds across the state on Tuesday for some late season baseball action. Bronson, Quincy, Tekonsha, and Union City all faced off with conference foes on Tuesday night while Coldwater took on a non-conference foe in a potential postseason matchup.
Here are the results and top performances from a busy Tuesday night of baseball.
Tekonsha falls to Camden Frontier despite racking up more hits
TEKONSHA – The Tekonsha Indians out-hit Camden Frontier Tuesday but saw a late comeback attempt fall just short as it was Camden taking the 5-3 win. Camden held a slim 3-2 lead heading into the seventh inning, with the Redskins putting up two huge insurance runs to build a 5-2 advantage.
Tekonsha answered back with a run in the seventh and had the tying run at the plate, however the Camden pitching secured the win with a game ending strikeout to find the final score of 5-3. Tekonsha falls to 5-7 on the season with the loss.
Top Performances
Bo Veenkant, P/IF – Veenkant continued his hot hitting streak, finishing the day at 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs. Veenkant also took the tough loss on the mound after throwing six innings and a third, allowing five hits and four runs, two earned with 12 strikeouts and two walks.
Dylan Griffith, 1B/P – Griffith finished 3 for 4 with a double and two runs scored.
Bronson earns hard fought sweep over Stockbridge, improves to 12-6 on the season
BRONSON – The Bronson baseball Vikings improved to 12-6 on the season Tuesday with a hard fought two game sweep over Stockbridge by scores of 3-2 and 5-0.
Game one saw Bronson score three unanswered runs late in the game, one each in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to pull away for the slim 3-2 win. Game two saw Max Byler dominate on the pitchers mound, throwing six innings of scoreless baseball to propel the Vikings to the 5-0 win.
Top Performances
Joseph Fair, 3B – Fair had a big day at the plate for Bronson, finishing with two doubles, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored
Kam Brackett, RF – Brackett finished 3 for 6 with an RBI and two runs scored at the plate to help lead the Viking offense.
Max Byler, P – Byler was absolutely dominant on the mound in game two of the Bronson sweep. Byler pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and one walk with 12 strikeouts in the win.
Quincy sweeps Maple Valley in key Big 8 conference clash
QUINCY – The Quincy Orioles secured a key Big 8 conference sweep on Tuesday, defeating the Maple Valley Lions by scores of 5-4 and 10-0.
Game one saw Quincy take the 5-4 win in walk off fashion. Maple Valley, a Division 4 state semifinalist last season, carried a 4-2 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out in the inning Quincy managed to string together three straight singles from Zac Rubley, Brennan Allman, and Ryan Kempter, loading the bases with one out. Mason Graves then hit an RBI single to center field, closing the score to 4-3. Alex Barry put an end to the game with a hard ground ball to the left side of the infield, leading to a throwing error by the Lions shortstop. Allman and Kempter came around to score on the error, giving the Orioles the walk off 5-4 win.
Game two saw Quincy put up nine runs in the second inning and never look back as they rolled to a 10-0 five inning victory. Quincy improves to 13-11 overall on the season with the sweeps.
Top Performances
Alex Barry, 1B – Barry had two hits in the two games, including a double and a walk. Barry also added two RBIs, and two runs scored. Barry also drove in the two runs to win game one of the twin bill in walk off fashion.
Mason Graves, SS/P – Graves finished the two-game set with three hits, including a double and three walks. Graves drove in two runs in the two-game sweep. Graves also took the win on the mound in game two, throwing five scoreless innings, allowing only three hits while striking out three.
Coldwater falls to Gull Lake in non-conference clash
COLDWATER – The Coldwater Cardinals saw Gull Lake race to an 8-0 lead through four innings, including six in the first inning alone, as the Blue Devils put away the 9-2 win. Coldwater falls to 7-13 on the season.
Top Performances
Owen Tappenden, RF – Tappenden finished the night going 3 for 3 with a double, putting up all but two of Coldwater’s five hits.
Union City rolls to sweep over Reading, offense explodes for 27 runs in two game sweep
READING – The Union City baseball team saw their offense explode Tuesday night as the Chargers out hit Reading 21-5 over the two-game stretch. The Chargers took advantage of 19 walks throughout the two-game stretch on the way to wins of 17-0 and 10-0.
Game one saw Union City turn a 6-0 game heading to the sixth inning on its head with 11 runs in the top of the sixth inning on the way to the 17-0 win. Game two saw Union City out hit Reading 9-3 on the way to the 10-0 five inning win. Union City improves to 12-11 on the season with the sweep.
Top Performances
Aidan Decker, 1B – Decker had yet another big day at the plate for Union City, finishing the two-game set going 5 for 7 with three RBIs, one walk, and three runs scored.
Alex Boyer, OF- Boyer had a huge game two for the Chargers on Tuesday, driving in five runs in Union City’s 10-0 win over Reading.
Eli Payne, P – Payne pitched an absolute gem in Union City’s game one win over Reading, throwing six scoreless innings, allowing only two hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts.
Rick Austin, OF – Austin finished a perfect 5-5 on the day with two doubles, three RBIs, four runs scored, and three walks drawn.
For updates on all things high school baseball related please tune in to The Daily Reporter at www.thedailyreporter.com. For more information or for questions please contact sports editor Troy Tennyson via email at ttennyson@thedailyreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Baseball: Tekonsha and Coldwater fall; Bronson, Quincy and Union City roll to sweeps
Reporting by Troy Tennyson, Coldwater Daily Reporter / Coldwater Daily Reporter
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