SALAMANCA — After holding its visitors scoreless for the majority of Monday’s contest, Salamanca was just about able to hold onto a narrow 6-5 victory after a late surge by interstate opponents Otto-Eldred.
What looked set to be a comfortable cruise to another tally in the win column, suddenly became just a bit more stressful. The 6-0 lead that the Warriors (7-4) had established through five innings commanded by Jaxson Ross (10 strikeouts, four walks, zero hits) on the mound was nearly voided after the Terrors scored five in the final two innings.
The first earned runs that pitcher Jacob Herrick (one strikeout, zero walks, four hits, five runs) had given up this season nearly turned the game on its head in the dying moments. Luckily for Salamanca, when it mattered most, Jacob Herrick remained calm as he bare-handed a chopper down the third base line and threw the win-sealing out at first base — a hit that would’ve tied the game.
Salamanca coach Greg Herrick said that he thought Jacob Herrick was “a little shook” after the first runs came across on him late in the game. But ultimately, he remained confident in him and trusted that he would find a way to get his team over the line with the win.
“Jacob’s had a good run to start the year,” Greg Herrick said. “I always trust him to battle out things. He’s got a lot of confidence and he’s mentally strong. So, we always depend on him knowing that he can get us out of it.”
Through the five innings that the Warriors did hold a lead, they were dominant. Ross, despite being on a pitch count, had the Terrors clueless at the plate. On the bats, Peyton Bradley, Salamanca’s starting catcher, did the most damage he could with his two hits on three at-bats, bringing four runs in. Together, they proved to be a dynamic combination for Greg Herrick who had nothing but praise for Bradley after his contributions to the win.
“Peyton has been swinging the bat really well,” Greg Herrick said. “He’s using the whole field, hitting a lot of line drives. When everything’s right with him, he’s one of the best hitters in this area. He’s really lengthened our lineup the last couple of weeks (and provided) good protection for Jaxson Ross so they can’t work around him. It’s huge for our team.”
{span id=”docs-internal-guid-7beb279f-7fff-d092-257f-ab113cce4e1d”}{span}Salamanca’s Cory Holleran (15) swings at a pitch.{/span}{/span}
HOWEVER, NOT all was perfect for Salamanca until the final two innings, some trouble on the basepaths led to a couple outs that put a pause on the momentum it had been brewing. This is something that the Warriors are targeting as an area that needs improvement. While they might be getting a good mixture of success in the pitching and hitting departments, Greg Herrick said that the base running is where a bit of the “inexperience” shows up from his youthful roster.
“We absolutely have to clean it up, it’s a huge part of the game,” Greg Herrick said. “We say if we get good pitching, take care of the ball defensively and then know how to run the bases, that’s 85% of the game … We’ve got some inexperienced guys, and I hate to use that excuse, but base running is where that shows up. Guys that haven’t played in four or five years since they were in Little League. So, we talk about it all the time. It’s hard to prepare for every situation in baseball, but we’re working on it.”
The win was a big boost to a Salamanca team that had just suffered back-to-back league losses to Fredonia by a combined score of 20-2. According to Greg Herrick, closing out close games is something that his players very much know how to do. From their experience and successes in other sports throughout the school year, he never sees glimpses of panic when the team gets in a bind. While he himself may have been slightly on edge towards the end of the game, especially with some players needing to be replaced due to injuries, his players came through when they needed to most.
“(A win like that) helps your team,” Greg Herrick said. “To be in close games like this and not panic at the end, knowing how to close out games, I think that’s huge for any team. This group of kids have done a great job of that in basketball and football … We had some injuries and some replacements there at the end. We put some kids in new positions, so I got a little nervous, but those kids came up and made the plays when they had to.”
Next up for the Warriors is a CCAA Div. I matchup at home with a Southwestern team that currently sits at third in the league.
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