KINGWOOD – The Buckhannon-Upshur baseball Buccaneers used a 22-run fourth inning to get past the Preston Knights by a 32-2 score Tuesday evening in Kingwood.
“The final score isn’t really a good indicator of how the game really went,” remarked Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Adam Squires. “It was just 9-2 going into that inning. We pushed it out to 14-2 and then they just ran out of pitching.”
Despite scoring the 32 runs, the Bucs managed just 18 hits but capitalized on 20 Preston walks.
“They were having a hard time finding the strike zone,” noted Squires. “Preston also made some mistakes that extended that fourth inning.”
The Bucs scored three runs in the top of the first then added four more in the second and two in the third for a 9-0 lead.
Preston scored twice in the bottom of the third making it a 9-2 game before the Bucs scored their 22 runs in the top of the fourth.
B-U added one more run in the top of the fifth.
Zach Calef-Boring led the offense with four hits, four RBIs and six runs scored.
Ian Donnen collected three hits while Brayden Hamer, Landon Marple and Clint Crites each had two.
Josh Nesbitt (1-0) earned the win for the Bucs on the mound going three innings. He allowed two unearned runs on two hits while fanning four.
Tucker Burr and Ian Donnen each pitched an inning with each player striking out three Preston batters.
“I was pleased with how Nesbitt threw,” stated Squires. “Burr and Donnen both threw scoreless innings in relief and showed good poise on the mound.”
The Bucs returned home on Thursday and beat North Marion by a 13-7 score. My Buckhannon will have a full story on that game tomorrow.
The Bucs, weather permitting, will play John Marshall on the road Saturday before heading to South Carolina for their spring break tour next week.
The boxscore:
Buckhannon-Upshur 342 (22)1 – 32
Preston 002 00 – 2
E – Buckhannon-Upshur 2; Preston 4. DP – Preston. LoB – Buckhannon-Upshur 11; Preston 4. 2B – Calef-Boring, Hamer, Lane, Marple. 3B – Calef-Boring 2. SB – Hamer 2, Calef-Boring, Crites, Tenney.
Hitting
Buckhannon-Upshur – Zach Calef-Boring cf-2b-lf, 5 6 4 4; Cameron Tenney 2b, 2 3 1 2; Blake Runyon c, 1 ss, 1 0 2; Isaac Lane ss. 4 1 1 1; Tucker Burr p-2b, 1 1 0 2; Ian Donnen c-3b-p, 3 2 3 3; Brayden Hamer 3 6 2 2; Landon Marple lf-cf, 5 2 2 5; Clint Crites 1b, 2 2 2 1; Ryan Snyder 1b, 0 2 0 1; Josh Nesbitt p, 0 0 0 0; Elijah Bryant rf, 2 1 0 0; Jaden Westfall rf, 2 1 1 1; Payton Bennett 3b-lf, 3 4 2 2. Totals 33 32 18 26.
Preston – Mason Chaney p-cf, 2 0 0 0; Caleb Belanger dh, 2 1 1 0; Hayden Cecil p, 1 1 1 0; Laydon Brandt 2b, 3 0 0 2; Brady McNew 1b, 1 0 0 0; Jesse Desantis cf, 1 0 0 0; Lance Snyder dh2 0 0 0; Kevin Wilson c, 2 0 0 0; Jackson Turner 3b. 2 0 0 0; Caleb Wharton ss-p, 1 0 1 0; No. 25 p, 1 0 0 0; No. 10 p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 18 2 3 2.
Pitching
Buckhannon-Upshur – Nesbitt (W, 1-0): 3 innings, 2 hits, 2 runs, 0 earned runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts; Burr: 1 inning, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 0 walks; 3 strikeouts; Donnen: 1 inning, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts.
Preston – Chaney (L): 2 innings, 7 hits, 7 runs, 6 earned runs, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 3 wild pitches, 2 hit batsman ; Cecil: 1 inning, 4 hits, 8 runs, 8 earned runs, 5 walks, 0 strikeouts, 2 wild pitches; Wharton: 1/3 of an inning, 4 hits, 8 runs, 8 earned runs, 3 walks, 0 strikeouts, 3 wild pitches, 1 hit batsman; No. 10: pitched to 3 batters, 1 hit, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts; No. 25: 1 2/3 innings, 2 hits, 6 runs, 6 earned runs, 8 walks, 0 strikeouts, 1 hit batman.
