Double-bagger
Wood River takes two in Buhl
By JODY ZARKOS
Express Staff Writer
What the game lacked in intensity,
Wood River made up for in wins.
In their opening SCIC baseball
matchup at Buhl Tuesday, Wood River outdueled the Tribe 5-2 and 3-1.
Coach Lars Hovey related, "Gooch
(assistant Larry Lloyd) and I were talking and compared with some of the
previous Buhl matchups, there was a pretty casual attitude on both
sides."
Maybe in the dugout, but the
pitchers were locked in.
Steve Hansen threw a 100-pitch
complete game in the opener, striking out five and walking one.
In the nightcap, Tyson Reynoso (5
K’s) more then matched Hansen in efficiency, throwing 86 pitches to go
the distance. The only relief the Wolverines needed was provided by
Rolaids.
"Both Steve and Tyson threw nice
clean games. They threw big pitches down in the count and did not give
away too many bases," Hovey noted.
Offensively, Dylan Fullmer’s
strong work at the plate continued. Batting .455 heading into the day,
Fullmer went 3-for-4 on the day.
"He’s Mr. Automatic right now,"
Hovey said.
Joe Paisley was 3-for-5 with a
pair of doubles, two RBI’s and one run. Dylan McIlhenny was 3-for-5.
"Their whole modus operandi was
outside fastballs and curveballs and it took us the whole first game and
part of the second until we adjusted and started driving the ball the
other way," Hovey said.
Overall, Wood River outhit the
Tribe 10-6 and 7-4.
"Defensively, we made them earn
that trip down to first base, and for the most part we kept them there.
The pitching and defense was solid. That will keep you in game until
bats wake up and that what happened." Hovey said.
In the first contest, Wood River
(9-2 overall, 2-0 SCIC) cracked the scoreboard in the second. Tyler
Theide reached on a throwing error by the pitcher and advanced on a wild
pitch. Reynoso cracked a single to score Theide and later crossed the
plate on a fielder’s choice by Brady Femling.
Buhl scored in the home second to
make it a 2-1 game.
In the fourth Wood River tagged on
two more runs. Dylan Fullmer roped a two-out double and Femling reached
first on a muffed play by the shortstop and went to second on the throw
home, which Fullmer beat. Femling scored on a RBI single by Steve
Durkin.
"We had some good aggressive smart
base-running," Hovey remarked.
Hansen worked out of a
bases-loaded tangle in the sixth. With two outs, the right-hander jammed
the batter on a 3-and-2 count for the third out of the frame – a popup
to catcher Billy Kramer.
"It seemed when Buhl had the
opportunity for any kind of momentum, we made the big play or made the
big pitch," Hovey said.
Joe Paisley led off the seventh
with a double and scored on a throwing error.
Noting the five unearned runs,
Hovey remarked, "We made them pay."
In the nightcap, both teams plated
a run in the opening frame.
Durkin drew base on balls, went to
third on a single by Paisley and scored on a sacrifice fly by McIlhenny.
Deadlocked at one each, Hailey
finally gained the lead in the sixth. McIlhenny singled to score Durkin
from second.
Theide led off the seventh with a
double and made it 3-1 on a RBI single by Femling.
Playing leftfield, Hansen stifled
a potential Buhl rally by making a great grab and throw back to first.
"Hansen made the catch and we
thought we had them at first to double them up. It could have been a
real turning point if that ball had gone by him. They have some momentum
and we make another big play on them," Hovey said.
"We didn’t overall play our best,
but I think we played our best when we needed to."
Wood River plays the Preston
Indians in their home opener, today, Friday, April 16 at Founder’s Field
in Hailey. The varsity matchup starts at 3:30 p.m., followed by a junior
varsity tilt. Mountain Home is in town on Saturday, April 17 for
double-header action at 11 a.m.