Burlington baseball game won and lost on the mound
When Holyoke was on defense, Burlington seemed to draw one walk after another, setting the Cougars up to score early in the March 28 baseball game on their home diamond. On the flip side, the Dragons could not seem to hit against Burlington’s Braden Witzel, who racked up 16 strikeouts in last Thursday’s game. Between the walks and the strikeouts, the Cougars won a rather uneventful game 6-1.
“We struggled to put the ball in play and gave up too many free bases. It’s hard to overcome those two things,” coach Sam Distefano said. Nevertheless, he was happy to see the Dragons continue to fight even when they were behind. Moving forward, the team will be looking to improve on those two areas specifically.
In the first inning of last Thursday’s game, bases taken on balls got the Cougars the first run of the game. They followed up with three runs in the second inning and two in the third. All the while, the Dragons were held scoreless. Neither team put up points in the fourth inning, and the score remained 6-0.
In the top of the fifth, Caleb Deaver managed the team’s only hit of the game, a double. Taking advantage of an impressive bunt by Alexis Vega, he advanced to third and scored when the ball was thrown past Burlington’s first baseman. From there, the score held at 6-1 through the end of the game.
Deaver pitched three innings, facing 24 batters. He walked 12, struck out six, and gave up five earned runs. Jesus Trejo also pitched three innings, facing 10 batters. He struck out two and allowed two hits.
Continuing to look at the depth of this year’s team, Distefano noted, “Our relief pitchers, like Jesus Trejo, continue to pitch well and help keep us in ball games.”
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