Semoball

Oran baseball walks off, literally, with 7-6 win over Saxony Lutheran

Oran's Cole Priggel, right, celebrates with Layne Johnson after walking in with the game-winning run to beat Saxony Lutheran 7-6 Tuesday in Oran, Missouri.
Fred Lynch

ORAN, Mo. -- In baseball, pretty and exciting are not always synonymous.

Oran and Saxony Lutheran combined for three errors, 14 walks, eight wild pitches, a bevy of missed opportunities and multiple base-running blunders before the host Eagles walked off with a bases-loaded free pass in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 7-6 victory on Tuesday at Oran High School.

Reischman went 3-for-4 on the day with two runs scored, four RBIs, a double and a home run. And, of course, the game-winning walk.

"I've got faith in him and he knows within himself he's a good hitter," Oran coach Joe Bickings said. "He's just got to go up there and believe and do everything that's got him here. Put a good swing on it and put it in play. He's our leadoff hitter, so he's the guy that gets us going. He sends a message through the whole lineup that we're going to hit. He did a good job today."

In a back-and-forth game, Saxony Lutheran (9-3) had taken a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh, with Tyler Amos walking to lead off the inning before back-to-back two-out hits -- one from Mason Lewis and one from Luke Richmond -- brought him home to break a 5-all deadlock.

Saxony Lutheran's Jake Wyatt reacts after he was called out while trying to steal home against Oran during the third inning Tuesday, April 18, 2017 in Oran, Missouri.
Fred Lynch

But in the bottom half of the inning, Oran (8-2) started things with consecutive base hits by Todd and Cole Priggel (2-for-4), with both moving up on a wild pitch before Denver Elfrink tied the game at 6-6 with a sacrifice fly to left.

Saxony then chose to put two runners on by intentionally walking Austin Eftink with one out. A strikeout by Amos, on in relief, put the contest on the precipice of extra innings, but 9-hitter Jacob Shoemaker drew a six-pitch walk to load the bases and bring up Reischman, who had hit the ball well all day.

Reischman sparked an Oran celebration without even swinging the bat, as Cole Priggel walked across the plate.

"It is nice to see them come back," Bickings said. "We've gotten down, and we come back. These kids never give up, that's just how they are. But we've got to understand how the game is and how it's going and that kind of dictates how we run the bases and what we're doing.

"To be honest with you, it seems like we're still a Jekyll and Hyde team, where some days we'll come out and look really, really good, and some days we'll look like today, where we have bad base running and do a ton of things the incorrect way. Again, we have to start figuring out how we're going to play baseball and what kind of team we are, because I feel like we're better than what we show, but you are who you are. We've just got to turn the corner."

Amos took the pitching loss for the Crusaders, giving up five runs on five hits with four strikeouts and six walks. He threw four innings in relief of starter Austin Fritsche, who gave up two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks in three innings.

Layne Johnson got the win for Oran, throwing 2 2/3 innings in relief and allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts and a walk. Reischman drew the start for the Eagles, putting in 4 1/3 innings of work and giving up five runs -- two earned -- on five hits, with six strikeouts and four walks.

Saxony was left ruing some missed opportunities. The Crusaders stranded two runners in the second and then loaded the bases in the third, but Jake Wyatt was nailed at the plate for the second out while trying to advance home on a wild pitch, and Reischman then induced a pop fly to the first baseman to end the inning.

Saxony Lutheran left two more on in the top of the seventh, settling for a one-run edge that didn't hold up.

"Both teams missed some chances and both teams took advantage of some chances," Saxony coach Paul Sander said. "It was a pretty evenly-played game, but I won't say it was a very clean game by either team."

Much like Oran, the Crusaders can point the finger at themselves, as control issues -- nine total walks and six wild pitches -- created issues, while the Eagles' seventh-inning rally was sparked by a defensive miscue that doesn't show up as an error, but was a mistake all the same -- a ground ball toward first base was scooped up before hesitance by both the first baseman and the pitcher to get to the bag saw Todd Priggel leg out a fluky infield hit by mere inches.

"It's not something we're happy about because we felt like we were in control there in the seventh inning," Sander said, "and then we didn't get to first quick enough and cover on a ball there, which opens the gates for a good team. If you do that for a good team, they'll walk through the door on you a lot of times."

Oran initially took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third, when Reischman took a 3-1 pitch over the left-field fence for a solo home run with one out.

The Eagles added to that advantage an inning later. Elfrink led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch.

Oran's Drew Reischman steals home against Saxony Lutheran catcher Jake Wyatt during the sixth inning Tuesday, April 18, 2017 in Oran, Missouri.
Fred Lynch

Eftink, who followed Elfrink with a walk, was on second base after a wild pitch, and scored from there when Reischman hit a double deep into the right-center field gap for a 3-0 lead.

But self-inflicted damage allowed Saxony Lutheran back into the game.

Jack Foeste led off the top of the fifth with a single for the Crusaders before Reischman walked Wyatt. Amos drew a one-out walk to load the bases for Jakoata Walther, who hit a ground ball to shortstop before an off-target throw not only allowed Walther to reach, but also let two runners cross home plate, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

Andrew Hartmann then legged out an infield hit to push another run across the plate and tie the game at 3.

Richmond then took a two-out, 2-1 pitch to right-center field for a two-run double an a 5-3 Crusader lead.

Only two of the five runs in the inning were earned.

"It's self-inflicted," Bickings said. "When we give them an error or give up a leadoff walk or have bad base running in this close a game, a lot of times that comes back to bite you in the rear end. It didn't today, thank God, but we've got to learn from these mistakes. It's too long in the season ... they need to start figuring it out on their own. I can't be out there with them all the time."

Richmond was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs for the Crusaders.

"It's good for us to see young guys doing that," Sander said. "We're starting three freshman and two sophomores and he's a sophomore, so it bodes well for our future. For a kid like him, who struck out the first two times he batted, here I am over there wondering whether or not I should do something. ... So that's good for a young player to be able to come through in those spots after going through some adversity earlier in the game. He did a real nice job."

Lewis and Hartmann each added two hits for Saxony.

The hosts responded in the bottom of the sixth, as Eftink walked again -- one of three free passes on the day -- moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Drew Mitchem and scored on a Reischman base hit with two outs.

Johnson then reached on a two-out single, putting runners on the corners and setting up a game-tying double steal. Johnson successfully stole second, drawing a throw that allowed Reischman to take off for home. The throw home was off line and bounced in the dirt, easily allowing the Eagles to make it a 5-5 game.

One more inning was enough for two more lead changes.

Saxony Lutheran is back on the field today hosting St. Paul Lutheran.

Oran faces Chaffee at home today in a game that was rescheduled from Monday.

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Oran0012022--792

WP -- Layne Johnson. LP -- Tyler Amos. 2B -- Luke Richmond (SL), Drew Reischman (O). HR -- Reischman (O). Multiple hits -- Saxony Lutheran: Andrew Hartmann 2-4, Mason Lewis 2-4, Richmond 2-4; Oran: Reischman 3-4, Cole Priggel 2-4.

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