ALBANY — Despite allowing 15 runs in a loss to Meigs to kick off a grueling week full of conference matchups, the Alexander baseball team has once again locked down on defense.
After bouncing back with a 7-2 victory over Nelsonville-York, they once again had a great defensive showing as they outlasted Wellston in a low-scoring affair, winning 2-1.
The Spartans (4-4, 3-2 Tri-Valley Conference-Ohio) didn’t have a ton of success at the plate as they only drew five hits, but ultimately ended up with the victory. Trent Schaad finished 2-3 at the dish, while Jordan Schulz contributed a two-run triple that ended up scoring the winning runs. Camron Oberholzer got a hit and scored a run, while Mason Morris added a hit while Stanley Viny scored a run.
Jared Truax picked up the start on the mound, nearly throwing a complete game as he tossed six and one thirds innings. He allowed just one run on seven hits while walking two batters. Jackson Jordan then came in for two thirds innings of relief to finish the game off.
Despite tallying two more hits than Alexander, Wellston still came out on the losing end as the Spartans continuously made game-saving plays in the field each and every inning.
“That want to go get it mentality, and seeing these guys get excited,” said Spartans head coach Jordan Myles when asked about their defense. “We live for those plays like Stanley Viny making a diving catch, Mason Morris in center having so many of our outs today. It gets us coaches excited.”
Wellston saw multi-hit outings from Will Briggs and Karter Witt, while Logan Martin, Brenton Moon and Justin Jackson all tallied a hit apiece for the Golden Rockets. Briggs also scored Wellston’s only run of the ballgame.
Martin got the ball for Wellston and threw six innings of his own, allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out twelve batters.
Neither team was able to put together anything more than a single runner on base throughout the first three innings, before the Golden Rockets were able to strike first in the top of the fourth.
After a leadoff double from Briggs, a line drive to left field from Moon that produced an error allowed the man on second to get all the way to the plate, giving Wellston a 1-0 lead.
Alexander made sure to get it right back, quickly getting two runners in scoring position after a leadoff single from Schaad before Viny was able to reach on a throwing error from third.
With runners now on second and third, Schulz stepped to the plate and crushed a ball over the right fielders’ head, scoring both runners on a two-run triple to put the Spartans ahead 2-1.
“That was massive. It’s the right guy in the right spot for us. That’s a great pitcher there but we were seeing a lot of pitches, we were on it all night,” Myles said. “Then Jordan hits that ball, he’s been so huge at the plate for us all year.”
The Spartans threatened to score again with two baserunners in the fifth, but were unable to plate anyone after a strikeout.
Wellston looked to tie it in the sixth, but Alexander made two big time plays in the field with a double play followed by a diving catch from Viny on a line drive just two at-bats later.
With just three outs remaining to secure the win, Truax was able to get one while also allowing two Golden Rocket baserunners. Jordan came in to work the final two outs, and immediately induced a pop out and a ground out to end the game.
“When you look at a five-game week, you worry about if you start losing how it can become a miserable week,” Myles said postgame. “But on the opposite end, when we start winning and rolling it becomes fun. This is gonna take us right into Vinton County and now into next week.”
Thursday’s victory marks another conference win for the Spartans, and they’ll head on the road on Friday for their final game of the week with Vinton County.
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