BELOIT — Beloit Senior Legion pitcher Ethan Halon’s stuff from the mound aged like a fine wine on Thursday: it just kept getting better and better with time.
After allowing back-to-back singles that helped East Troy Post 188 take a 1-0 lead in the third inning, Halon didn’t allow another hit and let just two more batters reach base in the final four frames as the Bandits won their second-straight game with a 3-1 victory at a cooler and cloudy Stateline YMCA Youth Sports Complex.
“Ethan threw probably one of the best games I've seen a pitcher throw around here lately,” manager Brad Farrell said. “He was on point and ready to go. I stress to these pitchers to work ahead, get a strike first before we start playing around with the hitter. Tonight, he was locked in on all levels as all of his pitches were working.”
Halon struck out 10 in the complete game performance while allowing one earned run on three hits and a walk.
“I was just trusting my stuff out there to get it done,” Halon said. “I was getting ahead in the count. I had a really good fastball and curveball today. I never had Dustin (Foss) catch me before, and we did a great job together through five innings till Brody (Berg) came in.”
The righty was a little off to start, throwing three wild pitches in the first three innings. One of those proved to be a bit costly when Joel Anderson laced a single into right field to begin the third inning, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Kyler Newkirk’s slow hopper single to the second baseman.
Newkirk moved to second on a steal and went to third on another wild pitch before Chase Fox hit a grounder to third baseman Noah Pfundheller, who threw Newkirk out at home.
Halon got a strikeout and a fly out to end the frame and cruised from there with a 1-2-3 fourth, a catalyst for his strong finish.
“A 1-2–3 inning really boosts your confidence,” Halon said.
He worked around a two-out walk in the fifth, struck out two in the sixth and, after hitting a batter after a strikeout in the seventh, punched out the next two Post 188 batters to end it.
“I locked in and trusted my stuff,” Halon said. “I knew that even if something was off, just keep going back to it because it'll get there.”
East Troy’s Ryan Meehan also had a nice performance from the mound to turn it into a pitching duel.
Jayden Piccione led off with a single and was replaced by Owen West on a fielder’s choice, but West was picked off first and Buckley was stranded after his two-out single. Mitch Stuessy was hit by a pitch with two outs in the second and Piccione drew a one-out walk in the third but Meehan kept it scoreless.
“We just have to be more focused at the plate,” Halon said. “We definitely have to be on time because he wasn't throwing that hard or anything, we just have to be locked in at the plate.”
The Bandits tied it at one in the third as Noah Pfundheller drew a leadoff walk and, after a strikeout, Hayden Frey singled into center. Pfundheller was caught stealing third, but Frey would come around to score after Stuessy’s hit down the first-base took a weird hop. East Troy’s first baseman couldn’t make a play on it and Frey came charging home.
“The bats right now aren't are not at the point where I would like to see them,” Farrell said. “We still have a lot of work to do in that area. But, for the guys that had good base rips, it's about working for the next guy up. We have to keep that mentality.”
Pfundheller and Brayden Ward each singled to start the sixth inning off. Frey put a bunt down to move the runners, but Meehan’s throw to first sailed into the outfield and allowed Pfundheller to score.
Carson Pingel’s groundout scored Ward in the next at-bat to make it 3-1.
“We got some runners on, so I decided that we're going to put a little pressure on them and play a little small ball,” Farrell said. “I hate making these guys bunt because they want to hit, but when we're in the fifth inning and we haven't really produced much, you have to put pressure on the opposing team.”
Meehan allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits and four walks with three strikeouts.
Piccione went 1-for-2 with two walks for the Bandits, who outhit East Troy (3-2) 5-3.
“Love having Jayden there at the top of the lineup,” Halon said. “He gets it done at the plate and is a scrappy little guy that can really get the job done.”
Beloit improves to 2-4 after starting out 0-4, and Halon said that much like how he overcame a so-so start on the mound, the Bandits have started to lock in.
“We realized that, 'Oh, crap, we lost these first four games,” he said. “And it's like, 'All right, let's pick it up and get the bats rolling and just start playing baseball and having fun.”
Beloit will be back at the YMCA Youth Sports Complex on Monday at 6 p.m. as it takes on Lake Geneva.
• LINESCORE:
BELOIT 3, EAST TROY 1
Beloit 000 102 — 3 5 1
ET 001 000 0 — 1 3 2
Leading hitters: Beloit, Piccione 1x2; Buckley 1x3; Pfundheller 1x2, 1 Run; Pingel 0x1, 1 RBI; Ward 1x1, 1 Run; Frey 1x3, 1 Run. ET, Moat 1x3; Anderson 1x1, 1 Run; Newkirk 1x2, 1 RBI.
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): Beloit, Halon (W) 7.0-3-1-1-1-10. ET, Meehan (L) 6.0-5-3-1-4-3.
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