FRUITPORT – The way the Fruitport baseball team saw it, one seventh inning comeback deserved another.
But the umpire didn’t agree.
The Trojans opened up O-K Blue conference play at home on Tuesday with a doubleheader against Allendale. They were no-hit for most of Game 1, then strung together three hits and two runs in the seventh inning before falling 3-2.
They hoped to get another rally opportunity in the second game, trailing 3-2 after six innings, presumably with another inning to go.
[1]But the umpire said it was getting too dark and ruled that the sixth inning would be the end of the game. Fruitport failed to get the equalizer and lost again 3-2, dropping its season record to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
The umpire’s decision did not sit particularly well with Fruitport Coach Nick Reed. While he did not make a big fuss, Reed thought his team deserved a chance to play out the game and go for the victory.
“It burns me a little bit that we didn’t get to play that seventh inning,” said Reed, who thought that if darkness became a factor, the game should have been finished on Thursday when Fruitport visits Allendale to complete the three-game series.
Despite the two close losses, the Trojans were impressive in quite a few ways, particularly for a team that starts a lot of underclassmen.
[2]The pitching was excellent all day.
Sophomore Ryan Bosch struck out eight Allendale batters in Game 1 and deserved a better fate, but was outdueled by Falcon pitcher Wyatt Merritt, who kept Fruitport from getting a baserunner through the first six innings and took a 3-0 lead into the seventh.
The Trojans came alive with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Braxton Ward broke up the perfect game with a single, Brady French drove him home with an RBI double, Bosch singled to right, then freshman Avery Lambers had an RBI groundout to make the score 3-2.
The final Fruitport batter struck out, ending the rally one run short.
“Ryan had a rough first inning, he walked a couple and gave up a run early, but then he came back and pitched seven strong innings,” Reed said. “He really battled. And our guys did a really good job of staying in the moment, even though it was a perfect game through six innings. We gave ourselves a chance to win.”
[3]Fruitport junior pitcher Christian Kennedy was also impressive in Game 2, striking out six through 3 1/3 innings and otherwise holding the Falcons to a lot of harmless fly balls. Tommy Anderson also had a strong performance in relief.
Kennedy got off to a rough start in the first inning, with the first two Allendale batters reaching on errors and the third being hit by a pitch, but settled down and only allowed one run.
The Trojans tied the game in the bottom of the first when Ward walked and scored on an RBI double by Bosch.
Fruitport took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second when Cody Nash walked, stole second even though it appeared that he had been picked off first, stole third and scored on the same play when the pitch got past the catcher.
[4]Reed noted that Nash, a standout baseball player as a sophomore, is returning to the team after taking a year off to run track.
“Cody has added an element we haven’t had in a while with his speed,” the coach said.
Allendale tied the game in the fifth inning then took a 3-2 lead in the sixth.
The Trojans went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth, the seventh inning was called off and Allendale went home with a very tight doubleheader sweep.
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