5-17-2011 vs. Bloomington Raiders
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|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| NCWHS Wildcats |
1 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
X |
X |
10 |
15 |
1 |
| Bloomington Raiders |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
X |
X |
0 |
4 |
0 |
Wildcats Handle the Raiders 10-0
The Normal West Wildcats needed a victory at Bloomington to regain a share of the Big 12 Conference lead and set up a championship showdown on Thursday at home. They came through with relative comfort in a 10-0 win in five innings, pounding out 15 hits, peppering the hole between short and third with ground ball singles. The wins moves the Wildcats record to 26-6 overall and 10-2 in the Big 12 Conference.
Matthew James controlled the Raiders on the mound, allowing a few more runners than usual, but continually making quality pitches in key situations. James picks up his sixth win of the season, going five innings and giving up no runs on four hits, two walks, a hit batter with nine strikeouts.
The offense staked James to an early lead with a run in the 1st inning. Kyle Vaughn walked and moved around to third on wild pitches. Wes Sery walked and worked the double steal with Vaughn to make it 1-0. In the 2nd, Adam Seifert singled to lead off. Matthew James singled to right to move him up. Garrett Cook singled to left, but Seifert got cut down at the plate when he stumbled coming around third. Alex Jefferson then walked to load the bases before Kyle Vaughn singled past the second baseman to score James.
The Wildcats extended their lead in the 3rd inning when Rogers singled up the middle and took second on a wild pitch. Erik Sipes two out single between first and second scored Rogers. James singled to right again to put runners on the corners, and then stole second base. Garrett Cook walked and Jefferson drove in two with a single to center. Cook went to third on the single and scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-0.
In the 5th inning, the Wildcats started a four run rally after two were out. Jefferson singled up the middle, Vaughn singled to right and McGinnis singled past the third baseman to drive in Jefferson. Sery then singled to left to score Vaughn. Rogers drove in McGinnis with a hit and Seifert finished it off with a double to left to score Sery and make it 10-0.
Rogers led the Wildcats with three hits, while Jefferson, Vaughn, Seifert and James had two and everyone in the lineup had at least one. Jefferson had two RBIs, while six other batters had one.
The Wildcats and Raiders will do it again on Thursday at 4:30 at West Varsity Field in the rematch, with at least a share of the conference title on the line.