Normal West Baseball

5-7-2011 vs. Mattoon Green Wave

Seniors Lead Wildcats Past the Green Wave

The Normal West Wildcats celebrated Senior Day with a key Big 12 Conference matchup against the Mattoon Green Wave.  Mattoon entered the opener (which is the only game that counts in the standings) with a 6-0 record, one game ahead of the Wildcats.  All five seniors – Kyle Vaughn, Adam Seifert, Nolan Caldwell, Erik Sipes and Trey Rogers – came up big in the doubleheader sweep that puts the Wildcats back in first place in the conference.  The Wildcats won 5-3 and 6-2 in two very close, well-pitched games to improve their overall record to 21-5 and conference record to 6-1.

In game one, the Wildcats broke out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1^st as Alex Jefferson walked, got moved up on Kyle Vaughn’s sacrifice bunt and scored later on an infield double play.  The Green Wave struck back with three in the top of the 4^th off Wildcat starter Alex Jefferson.  Three infield errors looked to make a big inning for the Green Wave, but Adam Seifert came on in relief to induce a double play and eventually get out of the inning. 

The Wildcats cut the lead to 3-2 in the 5^th when Jefferson got aboard on a Mattoon error, stole second and scored on an Adam McGinnis single over the second baseman.  The Wildcats took the lead in the 6^th when Rogers led off with a single to left.  Adam Seifert pushed his bunt past the pitcher to put two runners on.  With two strikes, Erik Sipes laid down a perfect bunt tight to the third base line and the Mattoon pitcher threw it past the first baseman, allowing both runners to score and Sipes to make it all the way to third.  Garrett Cook then squeezed Sipes home to give the Wildcats an insurance run.  Perfectly executed small ball on day when the wind was blowing extremely hard, straight at the batter.

Adam Seifert locked down the Green Wave over the final three innings to get the win, not allowing a base runner.  Jefferson went three innings, giving up three runs on two hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.  Seifert pitched four innings, allowing no runs on one hit and striking out three.

The second game was a scoreless pitcher’s duel for five and a half innings.  Adam McGinnis started for the Wildcats and only allowed one hit and three walks over his four innings pitched.  Mac Byrd came on in the 5^th and set down all six batters he faced, striking out four.

The Wildcats only had three hits through five innings as well against Green Wave hurler Connor Daley.  In the 6^th, though, the Wildcats put together the big inning, again aided by a bad throw on a bunt.  Kyle Vaughn led off with a walk before Adam McGinnis singled to left.  Wes Sery then put down a perfect bunt the third baseman should have eaten, but instead he threw it past the first baseman.  Two runs scored and Sery stood at third at the end of the play.  Adam Seifert’s squeeze bunt scored Sery and was good enough for a hit before Erik Sipes got hit to put two runners on.  Nolan Caldwell stroked his second hit of the game to score Seifert.  Jake McDowell moved the runners up before Alex Jefferson singled down the line to score Seifert and Caldwell.

Mac Byrd got the win in relief for the Wildcats.  McGinnis pitched the first four with a hit, three walks and four strikeouts.  Byrd pitched the next two with four strikeouts and Dustin Detweiler pitched the last inning, giving up a pair of runs on two hits, three walks and two strikeouts.

Adam Seifert had two hits in the first game, while Nolan Caldwell had two in the second game and Alex Jefferson had two RBIs in game two.

The Wildcats return to action on Tuesday when the Decatur MacArther Generals visit West Varsity Field for a Big 12 Conference matchup at 4:30.

5-5-2011 vs. Normal Community Ironmen

Wildcats Fall to the Ironmen

The Normal West Wildcats lost to crosstown rival Normal Community 4-3 in a Big 12 conference showdown at the Corn Crib.  One night after drubbing the Ironmen, the Wildcats couldn’t get timely hits and hit several balls right at the Iron or just foul, as well as losing a late lead.  The loss drops the Wildcats to 19-5 overall and 5-1 in conference, tied for second currently with Bloomington, a game behind Mattoon.

The Ironmen got on the board early with a run in the bottom of the first off Wildcat starter Kyle Vaughn.  That was about all the Ironmen got over the first four innings, until a storm blew through and delayed the game about an hour.  The Wildcats  had runners in each of the first three innings, but couldn’t do anything with them.

After the delay, the Wildcat bats got going in the 6^th inning.  With two outs Adam McGinnis lined a shot to the right field fence for a double.  Wes Sery followed with an RBI single to left to tie the game.  Trey Rogers then blasted a two run homer over the McDonalds sign in left field off Kyle Rutledge to give the Wildcats a 3-1 lead.  Rutledge got revenge in the bottom half, taking Wildcat reliever Adam Seifert deep to cut the lead to 3-2.  The Ironmen tacked on one more in the 6^th and pushed one across in the 7^th for the win.

Kyle Vaughn went 3 2/3 innings, allowing a run on two hits, with a walk and a hit batter.  Adam Seifert pitched the next 1 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on three hits.  Dustin Detweiler was the hard luck loser, giving up one run in his one inning on three hits, a walk and a strikeout.

Alex Jefferson, Adam McGinnis, Wes Sery, Trey Rogers, Adam Seifert and Matthew James each had a hit for the Wildcats, while Rogers drove in two with his homer.

The Wildcats meet the Mattoon Green Wave on Saturday with the Big 12 Conference lead on the line on Senior Day at West Varsity Field.