Willows, Braves sweat out pair
The Willows and Westside American Legion baseball clubs battled through 105-degree heat Sunday afternoon, splitting a doubleheader with the visiting Braves taking the opener, 7-5, and Willows prevailing in the five-inning second game, 5-2.
Each team was short on pitching due to the sheer number of games being played at this point in the season. The teams squared off in Corning on Thursday, and Westside hosted a pair of extra-inning contests with the Redding Sidewinders on Saturday night.
Westside and Willows are slated to compete in the Shasta Lake Bass Fourth of July Tournament this week as well.
Westside 7, Willows 5
Clark Love and Ryan Welsh each had three hits, but Willows couldn’t ward off Westside after leading early in the game, falling 7-5.
Willows starter Justin Ehorn pitched five solid innings but ran into trouble in the fourth and fifth innings.
In the fourth, Westside’s Daniel Mahutga was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on Ethan Schmeltzer’s double. Pinch-hitter Casey Cleland, who had been sidelined with a twisted ankle, blooped a two-run single into shallow left, giving the Braves a 3-2 advantage.
Welsh singled and scored on an error to knot the game, but Westside jumped ahead for good with a three-run fifth.
Trevor Rau led off with a base hit, Austin Arbogast bunted up the first-base line for a sacrifice, Rau stole third and Tanner Johnson knocked home the go-ahead run with an infield single.
After a walk to Mahutga and a Schmeltzer single, two Willows errors tacked on a pair of insurance runs for Westside.
Willows refused to go quietly, however, mounting late-inning rallies to end with the potential tying run on first base.
Love, Ehorn, Drake Mateson and Forrest Bateman all singled in the sixth, slicing Willows’ deficit to 7-4, but Westside’s home-to-first double play with the bases loaded prevented further damage.
But Sebastian Manhke reawakened Willows’ offense in the bottom of the seventh with a triple to left, just past the diving attempt of Rau. Love connected for a RBI single and Welsh also singled to represent the equalizer.
Arbogast induced a fielder’s choice to quell the threat, netting his first save of the summer, and Rau hurled three innings of shutout relief for the victory.
Westside starter Daniel Mahutga pitched into the third inning. Rau worked out of Mahutga’s bases-loaded, no-out jam with a three-pitch strikeout and line-drive double play, with first baseman Tyler McIntyre snagging the ball and stepping on his bag for the second out.
Willows 5, Westside 2
With both teams visibly wilting under the blistering sun, Willows persevered, 5-2, in the five-inning second game.
Manhke pitched a one-hit complete game for Willows, with three walks, a hit batter and two strikeouts.
Sam Amaro was 2-for-2 with a run scored, dropping a two-run single in the third inning. Love, Joe Perry, Seth Fleming and Kyle Wycoff also crossed the plate for Willows.
Schmeltzer recorded Westside’s only hit, and Johnson and MacLachlan walked and scored their runs. Johnson and MacLachlan shared the mound duties with two innings apiece.
The Braves (13-16) were scheduled to play Chico Suns Blue at Hooker Oak Park on Tuesday while Willows was set to take on Chico Suns Red.
