Waverly at Fowler – – First Game Baseball Doubleheader – – The Bleacher Denizen – – May 14, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft

Today, it’s been rainy, but the weather has cleared up, although it’s still a bit cold. The Waverly Warriors will face the Fowler Eagles in a baseball doubleheader. I was able to meet and greet the coaches from each team and they presented me with the starting lineups. Here they are.

Waverly is the visiting team and will bat first.

WAVERLY

Gunner Pappas p

Trey Combs 2b

Jackson Gomez ss

Iggy Arroyo 3b

Jackson DeLong cf

Aian Sanders dh

Carter Owens lf

Jared Londo 1b

Rene Gomez rf

Dom Stone will catch, but will not bat.

FOWLER

MaClain Smith lf

Carter Lance cf

Sam Vanneste p

Adyn O’Rourke 1b

Mitchell Wirth 2b

Conner Katich c

Noah Schafer ss

Hudson Schlak 3b

Jon Ruiz rf

It is now time to review the game through the perspective of a Bleacher Denizen who had a less than inspiring baseball career. It took too much time for the Bleacher Denizen to learn that the only time the umpires don’t call strikes is when you swing the bat and it magically collides with a baseball.

Fowler Pitcher Sam Vanneste retired the three Warrior first inning hitters on a fly to left field, a grounder to shortstop and a grounder to second base.

Waverly Pitcher Gunner Pappas retired the first two Eagle batters in the bottom of the first inning on a line drive where third baseman Iggy Arroyo made an outstanding grab and a grounder to second base. Sam Vanneste doubled into the right field corner. Gunner Pappas struck out the next Fowler hitter to end the inning.

Iggy Arroyo singled to center field to lead off the top of the second inning for Waverly and stole second base. Sam Vanneste retired the next three Warrior batters on a strikeout, a grounder to second base where Mitchell Wirth made a fine diving stop before throwing the runner out and a fly to the shortstop.

Gunner Pappas retired the three Fowler hitters in the bottom of the second inning on a strikeout, a groundout to second base and a fly to center field.

Sam Vanneste retired the three Waverly batters in the top of the third inning on a fly to left field that sent MaClain Smith back near the fence, another fly to left field and a fly to center field where Carter Lance made a fine running catch.

Hudson Schlak lined a singled to left field to lead off the bottom of the third inning for Fowler. Hudson Schlak advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Jon Ruiz and took third base on a groundout to the shortstop by MaClain Smith.

Carter Lance was hit by a pitch. Sam Vanneste was intentionally walked (after going to a 3-0 count) to load the bases. Adyn O’Rourke blasted a grand slam over the center field fence; Hudson Schlak, Carter Lance and Sam Vanneste all scored ahead of him.

Mitchell Wirth beat out an infield single and reached second base on a balk. Gunner Pappas struck out the next Fowler hitter to end the inning.

Fowler scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 4-0 lead.

Sam Vanneste retired the Waverly leadoff batter in the top of the fourth inning on a fly to right field. Jackson Gomez was safe at first base on an error. Jackson Gomez was out at second and Iggy Arroyo safe at first on a fielder’s choice grounder to second base. Jackson DeLong was hit by a pitch and Iggy Arroyo advanced to second base. Aian Sanders hit a single to left field to drive Iggy Arroyo home as Jackson DeLong advanced to second base.

Adyn O’Rourke came in to pitch and Sam Vanneste took over at first base.

Carter Owens singled to left field to drive in Jackson DeLong and Aian Sanders went to second base. Adyn O’Rourke struck out the next Warrior hitter to end the inning.

Waverly scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning to trim the Fowler lead to 4-2.

Gunner Pappas retired the three Fowler fourth inning hitters on a grounder to shortstop, a fly to left field where Carter Owens made a great running catch and a grounder to third base.

Adyn O’Rourke retired the three Waverly batters in the top of the fifth inning on a popup to shortstop, a fly to center field and a grounder to the pitcher.

MaClain Smith was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning for Fowler. Carter Lance hit a bunt single and MaClain Smith advanced to second base. MaClain Smith and Carter Lance executed a double steal that put MaClain Smith on third base and Carter Lance on second base. Gunner Pappas retired the next Fowler hitter on a fly to center field. Adyn O’Rourke hit a fly to deep center field for the second out. Warrior Center Fielder Jackson DeLong made an excellent throw to third base to double the runner off and end the inning.

With five full innings in the books, Fowler continued to hold a 4-2 lead.

Adyn O’Rourke retired the three Waverly batters in the top of the sixth inning on fly balls to left fielder MaClain Smith, who made a nice running catch on the third out.

Mitchell Wirth singled up the middle to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning for Fowler and went to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Conner Katich. Mitchell Wirth briefly held at second base when Noah Schafer was safe on an error. When Waverly overthrew the ball to first base, Mitchell Wirth raced all the way home to score and Noah Schafer advanced to second base. Gunner Pappas struck out the next two Eagle batters to end the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth inning Fowler scored one run to stretch its lead to 5-2.

Aian Sanders singled down the third inning to lead off the top of the seventh inning for Waverly. Kaleb Farr came in to pinch run for Aian Sanders. The next Warrior hitter was out on a fly to center field. Kaleb Farr was out at second base and Jared Londo safe at first base on a fielder’s choice grounder to third base. Rene Gomez singled to right field and Jared Londo took second base. Gunner Pappas singled to left field to drive Jared Londo home as Rene Gomez advanced to second base.

Noah Schafer came in to pitch for Fowler and Sam Vanneste went to shortstop; Adyn O’Rourke moved back to first base.

Trey Combs beat out an infield single. Rene Gomez advanced to third base and Gunner Pappas to second base. Jackson Gomez singled to drive in Rene Gomez and Gunner Pappas with the tying runs. Trey Combs advanced to third base and Jackson Gomez to second base on the throw home. Trey Combs scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch and Jackson Gomez advanced to third base. Noah Schafer retired the next batter on a fly to left field to end the inning.

Waverly scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 6-5 lead.

Iggy Arroyo went in to pitch for Waverly and Gunner Pappas moved to third base.

Iggy Arroyo struck out the Fowler leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning. Carter Lance was hit by a pitch. Carter Lance stole second base and took third base on a wild pitch. Iggy Arroyo struck out the final two Eagle hitters to end the game.

Waverly came back in the top of the seventh inning to win this game by the score of 6-5.

Adyn O’Rourke had a grand slam home run and four RBI for Fowler. Sam Vanneste had a double. Carter Lance, Mitchell Wirth and Hudson Schlak had a single.

Sam Vanneste pitch three and two thirds innings. He gave up two runs and two hits while striking out one batter. Adyn O’Rourke pitched three innings. He game up four runs and four hits while striking out three batters. Noah Schafer pitched one third of an inning and gave up two hits.

Jackson Gomez had two singles and two RBI for Waverly. Aian Sanders had two singles and one RBI. Gunner Pappas and Carter Owens each had one single and one RBI. Trey Combs and Rene Gomez each had a single.

Gunner Pappas pitched six innings for Waverly. He gave up five runs and five hits while striking out four batters. Iggy Arroyo pitched the final inning and struck out three batters. (One of these was crucial because Fowler had a runner at third base with one out.)

Here is the play by play of Game Two. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/05/15/waverly-at-fowler-second-game-of-baseball-doubleheader-the-bleacher-denizen-may-14-2024-by-chuck-krafft/