Holt at DeWitt – – First Game – – Baseball Doubleheader – – The Bleacher Denizen – – May 9, 2022 – – by Chuck Krafft

In my video of “Red River Valley” on my “Chuck Krafft” You Tube Channel, I let the world know that you never know where the Red River Valley will lead you. Unfortunately, the Red River Valley does not lead to DeWitt High School. Here is the video in case you need to verify my statement (or if you like piano.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03AhhNk1M8

Fortunately for the Bleacher Denizen as well as for the DeWitt and Holt baseball teams, Herbison Road DOES lead to DeWitt High School, so I’ll be able to blog this game between two schools with a long history of strong baseball teams. Here are the starting lineups. The Holt Rams are the visiting team and will bat first. The DeWitt Panthers are the home team and will bat last.

HOLT:

Evan Mendoza cf

Ayden VanEnkevort p

Matthew Barger ss

Logan Wilder 1b

Trevor Yemc rf

Eddie McDonald 3b

Owen Webster lf

Connor Seagren c

Alec Stout 2b

DEWITT:

Trent Brandell cf

Brandon Beckner p

A.J. Alicea ss

Ohlen Bond rf

Bryce Debri c

Dayton Zink dh

Bo Donaldson lf

Sean Page 3b

Nick Weiss 1b

Ryan McKinney will play second base, but will not bat.

It is now time to reveal the results of this game through the somewhat clear prism of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who will always fondly remember the only fair ball he ever hit in Little League. (It really DID happen!)

DeWitt Pitcher Brandon Beckner struck out the Holt leadoff batter in the top of the first inning. Ayden VanEnkevort beat out an infield single, but injured his ankle as he crossed first base. (This also means that he will not be able to pitch.) Logan Manzo came in to run for Ayden VanEnkevort. Brandon Beckner retired the next two Ram batters on a grounder to second base and a soft liner to the shortstop.

Matthew Barger took the mound to pitch for Holt. Eddie McDonald moved to shortstop and Logan Monzo took over at third base.

DeWitt Leadoff Batter Trent Brandell pounded a home run over the right field fence to lead off the game for the Panthers. Matthew Barger retired the next Panther hitter on a fly to centerfield. A.J. Alicea was safe at second base on an error. Ohlen Bond beat out an infield single as A.J. Alicea took third base. Bryce Debri belted a three run homer to drive in A.J. Alicea and Ohlen Bond. Matthew Barger struck out the next batter and got the third out on a one hopper that bounced off the mound to second baseman Alec Stout who handled the odd hop and threw the batter out at first base.

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

Trevor Yemc drew a walk to lead off the top of the second inning for Holt. Trevor Yemc was out at second base and Eddie McDonald was safe at first on a fielder’s choice grounder to third base. Owen Webster walked and Eddie McDonald moved to second base. Connor Seagren singled up the middle to drive Eddie McDonald home. Owen Webster advanced to third base and Connor Seagren to second base on the throw home. Alec Stout singled up the middle to drive in Owen Webster. Connor Seagren advanced to third base on the play.

Evan Mendoza walked to load the bases. Connor Seagren scored and Alec Stout went all the way to third base on a wild pitch. Evan Mendoza was hit by a pitch and stole second base. Logan Monzo walked to load the bases. Brandon Beckner struck out the next batter. Logan Wilder singled to right field to drive in Alec Stout and Evan Mendoza. Logan Monzo advanced to second base. Brandon Buckner got the third Ram out on a fielder’s choice grounder to the shortstop.

Holt scored five runs in the top of the third inning to take a 5-4 lead.

Matthew Barger retired the Panther leadoff batter in the bottom of the third inning on a grounder to shortstop. Nick Weiss drew a walk. Matthew Barger retired the next two DeWitt batters on a popup to second base and a fly to centerfield to end the inning.

Brandon Beckner retired the Holt third inning leadoff batter on a foul popup to the catcher. Owen Webster doubled to centerfield. Brandon Beckner retired the next two Ram batters on grounders to the mound.

Matthew Barger retired the DeWitt leadoff batter on a grounder to the shortstop. Ohlen Bond was hit by a pitch.

Logan Monzo came in to pitch for Holt. Eddie McDonald moved back to third base and Matthew Barger went to shortstop.

Ohlen Bond went to second base on a passed ball. Logan Monzo retired the next batter on a fly to left field. Holt Second Baseman Alec Stout made a final play going back and fighting off the sun to catch a popup for the third out.

After three innings, the Holt lead was still at 5-4.

Brandon Beckner retired the first two Ram batters in the fourth inning on a fly to right field and a grounder to the shortstop. Matthew Barger doubled and stole third base. Logan Wilder walked. Brandon Beckner struck out the next batter to end the inning.

Bo Donaldson was hit by a pitch to open the top of the fourth inning for DeWitt. Bo Donaldson advanced to second base on a bunt single by Sean Page. When a throwing error was made on the play, Bo Donaldson moved to third base and Sean Page took second base. Bo Donaldson scored and Sean Page moved to third base when Nick Weiss was safe at first on an error. Nick Weiss stole second base.

Trent Brandell was intentionally walked to load the bases. Brandon Beckner singled to drive in Sean Page and Nick Weiss. Trent Brandell advanced to third base. Brandon Beckner stole second base. A.J. Alicea hit a fielder’s choice grounder; everyone was safe on the play. Trent Brandell scored and Brandon Beckner advanced to third base. Ohlen Bond belted a three run homer to drive in Brandon Beckner and A.J. Alicea.

Bryce Debri singled past the third baseman and stole second base. Ryder Thompson came in to pinch run for Bryce Debri. Dayton Zink doubled on a high popup to right field. Because Ryder Thompson had to hold to see if the ball would be caught, he only advanced to third base.

Bo Donaldson hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Ryder Thompson. Holt Left Fielder Owen Webster got the ball back into the infield quickly; Third Baseman Eddie McDonald alertly threw the ball to Shortstop Matthew Barger who was able to tag the runner out to complete a double play. Holt Pitcher Logan Monzo retired the next batter on a grounder to third base to end the inning. .

DeWitt scored eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 12-5 lead.

DeWitt Pitcher Brandon Beckner retired the Holt fifth inning leadoff batter on a fly to centerfield. DeWitt Centerfielder Trent Brandell made a valiant diving effort, but just missed the catch and Owen Webster had a single. The next batter grounded to the shortstop; because the umpire ruled that the runner interfered with the defense at second base, he called a double play to end the Ram inning.

Evan Mendoza came in to pitch for Holt.

Evan Mendoza retired the first two Panther fifth inning hitters on flies to centerfield. Brandon Beckner singled to right field. The next Panther batter was out on a fly to centerfield to end the inning.

After five innings, DeWitt’s lead remained at 12-5.

Evan Rothwell came in to pitch for DeWitt.

Alec Stout drew a leadoff walk for Holt in the top of the sixth inning. Evan Mendoza doubled to center field and Alec Stout moved up to third base. Evan Rothwell retired the next three batters on a foul popup to first base, a strikeout and a grounder to second base to end the inning before Holt could score.

Ohlen Bond walked to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning for DeWitt. Holt Pitcher Evan Mendoza retired the next three batters on a fly to left field, a fly to right field and a strikeout.

Trevor Yemc singled up the middle to lead off the seventh inning for Holt. Trevor Yemc stole second base and went to third base on a passed ball. Evan Rothwell retired the next batter on a fly to left field. Evan Rothwell struck out the next batter; when the third strike was missed, the catcher threw the batter out at first base as Trevor Yemc scored on the play. Evan Rothwell retired the next batter on a fly to centerfield to end the game.

DeWitt won the first game of this doubleheader by a 12-5 score.

Owen Webster had a double and a single for Holt. Evan Mendoza and Matthew Barger each had a double. Logan Wilder had a single and two RBI. Connor Seagren and Alec Stout each had a single and one RBI. Trevor Yemc and Ayden VanEnkevort each had a single.

Bryce Debri had a home run, a single and three RBI for DeWitt. Ohlen Bond had a home run and three RBI. Trent Brandell had a home run and one RBI. Brandon Beckner had two singles and two RBI. Dayton Zink had a double. Sean Page had a single. A.J. Alicea and Bo Donaldson each had an RBI.

I would also like to comment DeWitt student Reid Inglis, who announced the game and showed complete confidence as he did an excellent job calling the game!
Here is the play by play of the second game of this doubleheader!!

https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2022/05/10/holt-at-dewitt-second-game-baseball-doubleheader-the-bleacher-denizen-may-9-2022-by-chuck-krafft/