NUTTER FORT, West Virginia- As the windy weather continued across the mountain state, the Salem Tigers baseball team continued their homestand over the weekend. The Tigers looked to get back on track against the Lock Haven Bald Eagles. Lock Haven was able to win both contests on Saturday. Fortunately, Salem was able to bounce back on Sunday with a couple wins of their own to split the series.
Lock Haven 3, Salem 2
On the first game on Saturday, Sam Schmitt would get the start on the mound for the Tigers. The bats would come out cold to start the chilly afternoon. The game was held scoreless through the first 3 innings. Lock Haven struck first with 2 runs in the top of the 4th inning after a homer.
Salem would come back an inning later to score when Alex Harper hit a rbi single and Aidan McMurdo would score. Moments later, Hunter Rose would knock in the tying run when he singled to left. Jose Lojo would score the run. As the game was tied 2-2, we headed into extras after neither team would score through the 7th inning.
The game was still knotted up as we headed into the 9th. However, the Bald Eagles would hit a sac fly rbi in the top of the 9th to take the 3-2 advantage. In the bottom of the 9th, the Tigers got a runner into scoring position but were unable to take advantage of it. Lock Haven defeated Salem 3-2 in 9 innings.
Lock Haven 3, Salem 2
As the second game got underway, Jackson Thoma got the start at pitche for the Tigers. Unfortunately, things would start out rocky as Lock Haven would knock in 2 runs in the top of the 1st. An inning later, the Bald Eagles would hit a homer to left field extending their lead to 3-0. Fortunately, the Tigers were able to eat into the lead Max Atkinson would hit a sac rbi and Aaron Forbes would score on the play. The scoring calmed down for both teams in the following innings. Lock Haven still held a 3-1 lead as we headed into the last inning.
The Tigers had one last chance to get back in it. After an Alex Harper Walk, he was able to advance to 3rd base after a wild pitch. Joe Wintermut was up at the plate with 1 out and a runner in scoring position. Wintermut would hit groundout, but Alex Harper was able to score. Now with 2 outs, Lock Haven held a 3-2 lead. Unfortunately, the Tigers comeback fell short and were unable to tie things up. Lock Haven secured the 3-2 victory.
Salem 7, Lock Haven 0
As a new day arrived, the Tigers were back in action this time with Otho Savage getting the start. Salem was able to get off to a great start when Reese Rinna hit a sac fly in the top of the 1st where Hunter Rose would score. Moments later, Ryder Costa would make an impressive college debut when he singled through the right side scoring 2 runs.
Luis Angarita and Alex Harper would score on the play. Things held steady with the Tigers maintaining a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 4th, Ryder Costa hit a homer to left field adding to his incredible debut. Aidan McMurdo would score a few plays later off an error by the Bald Eagles. Following the error, Alex Harper would knock in another run when he singled to center field.
The Tigers now held a 6-0 lead, but they still weren’t done scoring. Reese Rinna closed out the bottom of the 4th when he singled, and Hunter Rose would score. As we headed into the 5th, the Tigers held a commanding 7-0 lead. The Tigers were able to keep things under control and close out the game earning their first victory on the weekend. Otho Savage earned his first win on the year as the Tigers won 7-0.
Salem 5, Lock Haven 1
In the final game of the series, Eric Kovach got the start on the mound. The Tigers would come out striking first again when Hunter Rose scored. Ryder Costa knocked through a rbi single leading to Reese Rinna getting the run. Max Atkinson was able to build on the Tigers lead when he hit an rbi single and Luis Angarita would get the score. Lock Haven got the hits going, but left a lot of runners on base. Max Atkinson hit an impressive 2 run homer to left field in the bottom of the 3rd. Luis Angarita would score another run for the Tigers. Salem was now up 5-0 and things looked promising for the Tigers.
The scoring quieted down as no runs were scored in the next 2 innings. Lock Haven would score their first run of the game after an rbi double to right field in the top of the 6th. Salem still held a 5-1 lead as we went into the 7th. Fortunately, the Tigers were able to control the rest of the game to secure the 5-1 victory and Eric Kovach moved to 1-0 on the season.
Following the series split, the Tigers will look to build on the Sunday performance. The Tigers will try to build a winning stretch as they head on the road. Salem’s next contest will come on Wednesday when they head to the eastern panhandle for a match up vs Shepherd.
