Irish Seniors Split Games

oneill-irish-bseball
oneill-irish-bseball

The O’Neill Pinnacle Bank Irish Seniors split games on Thurday and Friday with PWG and Albion.  On Thursday, the Irish fell to PWG (Palmer-Wolbach-Greeley) 8-3 and on Friday the Irish downed Albion 9-1.  On Thursday the game was a back and forth affair early in the game as PWG scored two in the 1st and one in the 2nd, but the Irish answered back each time to tie it at 3-3 going into the 3rd.  PWG plated two more in the 3rd and 5th and the Irish left some runners stranded on the bases.  Austin Hilker threw well for the Irish through five innings, but got the tough-luck loss.  A few defensive mistakes cost the Irish some runs, as Hilker was able to get the first two outs in three of the four innings that PWG scored runs.  The Irish offense was led by Josh Cuddy and Devin Jurgensmeier with two hits each.  Devin Jurgensmeier came in and threw the final two innings of quality relief and gave up only one run.

 

On Friday, the Irish traveled to Albion to attempt to avenge an earlier season defeat.  Justin Appleby took the mound for the Irish and controlled the game throughout as the Irish won 9-1.  Appleby had a one-hitter going into the 6th inning before Albion was able to tally one run in the 6th.  The Irish defense contributed a nice 1-2-3 double play in the 4th to get out of a jam.  The Irish bats exploded for five runs in the 2nd inning to break the game open.  Big hits from Cuddy, Tate Schmaderer, Jurgensmeier, and Austin Hilker in the 2, 3, 4, and 5 spots in the lineup sparked the rally.  Justin Appleby helped his own cause on the mound with two hits including a two-RBI single in the 6th.  Schmaderer, Jurgensmeier, and Appleby each had two hits on the night.

 

“PWG is a good team that has gotten the better of us two times, but we responded well against Albion on Friday night.  Justin had a good start on the mound changing speeds, using all of his pitches and competing on the bump.  I would also like to acknowledge the great job Nic Haburchak does behind the plate.  Nic is smart, tough, and handles our pitching staff real well.  We need to help him out on the mound by holding runners closer and Nic will start throwing some runners out here down the stretch.”