By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
BRADFORD, PA – In a day that saw more errors than hits, the Bradford baseball team fell to Punxsutawney, 8-2, as their losing streak grew to four.
Self-inflicted wounds would show up for the Owls early on. After earning the first out of the day on a caught pop fly, Bradford would allow the next Chuck on base after mishandling a routine grounder. Getting another fly out one batter later, the Owls would find another error, this time in the outfield, let Punxsy tack on the first run of the day. Although Bradford would stop the initial bleeding with Talan Reese’s first strikeout of the day, the pain didn’t stop there.
Facing Punxsy’s Coy Martino, who can be counted on to reach near 90 miles per hour, the Owls would be dispatched in just three batters, two of which were Ks. Stepping into the batters’ box, Punxsy would get one on base off a walk. Stealing second, the base runner would ultimately round home plate after a dropped third strike and subsequent error. Striking out two of the next three batters, Bradford looked to once again tie on a tourniquet. However, they would stumble one last time.
Facing two men on base, a missed catch at first would not only give up a single, but also Punxsy’s third run of the day, all of which were scored on errors.
“We didn’t come ready to play. We were very lackadaisical, very lethargic when we got here and the kids just didn’t come ready to play,” said Bradford head coach Eric Haynoski. “It’s obvious they just weren’t locked in and we need to do a better job. This isn’t Bradford baseball and this isn’t how we play.”
Braford would get their first hit of the day in their second appearance at the plate. Tarren Reese would single before eventually making his way to second off a wild pitch, but would be left stranded after successive strikeouts. However, in the top of the third, the Owls would shut out Punxsy before finally mustering some momentum at the plate.
After cracking a single, Ben Woodhouse would scramble all the way to third on an overthrow. The Owls would then suffer back-to-back strikeouts before both AJ Lama and Maxsim Demic would load the bases on back-to-back walks. Bradford would finally get on the scoreboard after a routine throw back to the mound went haywire, giving Woodshouse a free trip across home plate. Unfortunately for the Owls, they would leave two men on base after a final strikeout.
Talan Reese hurls a pitch during the Owls’ loss to the Chucks on Wednesday. Through four innings on the mound, Reese ended with five strikeouts. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Over the next two frames, Punxsy would tack on two more runs while Bradford slowly warmed up their bats. Leaving two men on in the bottom of the fourth, the Owls would reload in the fifth with singles from Lacas Wallace and Demic. With two outs and runners on first and second, Tarren Reese smacked a lofty single over the second baseman, driving in Wallace for the second run of the day. However, they would once again leave men stranded after ending up on the wrong side of a pickle between first and second.
“I think the kids need to go up to the plate with a better mentality. Early in the count they’re swinging at strikes, they just tighten up later in the counts and are almost lacking a little bit of confidence,” said Haynoski. “I think the more they see pitches, the more they see the ball outside, the better we’ll be.”
After curbing their mistakes in the fourth and fifth frame, the Owls’ would once again shoot themselves in the foot in the sixth.
Facing a Punxsy base runner on second, Bradford mishandled a routine fielding, allowing the Chucks to move their man to third as well as place another on first. Immediately after, a wild pitch brought in Punxsy’s sixth run of the night followed by a single to keep two men on base. Parker Stahlman would crack another single, driving in run No. 7, but a wildly overthrown toss to first brought in a second run, putting the Chucks up 8-2. Although the Owls would turn a double-play at the tail end of the inning, it was not enough to salvage their confidence.
Leftfielder Braylan Austin fields a deep hit during Bradford’s loss to Punxsutawney. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
In the bottom of the sixth, Bradford struck out three times in five batters, all of them while looking, and while they dispatched the Chucks in the seventh without incident, the Owls failed to get anything going, instead suffering the final three outs of the contest in just as many batters.
Tarren Reese would lead the Owls in the box score, finishing with two hits in three appearances and driving in one run. Brody Haviland ended 1-for-3 while Lucas Wallace went 1-for-2 with one run scored. Bradford (2-5) will have one day off before traveling to take on the Warren Dragons on Friday. That game is slated for a 4 p.m. start.
“We’re going to get back at it. We’re going to practice and work hard on defense and working on a better strategy at the plate,” said Haynoski. “We want them to think ‘yes, yes, yes,’ and want them swinging.”
AT BRADFORD
R H E
Punxsutawney 120 113 0 8 7 2
Bradford 001 010 0 2 4 5
PX: Martino (9 SO, 5 BB), Jacobson (5) (4 SO, 1 BB), Burkett (7) (2 SO, 0 BB) and Stahlman
BR: Tal. Reese (5 SO, 4 BB), Demic (5) (3 SO, 0 BB) and Lama
