Brock Netter, Staff Writer
CIRCLEVILLE — Even while the summer is still very young, Chillicothe Post 757 has endured a slow start.
But the Colts are now beginning to find their footing after a 1-3 start.
757 (3-3) relied on the pitching of Cole Ratcliff and Sam Walsh to get the job done Tuesday evening as the pitching duo rewarded their team by giving up just three hits in a 6-1 win over Circleville Post 134.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
“Both guys are really good competitors and work very well off one another,” Post 757 coach Tom Barr said. “Our pitching has come along really nicely and it’ll only get better. Now we just need to stringing along some more hits to help the guys on the bump out.”
Ratcliff started the day on the mound and relied on his defense to back him up. He was solid through three innings before finding himself hitting a bump in the road in the bottom of the fourth.
After striking out the leadoff batter, he walked the next two hitters in what could’ve been a dooming inning. But he regrouped himself and retired the next two batters to end the frame.
“Cole is a very crafty pitcher who has excellent control of his stuff,” Barr said. “He throws like four different pitches and hits his spots pretty well.”
That paved the way for Walsh, who had no trouble shutting down 134’s offense. Although Walsh said he hadn’t pitched for a couple weeks, there weren’t any signs of rust.
He zipped through what was left of the Panthers’ lineup, not allowing a hit in three innings while sealing the win and striking out four batters in the process.
“My changeup was working really well for me,” Walsh said. “I was able to just zone out and focus on the catcher’s mitt the whole time. 134 has beaten us the past couple years, so this is a great team win.”
Caleb Foglesong got 757’s scoring started with an RBI single for a 1-0 lead before 134 tied things up with a sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the second.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
The 1-1 tie stayed intact until the top of the sixth when the Colts finally strung multiple hits together.
With the bases loaded, Kody Haubeil grounded out to first base to drive a run across the plate before back-to-back RBI singles from Chad Ison and Cody Brightman pushed the lead to 4-1.
The Colts added the final two runs in the top of the seventh as Ryan Burns scored on a throw to second before Walsh stole third and scored off a throwing error.
At the plate, Harley Patterson was 2-for-3 for 757 while Frazier was 2-for-4. Foglesong was 1-for-2 with an RBI, Josiah Richendollar was 1-for-3 with a run, Ison was 1-for-1 with an RBI, and Haubeil was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
“We didn’t hit very well and took too many pitches, but we got hits when we needed them,” Barr said. “Our defense was great and Sam Frazier made a ton of really good plays. We still have to work on our base-running because it wasn’t pretty tonight. But it’ll improve with time.”
The Colts are back in action on Thursday as they travel to Centerburg High School for legion action.