Home Sports Gehlen Catholic Baseball Snaps Akron-Westfield’s Winning Streak with Early Offense

Gehlen Catholic Baseball Snaps Akron-Westfield’s Winning Streak with Early Offense

The eighth-ranked Gehlen Catholic baseball team snapped Akron-Westfield’s four-game winning streak on Wednesday night with an 8-5 win in Akron.

Gehlen Catholic wasted no time in getting into a lead and growing that lead when they scored five runs in the second inning and three runs in the third inning. Gehlen Catholic head coach Loi Kraft says the Jays have stressed the importance of aggressiveness in their approach at the plate.

The bottom of the order came through in a big way in those innings with Carter Kellen and Jaxten Kramer scoring two runs each and Cole McCarty driving in two runs. Coach Kraft says those guys benefit from people overlooking them at the bottom of the order.

That 8-0 lead the Jays had heading to the bottom of the third did not mean the Westerners were just going to lie down and take the loss. Akron-Westfield came out with two runs in the bottom of the frame and then a run in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. Akron-Westfield head coach Gordon Johnson says it was nice to see the guys stay strong against tough competition.

The Westerners were able to keep the Jays at bay for the rest of the game thanks to some relief pitching from Hayden Wahlberg and Conner Wendel. Coach Johnson says they battled and ate up some crucial outs.

The Jays had plenty of scoring opportunities against those two relievers but failed to capitalize. Coach Kraft says the guys remained composed while the Westerners were chipping away.

The win for Gehlen Catholic snaps Akron-Westfield’s four-game winning streak and sends their record to 4-2. The Westerners waste no time getting back into the fire taking on top-ranked Remsen St. Mary’s on Friday. After some miscues in the field on defense, Coach Johnson wants to see his guys warm up with some extra intensity on Friday.

Meanwhile, Gehlen Catholic improved to 2-0 on the season with the win. The Jays also had a rough night in the field recording four errors unofficially. Coach Kraft says the guys just need to work on their fundamentals and make the easy plays.

Gehlen Catholic finishes their three games in three days stretch with a matchup against Storm Lake at home.