The Hinton baseball team kept their unbeaten War Eagle Conference record in tact with a walk-off 1-0 win over Gehlen Catholic in Hinton on Monday night.
The Blackhawks and Jays have played some great competitive ballgames over the years. Hinton head coach Cale Kramer says this was another one of those classics in the rivalry.
Both pitching staffs pitched incredibly well. Even for Gehlen Catholic starter Easton Spangler, who ended up with a loss, he only allowed one run while striking out seven. Gehlen head coach TJ Britton says he was disappointed that they could not win a game with Spangler giving them every chance to win.
Hinton utilized two pitchers to win with Logan Kempema allowing just one hit over four innings and Karver DeGroot allowing one hit over his three innings. Coach Kramer says they both were very effective in what they brought to the table.
Kempema and DeGroot totaled 11 strikeouts between the two of them which kept the Gehlen hitters from doing what they wanted to do. Coach Britton says that is way too many strikeouts for his team to win a game.
After six-and-a-half scoreless innings, Hinton put two runners on with two outs in the inning. Brady Dunkel came up to bat and recorded a base hit to drive in Julian Small to win the game. It was Dunkel’s third hit of the game, and he says he was in a good groove in the batter’s box.
Dunkel says his approach was basic, and he was happy to get the job done in spite of his nerves.
Dunkel is just a sophomore for the Blackhawks, but he has proven he belongs early after being a first team All-State selection last year. Coach Kramer says Dunkel is a very calm batter which helps him in big spots.
Gehlen Catholic took their first loss in the War Eagle Conference this season falling to 8-1 in the league and 17-6 overall. Coach Britton says the guys have to have short memories after losing three in a row since the Jays play again the next day.
The Blackhawks continue to have an inside track toward winning the War Eagle Conference championship improving to 8-0 in the conference and 15-3 overall. With another set of tough games this week, Coach Kramer wants the guys to keep getting better in hopes of achieving that goal.
Hinton is next in action on Wednesday with a home matchup against Akron-Westfield before meeting fellow WEC unbeaten Remsen St. Mary’s on Friday in Remsen. Gehlen Catholic will look to bounce back right away at home on Tuesday against Newell-Fonda.
