By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
In the penultimate week of the regular season, the Seaman Viking baseball team hosted the Spring Hill Broncos Tuesday in its only game for the week. After jumping out to a 5-1 lead over the first three innings, the Vikings were unable to hold on and lost to the Broncos, 7-5.
Seaman jumped out to a 3-0 advantage after the first inning.
Spring Hill sophomore starting pitcher Will Pepper retired the first two batters in the inning, but Seaman junior designated hitter Axton Brewer reached on a fielding error. After a hit-by-pitch, sophomore Michael Dobbs had an RBI single which was followed by a two-run double by junior Bryson Fehr.
Spring Hill responded in the second inning with a run from a single by junior Cooper Eckert, which scored freshman Riley McEvoy, who had a two-out double.
With a 3-1 lead, the Vikings scored single runs in the bottom of the second and third innings. Senior Cooper Hayes had the RBI in the second inning thanks to a single which scored junior Jack Becker. The run in the third inning came on a fielder’s choice RBI by Becker, scoring Fehr to give the Vikings a 5-1 lead.
The starting pitcher for Seaman, senior Cale Rosenberger, had only given up four hits and one run through the first three frames, but Spring Hill matched their hit total in scoring three runs in the top of the fourth.
Three of the first four Broncos reached base with two singles and a double, who all scored, cutting the Viking lead to 5-4.
The Vikings maintained that lead as Spring Hill came to the plate for their final at-bat in the seventh. Michael Dobbs relieved Rosenberger to begin the seventh inning.
Following a leadoff single by senior Benny Ragan, he advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Dobbs recorded a strikeout, senior Hunter Hall hit a game-tying single up the middle to make it 5-5.
Pepper worked a walk, putting runners at first and second with still only one out. As Dobbs was pitching to senior Max Meade, he balked the Spring Hill base runners to second and third. With the infield drawn in, Dobbs was able to get the second out of the inning with a strikeout.
Bronco senior Jordan Miller was able to put the ball in play with a ground ball and both runs scored on a throwing error, giving Spring Hill a 7-5 lead.
The Vikings were set down in order in the bottom of the seventh by the winning pitcher, freshman Blace Rodina, who gave up one hit along with two strikeouts over the final two innings.
Spring Hill moved to 12-7 on the season with a 7-5 victory. Seaman fell to 11-11 for the year.
Seaman coach Steve Bushnell discussed the tough loss along with the good start by Rosenberger.
“It was a tough way to end it,'' Bushnell said. "I thought we did enough early in the first inning, getting those three runs. Cale was outstanding in giving up four runs over six innings, but there were a couple there in the three-run fourth inning that we could have kept off the board.
“That’s kind of where we’ve been throughout the course of the year. We’ve had some one and two-run games where we haven’t been able to get the hidden outs (not because of errors, plays you don’t make, or things that don’t go your way). Tonight, we struggled with having runners at third with less than two outs and being unable to push the run across.”
In preparation for the final two games of the regular season, Bushnell looked ahead.
“We’re just trying to get back-to-back (victories). It doesn’t get any easier. (Shawnee) Heights is going to be a handful with how they’ve been playing and the arms they have. It will be the last time for our eleven seniors to play here at John Lewis Field, so we would like to defend the home field.
"It’s hard not to get back on the field this week, but we’ll have to wait until next Tuesday with Heights.”
The Vikings will host the T-Birds on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before the T-Birds host the season finale for both schools on Thursday.
SPRING HILL 7, SEAMAN 5
Spring Hill (12-7) 010 300 3 — 7 11 2
Seaman (11-11) 311 000 x — 5 7 2
Pepper, Vanhouten (4), Rodina (6) and Hall. Cale Rosenberger, Dobbs (7) and Sextro. W — Rodina. L — Dobbs. 2B — Spring Hill : McEvoy 2. Seaman: Fehr, Brewer.
