Pitching Falters Late in Clarendon Losses

After the Seward County Saints top three pitchers have taken the mound this season, there have been some nervous moments for fans of the green and white. That was no different on Wednesday as Seward battled Clarendon in a non-conference doubleheader in the Lone Star State as using eight different pitchers, in somewhat of a tryout for Jayhawk West pitching time, the Saints had late leads in both ends of the twinbill before eventually watching their bullpen implode in 4-3 and 8-5 losses to the Bulldogs to drop Seward to 10-15 on the year.

Seward fell behind right off the bat in game one of the doubleheader as Clarendon scored three times in the 1^st inning on three consecutive hits to take a 3-0 advantage.

The Saints offense was quiet until the 4^th when Dillon Drury tripled to start the inning and Chad Kennedy singled him home to make it a 3-1 game. Later in the inning Kennedy himself would score on a groundout from Nic Ricigliano to cut the Bulldog lead to one at 3-2.

Seward middle relievers Trent Mulherin and Grant Glaze kept the Saints in the game, each tossing two scoreless innings to keep it a one run game.

In the 6^th the Saints offense took advantage of a Clarendon error to start the inning, getting singles from Drury and Josh Nicol to score an unearned run to tie the game at 3.

The Saints took their first lead of the game in the 7^th as Jared Ledbetter doubled to start the inning and Logan Nethercot singled him home with one out to put them in front 4-3.

The lead however would be short lived for Seward as Clarendon hammered back to back doubles to tie the game in their final at bats in the bottom of the 7^th to tie the score at 4-4 and with two outs in the inning smacked another two bagger to beat the Saints in walkoff fashion 5-4.

Seward had 7 hits in the loss, getting a 2 hit day from Drury in the middle of the lineup. Nate Sylvester was tagged with the loss on the mound for the Saints as he was unable to finish Clarendon off in the 7^th, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs in 2/3 inning of work, dropping to 0-2 on the year.

SEWARD COUNTY/CLARENDON GAME ONE BOX SCORE

In game two of the doubleheader it was Seward jumping ahead early on as Kennedy doubled to start the 2^nd inning and scored on an RBI single from Nicol to give the Saints a 1-0 lead

Clarendon fought back in the bottom half of the frame, scoring twice with two outs on a bases loaded bean ball and a bases loaded walk to go ahead 2-1.

In the 3^rd, Seward used a Clarendon error to extend their half of the inning and took full advantage, getting a double from Kennedy to score a pair and a single from Ledbetter to put them back up 4-2.

Looking to add to their lead, the Saints loaded the bases with two outs in the 4^th, but the middle of their order was unable to come through and they left the sacks packed, but still led 4-2.

The Saints gifted Clarendon a pair of runs in the 5^th to tie the game as they walked the leadoff man to start the inning and allowed him to score on a passed ball behind the plate before a groundout pushed another run home to make it a 4-4 game.

A Bulldog home run from their nine hole hitter in the 6^th gave Clarendon a 5-4 lead and the Dogs would add three more runs in the inning after back to back walks and three straight singles to go in front 8-4.

The Saints made some noise as they tried for a comeback bid in their final at bats, loading the bases with nobody out, but they were only able to push across one run and left the tying run at the plate with two on as they fell 8-5.

Seward had 10 hits in the loss, getting 3 at the top of the lineup from shortstop Alex White and a 2 for 3 game with 2 doubles and 2 RBI’s from Kennedy in the five hole. Throwing in his first game of the year, Rowdy Sheets took the loss on the hill for the Saints, getting just one out before allowing 3 earned runs to fall to 0-1 on the year.

SEWARD COUNTY/CLARENDON GAME TWO BOX SCORE

Seward falls to 10-15 on the year after the losses while Clarendon improves to 10-16. The Saints will jump back into Jayhawk West action this weekend at Stanion Field in Pratt as they battle the Beavers in a four game set Saturday and Sunday, both days beginning at 1:00 on 1270 and kscbnews.net.