BEAVERCREEK — After battling to a second-place finish in a 15U tournament earlier in the week, coach Rick Carver’s Beavercreek Sox 14U youth baseball team enjoyed playing a foe its own age for a change on Tuesday, June 20.
The Sox run-ruled the visiting Lebanon Warriors, 11-1, in 5 innings at Rotary Park.
The team has been busy.
In the past eight days, the Sox have played nine games. Counting it’s three-game runner-up performance on the final day of the Stone Quarry Slugfest in Vandalia, Beavercreek has now won three of its last four games for a 13-9-1 overall record. The Sox are now 5-3-1 in the 14U Midwest Ohio Baseball League.
Carver said he saw signs of his team finally starting to gel together, after Tuesday’s win.
“They played complete fundamental baseball,” he said. “We’ve got a good pitching staff and we’re getting more aggressive at the plate. That’s one thing we’re trying to teach. Sometimes we’ll get two strikes and we’ll look at the third one.
“I like the way they ran the bases tonight. We’ve been talking about getting good leads, and I think you saw that tonight.”
Carver said the core of the team has been together for roughly five years now, ever since they played together in 9U leagues.
“That’s the encouraging part, just watching them come together and play like a solid baseball team,” Carver said.
Beavercreek’s Mason Snow was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, two singles an RBI and two runs scored. Jamison Anderson went 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored, Drew Strehle went 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and a run scored.
All but one batter in the Sox’ lineup reached base either by base hit, walk or getting hit with a pitch. Anthony Johnson ended the game by getting plunked with a pitch in the fifth inning to score Wade Reynolds with the 11th an final run.
Sox starting pitcher Drew Yeary scattered seven Lebanon hits while striking out four Warrior batters and walking two to record the win. Lebanon scored its lone run on a two-out single in the third inning.
Beavercreek has a few days to rest before heading to Kettering’s State Farm Park to take on the Dayton Classics for an 8:15 p.m. game.