Timely Hitting Extends Hornets Streak
Austin Anderson delivers a pitch early in the Hornets thrilling 6-4 win over the Panthers.
The Nashville Hornets baseball team is clicking on all cylinders. The Hornets are now 21-2 on the season, as they have won 21 straight games after dropping their first two games to Rockford Lutheran. The Hornets are using a combination of great pitching, timely hitting, and good fundamentals to put teams away. The timely hitting was on display this week, as the Hornets needed a late score to defeat conference rival, Pinckneyville. The Hornets also picked up a non-conference win over Valmeyer this week, in a game that was added to the schedule, last week.
The Hornets first game of the week, was a blowout win over Valmeyer. The Hornets used a big second inning and took advantage of four Valmeyer errors in the game, to put away the Pirates, 13-0 in five innings. The Hornets rushed out to a two run lead in the first, before breaking the game open with seven runs in the second. Nashville got a great start on the mound from senior Brady Bultman, who pitched all five innings giving up just three hits, striking out five batters. Bultman was very economical, needing just 50 pitches to get through the game.
At the plate, Nashville got production from up and down the lineup. Jaris Dalman led the way with two hits, two runs scored, and two RBIs for the Hornets. Cody Bauza would also add two hits in the game, with a RBI. Brogan Kemp drove in three runs in the game on one hit, while Bultman drove in two runs. Andrew Kash added three hits to go along with two runs scored, and a RBI for Nashville. Cole Pedtke and Cade Krueger each added their first RBI of the season in the win for the Hornets. Nick Krummrich scored four runs in the win, while Ryan Brink scored one run to go along with a stolen base. The lone other hit for Nashville came from Austin Anderson.
A back and forth affair throughout, the Hornets found themselves locked in a battle with conference rival Pinckneyville. The Hornets took the lead early, but Pinckneyville battled back to tie the game in the middle innings. Again the Hornets were able to take the lead in the sixth, but could not hold the lead as the Panthers came back in the bottom of the inning to tie the game back at four. Then in the top of the seventh, Hayden Heggemeier doubled, bringing Bauza up to bat. Bauza hits a long fly ball to right, that kept drifting further and further back. The ball lands just over the fence, giving the Hornets a two run lead. The Hornets would shut the door in the bottom of the inning, giving the Hornets their 19th consecutive win.
