Improving Eagles play West Vigo tough before falling 3-1 in WIC

Saturday, April 30, 2016

If you are a baseball fan who likes pitching duels and top-flight defense, you certainly would have enjoyed the Western Indiana Conference high school game between the South Putnam Eagles and the West Vigo Vikings on Friday night at South Putnam.

The Eagles lost a tough one to the Vikings, 3-1, and are now 4-9 on the season and 0-2 in the conference.

They are on the verge of breaking through and winning a lot of games, according to coach Brady Rhodes.

"Our record is not reflective of the quality of this team. We play a lot of good schools, big schools - and of our nine losses, there is only two we did not have a chance to win in the last inning," Rhodes said.

The host Eagles, who were the visiting team due to rainouts and make-up of a conference game, and the Vikings combined for just four hits on the night and one error by the Vikings.

West Vigo's Wyatt Joy dueled South Putnam's Dylan Wood, with each pitcher only giving up two hits.

The Eagles struck first in the game by pushing a run across in the top of the third inning.

Wood led off the inning being hit by a pitch, stole second and then came home on an RBI single by Josh Stewart.

The Vikings tied the score in the bottom of the fourth inning as Jordan Schaffer hit a towering home run to right center, knotting the game at 1-1.

West Vigo took the lead in the next inning, scratching and clawing for its two runs.

Combining a walk, bunt single and a passed ball, West Vigo's David Fiddler scored the go-ahead run.

Evan Newman then had an RBI groundout, scoring Clayton O'Neal. The Eagles trailed 3-1 heading into the sixth inning, but the Vikings didn't need any more as they improved to 5-6 on the season and 1-1 in WIC play.

"We played great. I am talking to the team about staying invested in the game. We are going to break through and win one of these close games," Rhodes said.

Wood's pitching line on the night was impressive. The junior pitched six innings, giving up two hits, one earned run and struck out 10 Vikings. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Joy was equally as dominant. He pitched seven innings giving two hits and one run, while striking out 11.

"We had a freshman catcher [Aiden LeBlanc] who played a great game behind the plate and Dylan Wood pitched a fantastic game against some really good bats," Rhodes said.

The Eagles play another tough, larger school on Monday as they travel to Tri-West.

South Putnam 001 000 0 -- 1 2 0

West Vigo 000 120 x -- 3 2 1

WP -- Joy. LP -- Wood. HR --Schaffer (WV).

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