The Guerin Catholic baseball team won its season opener on Thursday, beating Frankton 8-3 in a home game.
Frankton scored two runs in the top of the first inning before the Golden Eagles took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the second. Bennett Ely tied the game with a two-run single to score Nate Bingman and Sam Joyal. Ely would later put Guerin Catholic ahead by scoring on a wild pitch.
After that, the Golden Eagles scored at least one run in each of the next four innings. That included an inside the park home run by Brandon Downey in the fourth inning. Joyal later hit a two-RBI single in the fifth inning. Luke Godfrey and Keenan Taylor also batted in one run each.
Jake Andriole and Taylor both hit a triple. Andriole pitched five innings for the win, striking out seven.
The Golden Eagles are back in action on Wednesday, hosting Pendleton Heights.
Westfield comeback falls short
Westfield nearly came all the way back in its season-opening game at Zionsville Wednesday before the Eagles scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to beat the Shamrocks 7-5 in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game.
“We did some really good things tonight, but some of the little things came back to get us,” said ‘Rocks coach Ryan Bunnell. “We didn’t do much at the plate but the two hits we had were very timely.”
Zionsville led 4-0 after four innings, but Westfield tied the game in the top of the fifth. With the bases loaded, Bryce Dorton hit a three-RBI triple that sent Luke Hutson, Kyle Pepiot and Trey Anderson home to score. Dorton would soon score himself, when he ran into home on a sacrifice bunt from Brandon Yoder.
The Eagles took the lead back in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI triple, and Westfield answered in the top of the sixth. Sam Eaton’s right field double sent Payton Tamm home.
“Bryce Dorton’s triple was a huge clutch hit and Sam Eaton’s double was big as well,” Bunnell. “Brandon Yoder executed a safety squeeze really well.”
But a two-RBI single gave Zionsville the lead in the bottom of the sixth, and the Eagles used a perfect seventh inning to clinch the win.
Zach Zaborowski went four innings for Westfield, with two strikeouts and five hits.
“Zach Zaborowski’s start was a good one to build on, he has good stuff and when he figures out how to consistently use it he is going to be very good,” said Bunnell. “Trey Anderson made some plus plays at third base after a few intra-squads, which we knew he was more than capable of playing the position at a high level.”
“Unfortunately, a few small things tripped us up and prevented us from scratching out the win,” said Bunnell. “We have been saying, ‘Little things make the big things happen.’ If we learned that lesson tonight, this is a loss that will lead to many wins for this club. Overall, we are pretty young and still growing. I hope the kids caught the glimpse of the type of club we can be and the type of team we will have to be to be successful.”
Westfield is scheduled to host Zionsville at 6 p.m. tonight at Grand Park as the HCC series continues.