Clovers sweep Eagles in baseball twinbill

Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Brayden White of Cloverdale looks to throw out the South Putnam runner. Cloverdale took both games. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

By TRENT SCOTT

Staff Writer

After rain knocked out Monday's attempt at getting in their first WCC game of the season, Cloverdale and South Putnam met for a doubleheader at Cloverdale High School Tuesday.

The hosts used the home field advantage well as the Clovers took both games off the Eagles to open the conference slate with a 2-0 record.

Cloverdale coach Bryan Archer lauded the squad for the efforts in starting the conference season on a high note.

"I can't express how proud I am of my guys at overcoming some mistakes in the second game and getting the wins the way we did," Archer said. "That's a good South Putnam team. They put the ball in play and made some great plays in the field."

Cloverdale started the doubleheader with a comfortable 11-3 win over the Eagles.

A run in the second was followed by three more in the third for the Clovers. Kade Schroer's first double of the game plated two runs after Tyler Carter singled home Andrew Howard.

South Putnam cut the deficit to a run with one swing of Brandon Gierke's bat. The pitcher in the first game sent Carter over the left field fence to make the score 4-3.

Another run in the fifth was followed by a six-run sixth that put the game away for Cloverdale. Four walks and two hit batsmen were amplified by a pair of singles and Schroer's second double of the inning.

The Eagles loaded the bases in the seventh but could not push a run across to extend the opening game.

South Putnam coach Zach Love noted the efforts of the starting pitchers.

"I felt Brandon Gierke pitched very well for us in the first game," Love added. "He also added a nice three-run home run.

"We were raw defensively and had one bad inning and that was the difference in the first game."

Archer noted his starting picher as well.

"I thought Tyler Carter threw a really great game," Archer said. "They have some really good hitters over there and good arms. I thought our guys had a good approach at the plate and made plays in the field."

Game two saw the squads flip the home and away side to accommodate the loss of South Putnam's home game but that did little to stop the Cloverdale bats from knocking around the Eagle pitching staff.

Holding a 2-1 lead heading into the fifth inning, the Clovers rattled off 10 hits in the next two innings to add seven runs on the board and ensure Brayden White would walk away with the win.

South Putnam made the game interesting late with some help from the hosts.

Numerous wild pitches, a dropped third strike that resulted in an RBI and four errors helped the Eagles to plate three runs but with the bases loaded again in the seventh, Kade Schroer closed the door to ensure a sweep of the set.

Love said that while the team stayed competitive, two bad stretches played a pivotal role in the outcome.

"We played pretty well early on but again had a bad inning," Love said. "They got hits, moved guys over and we walked a couple of guys. In a close game, a bad inning can be the difference.

"Offensively, we got things going late but it was too little, too late."

Archer said that the pitching in game two helped ensure the squad held their nerve until the end.

"Brayden had them off balance a lot and Kade came in to finish the game well," Archer said. "They helped us get past some of the mistakes and get the win in the end."

Cloverdale gets a day off before taking on Class A No. 2 Shakamak. Archer said the squad would need to be ready in order to be competitive with the talented Laker squad.

"Shakamak's a good program," Archer said. "They're ranked No. 2 in Class A. We'll get some rest tomorrow and be ready to go at in full force Thursday against a great team."


At Cloverdale

Game 1

South Put. 000 400 0 -- 3 5 3

Cloverdale 013 016 X -- 11 10 1

WP -- Carter

LP -- Gierke (0-1)

HR -- Gierke (SP)

2B -- Schroer (CL) (2)


Game 2

Cloverdale 100 143 0 -- 9 14 4

South Putnam 001 012 1 -- 5 2 3

WP -- White

LP -- McHugh (0-1)

2B -- Gierke (SP), White, Carter, Martin (CL)

Next Game: Cloverdale (3-2, 2-0 WCC) travels to Shakamak Thursday. South Putnam (0-2, 0-2 WCC) travels to South Vermillion Friday.

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