PLYMOUTH, IN A dominant starting pitching performance and six runs in the third inning catapult Plymouth 12U past Wawasee in an 11-4 victory Wednesdaynight.
Caleb Bowling woke up Wednesday morning and officially celebrated his twelfth birthday, later that night he would throw a gem of a game. Bowling took the hill for the Pilgrims and systematically picked apart the Wawasee lineup. When his night was over he had completed the maximum-allowed four innings pitched, giving up only one-hit and striking out six Warriors.
“Caleb’s performance was worthy of a party, being it was his birthday,” said head coach Nick Chaney. “He was sharp from the get go, his command was the best we’ve seen this year and because of that we were able to stretch him out for four innings. He set the tone and allowed us to get Sieh, Bales and Jordan each an inning. All those guys have worked hard and took advantage of their shot on the mound. It was fun to watch us defensively and it all starts with the pitcher.”
Plymouth fans also had a lot to be happy about with the performances at the plate. The Pilgrims amassed eleven runs on nine hits while only stranding two runners on the bases.
The big inning came in bottom of the third. Blake Mackey started the inning off with a hard fought walk, followed by a Preston Jessen single. Jak Chaney put the ball in play scoring Mackey. After Jessen stole home and a Beck Magee single, Bowling doubled down the third-base line. Jack Christiansen would hammer another double as the Pilgrim’s bats stayed hot. Preston Wolfe would add a RBI-single finishing off the hit parade and the inning with Plymouth up 10-0.
Wolfe, Magee and Christiansen all collected multiple hits for the Pilgrims. A relatively hidden statistic was the Pilgrim’s base-running. Magee, Jessen, Wolfe and Sieh each stole a base, in Magee’s case, five bases.
“Overall we didn’t swing the bats great,” added Chaney. “When needed we turned the baseball. We swung through a lot of pitches but credit their pitchers, especially the first kid. He threw hard, harder than it looked. He was effectively wild. The difference was the way we ran the bases. We are starting to give the boys some more freedom and they are showing us they can react to what they see. Those reactive plays got us at least five more bases tonight.”
The Plymouth 12U, sponsored by Emergency Forklift Services, move to 6-2 on the season. The Pilgrims currently sit in third place behind Fairfield and Rochester in the Boys of Summer 12U baseball league.
PLYMOUTH 11, WAWASEE 4
at Plymouth
Wawasee 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 4-2-3
Plymouth 1 3 6 0 0 1 X 11-9-2
WP – Bowling (). LP – Ethan Slabaugh. 2B – Bowling, Christiansen, Wolfe.
