ADNA – The Toledo Riverhawks had the Adna Pirates right where they wanted them Wednesday night: a 2-2 ballgame in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and pitcher Rohan Feigenbaum dealing.
By the time the Riverhawks recorded the third out in the frame, Adna had already blown past them with a six-run barrage and chased Feigenbaum off the mound. The Pirates added to its lead in the fifth and sixth to run away with a 14-4 victory on Adna’s senior night.
Adna is two wins away from finishing off a perfect 20-0 regular season, but Jake Overbay’s Pirates aren’t satisfied.
“I really think if the boys keep hitting the way they are, it’s going to be tough to beat us. It’s one thing to have pitching depth, and we’ve had a lot of that, but the run support is unreal,” the Pirates coach said. “We’re getting some unexpected hitting this year from some of our underclassmen, which really helps fuel the fire.”
Toledo’s seven errors were a critical difference in the game, and the Pirates scored their first run of the night on a botched attempt to catch a runner stealing by catcher Eli Weeks. Senior Owen Fagernes added to the lead with an RBI single, but Feigenbaum masterfully worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam with back-to-back punchouts.
Toledo responded with two runs in the second, both with two outs, including a tying run on a balk by Adna pitcher Brody Richards. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Beau Miller came up to the plate with the go-ahead run at third, and he whacked the ball to right on a triple to score two. Cash Smith extended the lead two at-bats later with an RBI single, and another infield error by Toledo tacked on the sixth run for Adna. Mat Roundtree’s two-run single gave Adna an 8-2 advantage that took the wind out of Toledo’s sails.
“Our defense made our pitcher throw extra pitches and prolonged the inning. Rohan didn’t have his normal stuff but he battled through a couple tough situations,” Toledo head coach Mack Gaul said. “But our defense has got to help our pitcher out more. Our losses have come from bad defense. It’s between the ears.”
Toledo added a run in the fifth and another in the sixth, but it wasn’t enough for three Pirates runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to end the game prematurely. Four Pirates batters finished with multiple hits, including Luke Mohney and Smith with three apiece.
Danner Hoinowski, Mohney, Ty Bodenhamer, Fagernes and Roundtree were honored pregame. Hoinowski said the quintet have grown up playing baseball together and are enjoying the final games together before they’re off to college.
“We’ve always been together, and we’ve had each other’s backs. It’s really special,” Hoinowski, the Linfield signee, said. “I hope later classes get to experience that with their classmates.”
Adna (18-0, 15-0 Central 2B League) and Toledo (13-5, 11-4 C2BL) will meet again in Toledo on Friday. Toledo’s chances at the No. 2 seed in next week’s District 4 2B Tournament have disappeared with its loss and Napavine’s win over Onalaska Wednesday.
