Sidney hitless in 11-1 home loss

The Buckley Bombers from Chappell looked a little out of sorts after their first-inning rally was cut short by a technical fault--batting out of order. But the way pitcher Chance Dunker dominated the mound, it didn't really matter.

With a no hitter served up to Sidney Post 17 by Dunker, the Bombers first inning mishap was quickly forgotten. They went on to an 11-1 win in a game which hit the 10-run rule after six innings.

The juniors also had a disappointing end to their night as they let a 3-0 lead get away in a 4-3 loss.

Though Dunker fanned four batters in the first three innings, he finished off his impressive night with with just five strikeouts. The only blemishes on his record were a pair of walks and an RBI off the bat of Sidney's Arik Doty.

Dunker pitched to just three batters over the minimum.

The Bombers picked up all the runs they needed by the time their third hitter completed his time at bat. Sidney starter Bradey Holtz struck out his first opponent, but then plunked Trevor Dalton. Third hitter Ryan Nolan then picked up Dalton with a home run over the right-field fence. The Bombers plated another run on the strength of two Sidney errors on separate plays.

"I think we came in too cocky," said Ben Goble. "Last night against Hershey we ran them over and that got to our head. We ended up playing really sloppy with way too many errors."

Sidney managed to score its lone run in the third inning. Goble scored after reaching second after a pair of Buckley errors. Good fundamentals helped Goble cross the plate when Kyle Burton and Doty both made outs to the right side of the infield. Burton's roller to second moved Goble to third and Doty's brought him home.

From there on Dunker was in complete control.

While he ended up with the no hitter, Dunker was not overpowering. He thrived on the effectiveness of his off-speed pitches.

"He was throwing mostly junk with knuckle balls and curve balls," said Austin Pile who came the closest registering a hit. "It's frustrating, but we just have to let it go and move on."

In the fourth inning Pile ripped a hard line drive to right field that was caught by Reece Coffin on the run.

Beyond Goble, the only other Post 17 players to reach base were Keaton Wakefield and Doty. Wakefield earned a one-out walk in the fifth inning and Doty took four balls to lead off the sixth.

"It's a hard way to lose but you just have to sleep it off and come back mad the next day," said Burton.

After scoring three runs in the first inning, Chappell added three more in the third and another in the fourth for a 7-1 lead. Four additional runs crossed in the sixth on RBI hits by Logan Tharp and Tyler Woodhams.

With the losses, the juniors evened their record at 3-3 while the seniors stand at 6-4.

The Legion will travel to Torrington, Wyoming for a seniors only contest Thursday at 7 p.m.

While Torrington had to cancel the juniors contest due to lack of players, the senior contest will be a nine-inning affair.

Buckley 303 104 X - 11

Sidney 001 000 X - 1

WP: Chance Dunker

LP: Bradey Holtz

Doubles

Buckley: Tyler Woodhams

Triples:

None

Homeruns:

Buckley: Ryan Nolan