Sidney Bats Blast B&C Steel for Championship Win

MIKE MOTZ

Sidney Sun-Telegraph

Sidney's Post 17 16U team continued to pile up the wins over the past weekend, racking up two wins on Saturday and setting up the tournament championship against B&C Steel on Sunday. Sam Hulbert was the star in the game for Sidney, smashing three hits in three at-bats with four runs scored in the 10-to-6 win.

Sidney started hot on offense, notching two doubles and two singles to score three runs. Hulbert hit a single past the third baseman to get aboard, then after advancing to second base on a passed ball, he scored when Rhys Dorcey blasted a double to right field. Rhyder Bayne then doubled to right field, scoring Dorcey. Bayne was able to tag up and advance to third on an Anderson Smelley pop-out, and then Bayne was driven home by a single by Conner Hurt to end the first inning scoring for Sidney.

Rhyder Bayne took the mound for Sidney and after walking the first batter, he got the first baseman to ground into a double play. Bayne gave up another single in the inning, but the B&C Steel team was unable to score any runs. In the second inning, Kyle Jaggers was hit by a pitch, and then Sam Hulbert singled to give Sidney two baserunners. Rhys Dorcey then drove a single to centerfield, scoring both Jaggers and Hulbert to give Sidney a 5-to-0 lead.

Bayne ran into trouble in the second inning with two outs and a runner on second when he walked two straight batters to load the bases. The next batter stroked a single into center field and the B&C Steel team got on the scoreboard with two runs. Sidney was able to get the next batter to ground out to first baseman Anderson Smelley to limit the damage to just two runs, and Sidney led 5-to-2.

The Sidney squad had a rare 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts and a groundout. Cole Raffelson came in with two outs in the previous inning to relieve Bayne, and he matched the B&C Steel team and put them down in order with two ground outs and a strikeout. Kyle Jaggers stroked a double and Sam Hulbert worked a walk in the next inning, but Sidney was unable to bring either runner around to score. In the bottom of the fourth, B&C Steel picked up a single but also stranded the runner to keep the score at 5-to-2.

Sidney again got two runners on in the top of the fifth inning, but could not bring them home. In the bottom of the frame, with a runner on second base, the B&C Steel team singled to drive home a run, and the batter advanced to second on the throw home. A walk put another man on base, and with two on and two out, the B&C Steel team hit an inside-the-park home run, plating three and giving them a 6-to-5 lead. Sidney was able to escape the inning without any further scoring, and in the top of the sixth inning, they struck back with a big inning.

The inning started with Sam Hulbert drawing a walk sandwiched between a ground out and a fly out. But with two outs, Sidney bore down. Rhyder Bayne smashed a single to put runners on the corners, and then Anderson Smelley hit a line drive into right field that he was able to stretch into a triple and bring home two runs to give Sidney a 7-to-6 lead. Back-to-back walks put runners on second and third, and then a wild pitch brought Smelley home. Gillham struck out to end the inning, but Sidney had a two-run lead at 8-to-6. In the bottom of the sixth, B&C Steel got a runner aboard with a single but was unable to bring the runner home. In the top of the seventh, a leadoff single followed by a walk put two runners on, and then Hulbert doubled to score one run, and then Bayne singled to left field. Kyle Jaggers was ruled out due to offensive interference, but Hulbert was able to score to give Sidney a 10-to-6 lead. Cole Raffleson then retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to give Sidney the 10-to-6 win.

Hulbert went 3-for-3 with two walks and scored four runs and had an RBI. Bayne went 3-for-5 scored two runs and had two RBIs. Rhys Dorcey went 2-for-5 with a run scored and three RBIs. Cole Raffleson did the bulk of the pitching, going 5.1 innings and giving up four runs. He struck out three, walked one, and gave up five hits in the win.