Blair baseball manages a win against Einstein

On April 2, Blair (4-2) defeated Einstein (2-3) by a score of 4-3 in spite of a poor offensive showing.

The first few innings were scoreless, thanks to outstanding plays from pitcher Emmanuel Kraft, junior outfielder Aidan Niemerski and junior Sam Worley.

A bright spot came in the bottom of the fourth inning, however, when senior Alex Valdez hit a single, and then made daring steals from first to second and second to third. Sophomore Logan Stillerman then notched a hit that enabled Valdez to reach home base and score Blair’s first Run Batted In (RBI). 

The Blazers, however, were just getting started. A momentary surge in well-places hits propelled Blair’s runners onto the bases, and they took every opportunity to keep going. Junior Evan Hunt hit an RBI that allowed junior John Ernst to score another run. Finally, Kowal hit an RBI to allow Guzman to follow through with the last point of the inning, and many innings thereafter. Potential for a fourth run with Kowal on third base ended when the Titans caught a pop fly to end the fourth inning 3-0.

In the fifth inning, Worley replaced Kraft as the pitcher. He walked an Einstein batter to start the inning, and after a slow response to a ground ball, Einstein runners got to first and second. A long hit into center outfield secured the Titans their first run, and with runners now on second and third, the threat of a comeback loomed. A line drive off a slow pitch changed the score to 2-3, and soon the threat became a reality. On third base, an Einstein runner got across home while a fly ball was in the air, tying up the game at 3-3. Thankfully, Kraft caught a pop up to end the inning and keep the score even. 

Both teams stalled after the figurative tug-of-war in the fourth and fifth innings. The only other real opportunity for Blair came in the bottom of the sixth, where Andy Merrill was a step away from giving Blair the lead again until Hunt was forced out on first base.  

In the seventh inning, the Blazers changed the pitcher, this time to Ben Respress. Guzman and Worley shut down the Einstein offense with skillful catches and fast throws. Once the teams switched sides, the Blazers Juniors Vaughn Kowal and Bryan Robinette were both tagged out, and as a pop up ball sank into the waiting glove of an Einstein infielder, so did Blair’s hopes of ending the game without extra innings.

The opportunity to finish the game once and for all arrived in the bottom of the eighth inning, when Valdez hit another line drive to reach first and proceeded to steal second. A bunt from senior Andy Merrill got Valdez to third. Guzman hit a fourth RBI just past the fence, thus allowing Valdez to close out the game 4-3. 

Although the game was a win, coach Kyle Wannen believed it could have easily ended sooner. “I’m glad we got the win…but we did not play up to our capabilities today,” Wannen said.

Pitcher Yasha Van Praagh believed hitting was the main problem for the team. “[We played better] defensively for sure, it’s just that our offense wasn’t there, and we can’t win without our offense,” Van Praagh said.

The Blazers will play their next game at Wheaton high school tomorrow on Tuesday, April 5 at 3:45 p.m.