GAME OF THE WEEK: Tuesday vs. McLoud

Riding high off of a successful tournament victory in the Chargers yearly trip to Sulphur, Heritage Hall entered the week playing with great confidence. Standing in Heritage Hall's way to start a full week of games was the McLoud Redskins, who were looking to make a statement in a two-game series versus one of 4A's best.

Monday marked the first game of the series between the two, as Heritage Hall traveled east to square off against the redskins. HH was dominating throughout, as Landry Kyle tallied 7-strikeouts to lead Heritage Hall to a convincing 12-1 victory.

The 12-1 stomping of McLoud set up for the game of the week between the two schools. On Tuesday's duel with McLoud, sophomore Jackson Jobe stepped to the mound in hopes of shutting down a feisty McLoud lineup.

The first inning did not start as Jobe had planned, as he allowed the bases to get loaded with just one out. As we've seen on Pop Murray field and now at Charger stadium though, Jackson Jobe takes delight in making things interesting. The next pitch, #3 grounded McLoud into a timely double play to escape the inning.

The Charger lineup couldn't get anything cooking in the bottom first, but that didn't stop Jobe from having success on the mound, as he struck out two batters on his way to another scoreless inning in the second. The Hall started to add runs to the board in the bottom of the second, courtesy of Gannon Allen, Range Faulkner and Jake LeForce, who all contributed RBI's to the inning.

Jobe continued to wheel and deal in the third, and the batters added on one more run in the bottom frame to extend the lead to 5-0. After Jobe surrendered his first run in the top of the fourth, the batters blew the breaks off the Redskins. A very Charger friendly inning started off with a play you don't see every day. On this rare occurrence, Jake LeForce was signaled to bunt by his coaches, and he laid down a beauty. The throw was wide, however, and LeForce was able to make it all the way to third base, which also drove in two runs. How coincidental it was that Jake LeForce ended up scoring on a wild pitch, which was the way he got to third base in the first place. The inning carried on with Mart Smith hitting a bomb to right center, resulting in a triple and scoring two more runs. Max Hardberger also picked up a sacrifice fly, and when the inning was finally over, the Chargers controlled a 12-1 lead.

Bowen Bridges was able to close the game out in relief for Jobe, who left with 7 K's. Walking off the field victorious, Heritage Hall set their sights to their huge week of baseball which was still in front of them.


F&M BANK CLASSIC RECAP:
Following the series victory versus McLoud, Heritage Hall was prepared to face a tough rest of the week. Entering the game Thursday, the Hall had won nine of their last ten games.The Chargers could not keep the hot streak intact, however, as they fell 6-1 to 5A #1 Pryor.

Friday's game versus El Reno looked to be a different story, as Heritage Hall lead for the majority of the game. Heritage failed to secure their three-run read, though and dropped another game, this time 9-8.

HH got back on track Friday, lead by Max Hardberger's four hits and a strong pitching outing from Caleb Kalcich. The 13-2 stomping of Putnam City West looked like a game that would propel the Chargers to have a strong end to the week. This was not the case, sadly, as Heritage Hall had trouble in the pitching and batting departments in a 14-3 loss to Clinton.

Though the Chargers might not have played how they planned, there are many positives to gain from a long and grueling week of baseball. First of all, this week of games allowed for some younger Chargers to get some valuable action. Players like Caden Wells, Tyler Offel, Caleb Kalcich, and Davis Duncan all played in meaningful innings sometime or another this week, which will only help the Chargers down the line. The Hall is also dealing with a few injuries, as outfielder Range Faulkner was held out of the Clinton game due to shin splints. Colby Lewis is also dealing with an injury that has not allowed him to pitch lately. If the Chargers can get fully healthy, they become an even more dangerous team.

This coming week for the Heritage Hall baseball team might just be the most important week of the entire regular season. The Hall will face Harrah and Bethany twice, who are both strong district opponents. A great week from the Chargers would go a long way in locking up the chance to host a Regional. Home field advantage is very important come playoff time, so the team understands the significant implications.

We hope to see everyone head out to the ballpark on Monday for a 5pm first pitch versus Harrah. Onward!

Written by Rives Mitchell '19
Photos by Cindy Ritchie | more at crpics.com