The game of baseball is unique in that the defense is the team in possession of the ball, and the Kokomo Wildkats made the most of their time with it in a 4-3 decision over county rival Western at Highland Park Wednesday.
The Kats improved to 4-0 as both teams emerged from their weather-induced spring-break hibernation, playing flawless defense and putting the ball in play with half as many strikeouts as the Panthers.
Western (1-1) put the tying run on base to start the top of the sixth inning but Kokomo quickly erased that as pinch hitter Cody Jansen hit into a 5-4-3 double play started by third baseman Devin Schacht and turned by second baseman Austin Colby.
One inning later, shortstop T.J. Weir and first baseman Patrick Hopkins both made outstanding plays to rob Western’s Dirk Dodge of an infield single leading off the seventh. In the first inning Nick Franklin made a diving grab of a foul ball to end a Panther scoring threat.
“To come out and play defense, to make some of the plays we made, it was nice, especially considering we’ve made some errors in the first few games that might have hurt us,” Kats coach Steve Edwards said. “This is the key to winning baseball games against a good team like Western.”
Winning pitcher Nolan Sanders scattered six hits and allowed three runs in five innings while striking out 11, including two straight in the first inning after Western put its first two batters on base and three in a row in the third after Matt Reida walked on four pitches leading off and reached second on a passed ball.
Sanburn did walk three Western batters, including Mark Reel with two outs in the fifth ahead of Connor Love’s two-run home run to right-center field, just to the right of the 370-foot marker.
“He’s a tough competitor but you just can’t give up those walks,” Edwards said of Sanburn. “They’re gonna come back to get you. The biggest walk he had was that two-out walk in the inning [Love] hit the home run. You can’t give up those free bases. Nolan’s a good pitcher and will bounce back.”
Kokomo collected nine base hits — four infield hits, courtesy of the rather lush growth of grass brought on by recent rains. Casey Shipley had two of those hits on infield and was 3 for 3 with a stolen base and a run scored.
Schacht, who was 2 for 3 at the plate, had his team’s only extra-base hit, a run-scoring double in the fourth inning. He reached third on a throwing error and scored what proved to be the difference in the ballgame on a groundout by Hopkins.
The Kats struck out only six times, twice in their last at-bat, while the Panthers fanned 12 times — seven with runners in scoring position.
“They made us field the ball more than we made them field it,” said Western coach Ty Calloway. “That was a critical part of the game. Plus, we still aren’t there yet. The hitting’s not where it needs to be. We need to play some games.
“I’m not too displeased. It’s just a matter of us getting more consistent at the plate and establish our lineup.”
Aaron Workman was saddled with the loss. He allowed seven hits and two earned runs in four innings while striking out three. Tyler Sanders was 1 for 3 and drove in a run with a double.
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BASEBALL: Defense lifts Kats over Panthers
Kokomo improves to 4-0 after 1-run victory
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