Playing for the first time in a week because of the weather, it took coach Buckingham’s team a while to wake up the bats. When they did, they woke up big – to the tune of 16 runs in the final three innings – on their way to a 19-9 Starfire victory in ACAC play.
Southern Wells starter Jakob Gearheart held the Stars in check in the opening four innings. He left the game after four with four strikeouts and his team leading, 4-3.
Kade Sprunger came into the game for the Starfires after Derek Weaver pitched the first inning. He picked up the win with four solid innings of relief, also striking out four. He allowed two earned runs (and two more unearned), before giving way to Jax Wanner and Derek McKean, who finished off the game together.
Gearheart homered off Sprunger in the bottom of the second to take a 4-2 lead, but Brendon Sprunger leveled the game in the fifth, forcing an error from Southern Wells with the bases loaded. Haden Meyer and Jax Wanner each added RBI hits as the Stars built up a 9-4 lead by the end of the top of the inning.
Peyton Bertsch and Korbin Eltzroth brought the home team closer in the bottom of the fifth with RBI singles, but the Stars came right back and knocked the Raider bullpen around. Wanner knocked in two with a single and it made the score 13-7.
Brendon Sprunger’s single in the seventh made it a ten-run game, but the Raiders were still allowed to bat in the bottom of the inning and McKean got the last three outs with two strikeouts to end the contest.
McKean, Wanner, Zaden Baumer, Brendon Sprunger and Sty Pyle each had two hits in the win for South Adams. Pyle had the only extra-base hit with a double for South Adams.
The Stars are set to travel to Parkway on Wednesday.
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