Baseball: Bureau Valley storms past Princeton in 7th inning

PRINCETON – The Bureau Valley Storm saved their best at-bats for last Monday against Princeton.

The Storm scored six runs on four hits in the top of the seventh inning to rally for a 9-7 Three Rivers East win over the rival Tigers at Prather Field, including RBI hits by Landon Smith, Elijah Endress, Drake Taylor and Landen Birdsley.

“The energy was getting a little low in the sixth, but when the seventh came up, we picked up the energy and got it,” said BV junior Elijah Endress, who led the Storm with a 4-for-4 effort at the plate.

“A great team win for us,” BV coach Ryan Schisler said. “Truthfully, it was kind of a dumpster fire for both sides. There wasn’t a lot of balls blasted around the field by anybody. But big seventh inning for us, and that was all we needed, I guess.”

“Truthfully, it was kind of a dumpster fire for both sides. There wasn’t a lot of balls blasted around the field by anybody. But big seventh inning for us and that was all we needed, I guess.”

—  Ryan Schisler, BV coach

Blake Foster drew a leadoff walk in the seventh, and Tyler Birkey reached on a fielder’s choice. After Brock Rediger reached on a walk, Smith greeted Tigers reliever Jordan Reinhardt with an RBI hit down the left field line to score Birkey to make it 7-4.

Endress said Smith, who they all affectionately call “Nacho,” got the Storm going.

“He came up clutch. Got the bench excited. It fired everybody up,” Endress said.

Bryce Helms was hit by a pitch before Birdsley lined a two-run single to center to make it 7-6.

Endress drew the Storm (9-8, 3-2 TRC East) even at 7 with an RBI single to right to score Helms.

The Tigers (5-6, 3-4) elected to give Storm cleanup hitter Logan Philhower a free pass to load the bases, and Reinhardt struck out Taylor. Blake Foster beat out an infield hit to shortstop Will Lott for one run, and when the throw bounced to first base, Endress followed Birdsley home to give the Storm a 9-7 lead.

“Bottom of the order started us off and got on base and set the table,” Schisler said. “The guys that kind of been doing it all for us stepped up in a big situation. We needed that. We left some guys on early in the game. We felt like that was going to cost us against a solid team like these guys. Great to see them come through.”

Schisler praised Storm relievers Taylor, who earned the win, and Rediger, who earned the save, for coming through when the Storm ran out of pitchers.

“Drake Taylor and Brock Rediger, who haven’t pitched a ton for us – we’re out of arms – for them to step in and kind of hold serve for us I guess until we wait for a comeback. Excellent job by those guys,” he said.

Princeton coach Wick Warren said Reinhardt, who had not been scored upon this year, did his best battling a sore arm. He was tagged for the loss, allowing four runs on four hits.

“We didn’t want to pitch him today and not go more than an inning,” Warren said. “But he’s obviously not where he was when he pitched against Hall, and that was asking too much of him. They wanted to give him two weeks of rest, and we gave him two weeks. He’s a battler.

“It was a very tough loss. Hats off to them. They made a good comeback. We just didn’t get the job done. We walked way too many of their batters, and then they started to hit the ball seventh inning.”

The Storm used four bases on balls to score two runs in the first to chase freshman Braden Shaw, the Tigers’ starter.

The Tigers got one run back in the second on an infield hit by Shaw to score James Stuckey, who drew a leadoff walk, was bunted to second by Noah LaPorte and took third on a wild pitch.

Tyler Forristall drew a leadoff walk and scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2. A base hit by Reinhardt and two more walks and a two-base throwing error led to two more runs, giving the Tigers a 4-2 lead.

Shaw stroked a deep, two-run double to left field in the fifth inning to extend the Tigers’ lead to 6-3.

Lott’s RBI single in the sixth made it 7-3.

Along with Endress’ four-hit game, Helms had two hits for the Storm.

Shaw (3 RBIs), Lott (RBI) and Reinhardt each had two hits for Princeton.

The Bureau County rivals will face each other again Thursday in Manlius in what will mark their final meeting in Three Rivers play and the last scheduled time they play for the foreseeable future. The Storm will move to the Lincoln Trail Conference next year.