Because of the errors, the battle was lost... That's a pretty good description of Thursday's game against Veritas, where the Monarchs took advantage of seven opponent errors, while playing error-free ball themselves.

 

Playing Veritas for the first time ever, Midland sent Mick Kelley to the mound as their starter. He only needed nine pitches to dispatch the visitors in the first, thanks in part to a diving stop by 1B Josh Winscott on a hard-hit grounder and a flip to Mick for the first out of the game.

 

Midland wasted no time in getting on the board, with Charlie Williams punching a line-drive homer over the left center fence with one out. The first error of the game immediately followed, putting Jaelan Curtis on base. He promptly stole second and moved to third on a passed ball. Meanwhile, Josh had a pitch bounce off his helmet for the HBP, while a walk to Dylan Smith loaded the bases. Pitcher Mick helped himself out with a sac-fly, and the inning ended with Midland up 2-0.

 

The two-run lead didn't hold up very long, as Veritas put their first two runners on with singles to left. The Monarchs caught a break, however, when Dylan corraled a wild pitch behind the plate and tossed to Mick in time to tag out the runner trying to score from third. Veritas still picked up two runs on a 5-3 grounder and another single, but it could have been a lot worse! Midland didn't score in their half of the frame, and at the end of two, the score was, well, two to two.

 

Midland dodged a second bullet in the third, when a lead-off double and two walks loaded the bases with no outs. The Veritas clean-up hitter launched a long fly to center, which Joel Donn gloved for an out while the runner headed home on an apparent sac-fly. But when the ball came back in to the pitcher, Coach Nelson had Mick throw over to third, claiming that the runner had left early. The umps agreed, and the sac-fly turned into a very convenient 8-1-5 double play.

 

It looked good for the Monarchs in the bottom of the third with leadoff walks, but the bats showed no signs of activity or life. Two strikeouts ended the inning with the score still 2-2. One good sign noted though - the opposition pitch count continued to mount, reaching 76 pitches after three innings. 

 

Coach Nelson brought in Hunter Turpin to start the 4th, figuring 60 pitches was a good enough outing for his starter. Hunter wiped the plate clean, needing only a handful of pitches (seriously, only five) to close out Veritas. And then the fun started...

 

You may have heard about greased pigs, but if you had been watching during the 4th inning you might have thought the phrase should have been greased baseballs instead. The Veritas defense committed four straight errors to start the inning, all of which ended up crossing the plate for Monarch runs. Add in two walks, another error, and singles by Charlie W and Dylan and it totaled up to a tidy six runs deposited in the bank, and an 8-2 lead for the home team.

 

In case you were wondering, it is not considered Best Practice to come in as a reliever with a six-run lead and walk the #9 hitter. However, that's what happened to Midland starting the fifth. Another double by the leadoff hitter put runners on the corners, and a 3-1 grounder pulled Veritas one run closer. A wild pitch added another tally to make the score 8-4.

 

Midland returned the favor in their half, using a walk and steal by Peyton Shellenberger plus a Jaelan double to pick up an additional score to make it 8-5 after five.

 

RP Charlie settled down in the sixth, striking out two batters with no hits, no runs, and no damage. Encouraged, the Monarchs proceded to stage a mini-me version of the 4th. The inning started with a four-pitch walk to Dylan, followed by yet another Veritas error. Sam Douglas picked a great time for his first hit of the day, sending a double almost to the wall in left-center for two RBIs. Three walks down the road, Jaelan put his second double of the game in just about the same place as Sam, punching two more runs in the Monarchs trolley ticket. In case you haven't been keeping count, that made the score 13-4 with but an inning left to play.

 

The Eagles refused to go gently into that good night, scoring two final runs on a single and homer to left. Charlie shrugged it off, striking out the final two batters of the game to end the contest with a 13-6 victory. 

 

NOTES: If it hadn't been for the errors, the score would have been tied 6-6 after the top of the seventh... Charlie and Jaden had multi-hit games plus two walks each... Midland received 10 walks in the game, plus two HBP... Mick's sac-fly in the first set a new spring career mark at 6... The Veritas 4 and 5 hitters had five strikeouts and a double-play... Thanks to Monarchs six-run 4th, Hunter got the win despited only throwing five pitches...