Wildcats take two from Osawatomie

By Andy Brown
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Updated: April 26, 2016

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg senior Cole Kramer lays out for a diving catch while teammate Matt Risenhoover looks on during the Wildcats’ Apr. 19 doubleheader against Baldwin at Lewis-Young Park. The Wildcats defeated Osawatomie on Thursday with pair of 6-0 and 14-4 victories.

For most of the season, the Louisburg baseball team has found itself in a lot of close games. Some have gone its way, some haven’t.

During Thursday’s doubleheader with Osawatomie, the Wildcats didn’t leave much doubt about the outcomes. Louisburg took care of business with a 6-0 and 14-4 sweep of the Trojans at Lewis-Young Park just two days after winning in walk-off fashion against Baldwin.

The Wildcats (7-5) have now won three straight contests and four out of their last six.

“It was good to get wins and get them in a way that we know we are capable of,” Louisburg coach Joel McGhee said. “We have had a few slip away from us due to some late inning slumps this season, and it was great to see runs put up throughout the entire game. We did a great job on the base paths and had solid performances defensively and from our pitchers. We had a good all-around team performance to come away with the wins.”

In the opener, it all started on the mound with starting pitcher Cole Kramer. The Louisburg senior baffled the Osawatomie bats and he pitched a complete game shutout.

Kramer gave up just three hits and struck out five batters over seven innings of work. Although he has pitched some in relief, it was also Kramer’s first start of the season.

“Cole did very well and is efficient on the mound,” McGhee said. “He throws a lot of strikes and challenges the batters he faces. He and the team did a great job getting lead off outs, and we had multiple innings where we got the first two batters out. Cole draws a large number of ground balls and fly balls each time he pitches. It was great to get the complete game from him.”

The offense certainly supported Kramer in his cause as the Wildcats scored a run in the first, three in the second and two more in the fourth inning to seal the win. Louisburg pounded out 10 hits and three of those came off the bat of Austin Henderson.

Henderson, the senior first baseman, finished the day 3 for 4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs. He hit a 2-run home run in the second inning to put Louisburg up 4-0.

“Austin is seeing the ball very well right now and making solid contact when he comes to the plate” McGhee said. “He has been doing a great job when we have runners on and takes advantage of pitchers’ mistakes.”

Senior Alex Dunn and junior Grant Harding added a pair of hits and Harding had an RBI single. Senior Colton Smith and junior Blake Ruder also drove a run in.

The nightcap brought even more offense as the Wildcats scored 14 runs on 12 hits and took advantage of four Osawatomie errors in the five inning run-rule victory.

Louisburg scored three runs in the first and second innings to take a 6-0 lead. Osawatomie scored two each in the third and fourth innings, but the Wildcats used a 5-run fourth inning to pull away.

Korbin Hankinson, Dunn and Harding each led the Wildcat offense with a pair of hits. Kramer and Harding had two RBIs each.

Matt Risenhoover had the lone extra base hit with an RBI double in the Wildcats’ big fourth inning. Dunn, Hankinson, Smith and Dalton Stone also each drove in a run.

Harding also pitched a complete game for Louisburg as he gave up the four earned runs with two strikeouts to get the win.

Louisburg will try and continue its winning streak today when it travels to De Soto. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.

Wildcats win nightcap over Baldwin on walkoff

The Louisburg baseball team was in a comfortable position going into the final inning of the nightcap against Baldwin on April 19.

Louisburg, coming off a 4-3 loss to Baldwin in the opener, had a four-run lead in the seventh inning of the second game. Instead, a tight strike zone and a couple Louisburg mistakes allowed Baldwin to score four times and tie it.

The game went into extra innings, but the Wildcats got the run they needed in the eighth inning to pull out a 9-8 victory and get the split at Lewis-Young Park.

With one hit in the eighth, Alex Dunn drew a walk and Thomas San Agustin entered as a pinch runner. Colton Smith followed with a single to right field and San Agustin scored all the way from first base for the win.

“It was a challenging evening, but the team remained focused despite the adverse situation,” Louisburg coach Joel McGhee said. “In the end the team displayed great resilience, fighting back to take the game. Alex had a great at-bat drawing a walk and Thomas used his speed and hustle to go from first to home on Colton’s single. We were able to take advantage of a mistake to take the game.”

Louisburg’s Dalton Stone reaches back to deliver a pitch during the Wildcats’ doubleheader with Baldwin on Apr. 19.

Louisburg started the game with a four-run first inning to take a big lead, but Baldwin answered with three runs in the second before the Wildcats scored four more runs in the fourth to take an 8-3 lead.

Grant Harding had a big day at the plate with three hits, a pair of doubles and three RBIs. Matt Risenhoover led Louisburg with four RBIs, including a two-run double in the fourth.

Dalton Stone started the game for Louisburg and went five innings and gave up three earned runs and had three strikeouts. Risenhoover came in for three innings of relief to help close it out.

Both pitchers had to deal with an inconsistent strike zone all night, which caused a lot of frustration in both dugouts. However, they were able to preserve what turned out to be a big win.

The Wildcats came off a tough loss in the opener. Louisburg used a three-run second inning to take a 3-2 lead, but Baldwin tied it with a run in the third and then eventually took the lead for good with a run in the top of the sixth.

Colton Smith started the game and pitched five strong innings as he gave up just two earned runs and struck out seven. Cole Kramer came in for the final two innings of relief.

Austin Henderson led the Louisburg offense with a pair of hits, including a double. Harding also finished with two hits, while Stone and Cale Schneider each drove in a run.