On Tuesday, September 11th, Yellow Jackets Baseball hosted West Salem for non-conference action. It was also 8th grade night for JD Bowser and Wyatt Gher, both of which have been in the program for 4 years. The Yellow Jackets fought hard, but fell in defeat in 8 innings, 9-4. In the bottom of the first inning with one out, Jesse Brogan doubled and JD Bowser brought him home to score with a laser ground out to second base. Yellow Jackets to the 1-0 lead to the top of the second inning, when West Salem tied it up with a lead-off walk, stolen base, an error and a wild pitch. Then West Salem took the lead in the top of the third inning with a runner getting on base due to error and three wild pitches in the inning. In the bottom of the third inning, the Yellow Jackets tied it up at two apiece as JD Bowser was hit-by-pitch with one out, stole second, moved to third on an error, and then scored on a wild pitch. West Salem then added a run in the sixth inning and a run in the seventh inning, without the benefit of a hit, to lead 4-2. The Yellow Jackets weren't finished though. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Jesse Brogan hit a double, moved to third base on a wild pitch, JD Bowser walked and stole second base. With runners on second and third, Chase Gher put the ball in play just past the pitcher to score Brogan and then Bowser scored on an error trying to get him at third base. The Yellow Jackets tied it up and forced extra innings. In the eighth inning, West Salem scored 5 runs without the benefit of a hit to win the game 9-4. JD Bowser started pitching and went 2 innings, followed by Jesse Brogan for 5 innings. JD and Jesse combined to strike out 18 batters in the seven innings and only gave up one hit. Brendan Bowser started the 8th inning, then Wyatt Gher faced the last two batters of the ballgame to pitch for the first time ever.
West Salem - 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 5 - 9
Yellow Jackets - 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 - 4
Yellow Jackets Hitting:
Blake Strine 0-4
Jesse Brogan 2-4, 2 runs, 2 doubles
JD Bowser 0-1, 2 runs, HBP, 2 BB, 3 SB, RBI
Chase Gher 0-3, HBP, RBI
Wyatt Gher 1-3, BB
Brendan Bowser 0-2, 2 BB, SB
Kasen Dulgar 0-3, BB
Trenton Potts 0-1
Michael Smith 0-3
Tristan Bray 0-4
Yellow Jackets Pitching:
JD Bowser - 2 innings, 6 K, 4 BB, 2 runs
Jesse Brogan - 5 innings, 12 K, 3 BB, 1 hit, 2 runs
Brendan Bowser - 0.2 innings, 4 BB, 2 HBP, 5 runs
Wyatt Gher - 0.1 inning, 1 K, 1 BB
Yellow Jackets are now 3-5 on the season and 3-3 in WEAA Conference play. Next up - SIJHSAA Regional TBD
Yellow Jackets Baseball 8th Grade Players: JD Bowser, Coach Bob Bowser, Wyatt Gher