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Independence, MO —
Hi Boy Drive-In Post 340 manager Barney White didn’t offer up any harsh critiques of his squad’s effort in its opening game of the 24th Annual American Legion Wood Bat Invitational.
After falling to Lincoln (Neb.) Pinnacle Bank 8-0 in a five-inning American League South Division game at the Independence Athletic Complex, White gave a seven-word assessment that while bland, was accurate and to the point.
“They hit the ball and we didn’t,” he said.
Not only did Lincoln hit the ball, but they connected in spots that mattered. With runners on, Lincoln went 8-for-14 while Hi Boy (19-15) tallied just three hits total. In three frames, Hi Boy went down in order as Lincoln starter Dalton Meeske tossed just 60 pitches in recording a shutout.
“We didn’t go up with a good approach,” said Hi Boy second baseman Aaron Alter, who finished 1-for-2. “We got down in counts and then we saw a lot of offspeed. He threw pretty good and we just didn’t get ahead of him.”
Hi Boy’s only serious threat came in the top of the fourth. Trailing 3-0, Ryan Toliver stroked a one-out single and Zac Blakemore then reached on an error. Alter followed with a single to center that initially looked like it had a chance to score a run. But Toliver elected to stay at third and Blakemore – looking to advance from second – was picked off by Lincoln center fielder Danny Suiter. Trevor Jeffries then grounded out to third to end the inning.
“We probably should have saw that the ball was down earlier than that,” White said. “But the wood bats, the outfielders playing much shallower than we played with the aluminum – you’re not quite used to it. You’re thinking it one-hops him, there’s no way you’re getting forced at second.”
Toliver said he thought switching to the wood bats contributed to the club’s offensive struggles. Although the team used them in league play last season, he said it always takes a game or two to readjust.
“If we can just get the bats going we can be pretty dang good,” he said.
After failing to capitalize in the top of the fourth, things spiraled for Hi Boy as Lincoln touched Jordan Pinkley for three runs in the bottom half thanks to Dylan Matthews’ two-out triple.
White said he noticed a drop-off in Pinkley’s velocity in the frame after pitching a solid first three innings.
Hi Boy Drive-In Post 340 manager Barney White didn’t offer up any harsh critiques of his squad’s effort in its opening game of the 24th Annual American Legion Wood Bat Invitational.
After falling to Lincoln (Neb.) Pinnacle Bank 8-0 in a five-inning American League South Division game at the Independence Athletic Complex, White gave a seven-word assessment that while bland, was accurate and to the point.
“They hit the ball and we didn’t,” he said.
Not only did Lincoln hit the ball, but they connected in spots that mattered. With runners on, Lincoln went 8-for-14 while Hi Boy (19-15) tallied just three hits total. In three frames, Hi Boy went down in order as Lincoln starter Dalton Meeske tossed just 60 pitches in recording a shutout.
“We didn’t go up with a good approach,” said Hi Boy second baseman Aaron Alter, who finished 1-for-2. “We got down in counts and then we saw a lot of offspeed. He threw pretty good and we just didn’t get ahead of him.”
Hi Boy’s only serious threat came in the top of the fourth. Trailing 3-0, Ryan Toliver stroked a one-out single and Zac Blakemore then reached on an error. Alter followed with a single to center that initially looked like it had a chance to score a run. But Toliver elected to stay at third and Blakemore – looking to advance from second – was picked off by Lincoln center fielder Danny Suiter. Trevor Jeffries then grounded out to third to end the inning.
“We probably should have saw that the ball was down earlier than that,” White said. “But the wood bats, the outfielders playing much shallower than we played with the aluminum – you’re not quite used to it. You’re thinking it one-hops him, there’s no way you’re getting forced at second.”
Toliver said he thought switching to the wood bats contributed to the club’s offensive struggles. Although the team used them in league play last season, he said it always takes a game or two to readjust.
“If we can just get the bats going we can be pretty dang good,” he said.
After failing to capitalize in the top of the fourth, things spiraled for Hi Boy as Lincoln touched Jordan Pinkley for three runs in the bottom half thanks to Dylan Matthews’ two-out triple.
White said he noticed a drop-off in Pinkley’s velocity in the frame after pitching a solid first three innings.
“Jordan hasn’t thrown a lot of innings,” White said. “We were a little short on starting pitching today, and he didn’t throw a bad game. But he’s a guy that’s more three innings here and three innings there. So I think he kind of hit his limit.”
Lincoln run-ruled Hi Boy in the fifth as Suiter cracked a two-run homer. Suiter finished 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, three RBIs and two runs. Matthews went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, a run scored and a stolen base.
Hi Boy plays a doubleheader today, taking on the O’Fallon (Mo.) West Jaguars at 12:30 p.m. at the IAC before meeting the Chillicothe (Mo.) Post 25 Cardinals at 8 at Hidden Valley Park in Blue Springs. The tournament is round robin with the winners of the eight divisions advancing to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
“We are in a hole,” Alter said. “But we can’t think about it. We’ve got to go out and take care of business every other game and try to climb back on top, get to Sunday. That’s the big goal.”
