JV Walk Off in the 10th, Remain Perfect

The Giants battled Bishop O’Dowd High School Friday night until the sun set at Moody Field. In a ten

inning nail-biter, Redwood stayed perfect on the season with a bench clearing walk off victory in the bottom of the tenth, beating Bishop O’Dowd 3-2.

Kyle Felder started for the Giants, going four innings and striking out five. Redwood showed promise in the second inning, after first baseman, Jack Morken, smoked a fastball back up the middle for a single. Morken would steal second and land on third after a wild pitch to Jacob Klionski. However, the Giants could not capitalize on the opportunity.

Bishop O’Dowd’s starting pitcher kept the Giants off the score board through four innings, getting two runs of support from his team. Redwood kept the game close, however, with some help from center-fielder Jacob Klionski’s diving catch in center. In the bottom half of the fifth, Klionski would hit a lead-off double. A wild pitch moved JK to third. Redwood would finally score after second baseman, Nick Cook, singled up the middle, scoring Klionski. (2-1, O’Dowd, after five)

Maxim Kawashima came in to pitch the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, no hitting his opponent and striking out three. Kawashima added a single to right-field in the bottom of the sixth and promptly stole second. Maxim advanced to third. Sam Warren drew a walk. On a wild pitch, Kawashima alertly crossed home plate to tie the contest at two after six innings.

Jackson Bender, the eventual game winner, pitched the eighth, ninth and tenth innings. The game was nip and tuck for the rest of the evening. In the eighth inning, Nate Charles hit a hard grounder to second which was duffed, landing him safely at first. Charles would steal second but get caught stealing third to end the Redwood threat.

In the ninth, Bender kept the batters baffled, striking out one and inducing a pop-up for the second out. The inning ended after catcher, Jake Nordstrom, threw a seed down to second base for the third out on a steal attempt.

The game looked dire in the tenth, after Bishop O’Dowd loaded the bases. Bender hung tough, however, working out of the difficult situation to preserve the 2-2 tie. With the sun going down, in the bottom of the tenth, Jacob Klionski lead off with a double down the third base line. After another wild pitch, Klionski stole third. With the game on the line, Nick Cook took a fast ball back up the middle for the walk-off dugout clearing victory. Final Score: 3-2 Giants.

The JV Giants improve to 5-0 in pre-season play. The highly entertaining, character building, extra-innings walk-off victory motivated the proud parents to celebrate with the team at The Counter. The season is off to a perfect start, both on and off the field. The Giants resume pre-season play next Tuesday, March 7th, when they host Casa Grande High School at Moody Field. First pitch-3:30 p.m.

Photos from tonight’s barn burner can be viewed: http://www.JordanWarren.photography/p251355359