Ohatchee, AL – Ohatchee answers Pleasant Valley’s seventh-inning rally with one of its own to end six-game losing streak, 5-4.
East Alabama Sports Today
Ohatchee reached a need-a-win crossroads in its first season under head coach Kyle Parris and delivered.
Jesse Baswell’s double scored the tying run, and Jake Roberson’s grounder scored Baswell with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Indians answered a Pleasant Valley rally to win 5-4 at home.
The victory ended Ohatchee’s six-game losing streak and got the Indians to 6-9.
“They were starting to feel the pressure and not playing well for a couple of weeks,” Parrish said. “They’ve been working hard, and I think this win shows that hard work is paying off.
“I could see the relief off their shoulders.”
Ohatchee overcame Pleasant Valley (10-7), which had won three in a row and is 18-9 since Dalton Turner took over as head coach late last season.
Trailing 3-2 headed into the top of the seventh, the Raiders took the lead when Holt Bentley reached on a two-run error.
In a pitching duel between Pleasant Valley’s Logan Williams and Ohatchee’s Will Folsom, it appeared the Raiders had found a way to escape a hungry Calhoun County rival.
“We weren’t able to hit the ball consistently today, but our guys kept fighting,” Turner said. “Our guys never give up. They love the pressure. They love those situations.
“Today was a good day of baseball to help us prepare for bigger games down the road.”
Folsom pitched a complete game, allowing four hits with 10 strikeouts.
Williams worked six solid innings, allowing nine hits and striking out four batters before giving way to Bryce Freeman after a walk and Baswell’s game-tying double in the seventh.
Ohatchee came to bat in the bottom of the seventh with nine-hole hitter Hunter Brown followed by the top of the order … Baswell, Xavier Luna and Roberson.
Brown walked ahead of Baswell, who drove him home.
‘We just knew what we had to do, and we had to go up there and execute,” Baswell said. “We’ve been talking about it all week. We just had to come out here and do our job.”
Luna singled, advancing Baswell to third base, and Roberson put the ball in play.
“No pressure at all,” Roberson said. “Jesse did all of the hard part, and I just had to put the ball in play.”
Ohatchee looks ahead to this week’s home-and-away series against Fyffe then Class 3A, Area 11 series against Glencoe and Westrook Christian.
How badly did the Indians need Saturday’s win?
“Badly,” Roberson said. “We need to get on a roll. This can get us back in a winning mindset and get the confidence back.”
Pleasant Valley takes the positives into this week’s Spring Experience games against Wellborn, Weaver and Ardmore at Choccolocco Park.
“I take that we can fight,” Bentley said. “We’re not our old team. We don’t give up anymore. We can actually come back and fight in a game, which is nice to know, especially for playoffs.”
It was a perfect day for baseball, and there was good baseball when Ohatchee played host to Pleasant Valley on Saturday.
Photos by Joe Medley
