Raddish, Bledsoe shine as East Fairmont stuns Bridgeport

On a 2-2 count, Bledsoe hit a fly ball to deep right-center field, where it took several bounces for a go-ahead RBI single. After a walk and an error on a ground ball advanced him to third, with Tanner Mayfield batting, a passed ball enabled Bledsoe to score from third as he beat the catcher’s throw from the backstop.

“It was awesome, it was awesome,” Bledsoe said. “(It was) such a close game, the energy was high. It was great, a great team win.”

Bridgeport rallied, but a fly ball in foul territory in deep left field was caught and secured the Bees’ 5-4 victory over the Indians on Friday at East Fairmont.

“Quality at-bats,” East Fairmont coach Joe Price said when asked of the key to the sixth inning. “We doubled our quality at-bats from last night. I was glad to see them regroup, get guys on base, putting some pressure on a little bit here and there and then getting a couple base knocks.”

Besides getting the go-ahead RBI single and extending the lead by scoring another run, Bledsoe also got the start and the win on the mound. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with six walks and five strikeouts.

“Just keeping them off balance, throwing that breaking pitch that he throws and then mixing in a fastball here and there, spot pitching the fastball,” Price said when asked what enabled Bledsoe to be so effective. “He and (catcher) Case (Linn) were on the same page all day, which was great.”

Bledsoe was relieved by River McClain, who pitched 1 2/3 innings and allowed a run on one hit with two walks and no strikeouts.

At the conclusion of the game, the Indians totaled nine fly outs and seven hits.

“It comes down to too many fly outs, that’s the bottom line,” Bridgeport coach Robert Shields said. “We ran ourselves out of innings. We didn’t play good baseball today. We ran ourselves out by not being smart, not reading what was going on. They made all the plays, we didn’t make the plays, that’s the bottom line. They deserved to win the ballgame.”

The Bees took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a Danny Raddish home run. After leadoff batter Owen Music drew a walk, Raddish, the third batter, hit a slider over the fence in left center field for his 10th home run of the season.

“First, when I hit it, I didn’t think it was going out, (I thought) it was a pop up,” Raddish said. “But, I was happy when it did. It got us the lead early, kept it rolling from there.”

The Bees extended their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth. River McClain and Carter McKnight were each hit by a pitch, and although McClain was picked off of base, Music hit a 1-0 pitch to left field, putting runners on first and second.

After hitting a home run earlier, Raddish was intentionally walked, and Ian Graffius hit a ground ball that was misfielded by the Bridgeport first baseman, enabling McKnight to score.

The Indians only scored in two innings, most notably the fifth. Michael Romano hit a 2-2 pitch to left center field, where the East Fairmont left fielder dove for it but it deflected off of his glove.

Later, Rohrig drew a walk, and consecutive fielder’s choice grounders resulted in two outs, but put Kasen Baun on second and Brody Pierce on first. Jacob Stavrakis pinch hit for Dylan Duvall.

On a 1-2 pitch, Stavrakis hit a line drive that hugged the third-base line for an RBI double, scoring Baun and sending Pierce to third. After Mark Biafore was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Pierce scored on a passed ball.

Grant Lively drew a walk to load the bases, and the ensuing batter, Rowen Michaelis, hit his first pitch to center field, where it took three bounces before being gloved for an RBI single, tying the game at 3.

Trailing 5-3 in the top of the seventh, the Indians rallied. Lively drew a walk, and two batters later, so did Curry. Romano came up, and on an 0-2 pitch, hit a fly ball to deep left field for an RBI single. Romano was 3 for 3.

Rohrig, the ensuing batter, hit a deep fly ball to left field in foul territory, where Tristan Boone chased it and dove for it and made a diving catch, ending the game.

“He (McClain, who pitched the seventh inning) has nice water in his veins,” Price said. “He may be a freshman on paper, but as far as this goes, he’s not a freshman.”

Music was 1 for 3, Bledsoe was 1 for 4 and Raddish and McClain were each 1 for 2.