Late Wednesday result: Despite late inning surge, Foxpro falls short

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: June 27, 2024

By Joshua Yoder
LEWISTOWN – Spike Island took advantage of its opportunities as the Pirates defeated the Predators by the final score of 11-6 during CCBL baseball action Wednesday night.
Spike Island got on the board first during the top of the second inning where the Pirates went back to back hits. Denny Prestash led off with a double before McDonald singled him in giving them a 1-0 lead.
The Pirates were not done there as they added on four more runs the very next inning. Two of those runs were with the bases loaded and walks were drawn. Prestash then took care of the rest with a two RBI single to left center field to complete the four run inning and extended the lead to 5-0.
But the Predators were not going to give up as they finally got on the board in the bottom half of the fourth inning where not only did they get runs on the board, but also their first hit of the game which ended a no hitter.
And it was Xavier Smith who ended the no hit bid with a beaming double down the third base line. After a Landen Eichhorn walk, Rylan Bailey blasted a single to left center that drove in Smith and moved Eichhorn over to third. Eichhorn later scored in the frame as Bailey hustled over and stole second base which allowed Eichhorn to score and cut the lead down to 5-2.
Both teams traded a run each in the fifth inning before Spike Island pulled off a massive sixth inning where the Pirates scored four runs in the frame including a big triple from Whitehead to make it a 10-5 ballgame.
The Pirates tacked on one more run in the top of the seventh where Prestash scored a passed ball.
Despite the score being 11-3, Foxpro rallied in the bottom half of the seventh thanks to a big three run home run by Rylan Bailey to make it a 11-6 game, but unfortunately that was as close as the Predators were able to get.
Foxpro was led by Bailey who went 2-for-4 with a home run and four runs batted in. Smith also had a big day at the plate for the Predators going 3-for-4 with two doubles including an RBI.
For Spike Island, Prestash led the charge at the plate going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. Michael Kitko also had a multi hit game for the Pirates.
On the mound, Doug Weaver got the start for Foxpro and pitched the first five and a third innings and had five strikeouts. Bailey took the ball next and went two-thirds inning with a strikeout. Finally Dan Brundage closed the game out for the Predators and pitched an inning and collected a strikeout.
The Pirates called upon Parker White who pitched four and a third innings for them while having four strikeouts. Then Kitko came in and finished the final two and a third innings and had five strikeouts.
Foxpro will look to get make into the win column as the Predators will host the Lemont Ducks today at Rec Park with game time being 6 p.m.
Meanwhile Spike Island will look to keep the winning ways going as they will play against the Milesburg Iron Kings at home on Friday.