| #16 Oxford @ Saltillo (1st Meeting) |
Saltillo got the one run back thanks to a 1 out-double and then a 2 out-RBI single in the same inning Oxford scored its runs on. In this game, pitcher Steven Whitfield had a low pitch count all night and just threw 69 pitches to get this win. 13 Batters finished their at-bat taking just 1 pitch, he got 11 of those batters out. Enough about the actual game, you just want to know how it ends right? Well we won 2-1....... ........ ........ | |
With 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th and a man on first, Whitfield tried to make a pickoff move but over-threw first baseman Parker Adamson. Runner reaches 2nd. The very next pitch, Oxford's signature "OMG I threw it to Center Field!!! - but I really didn't" pick-off play worked to perfection. The runner fully believed Center Fielder Chadwick Lamar was chasing a ball that Whitfield had overthrown - again. Probably the big reason why this worked so well is that Whitfield overthrew first so badly the play before, the runner believed he did it twice.
| Of course Whitfield never threw the ball and had it hidden in his glove. The moment the runner took off for third, Whitfield made a bee-line for him and pushed his glove hard onto him hard. He was pushed so hard that the runner nearly got sent into the outfield. He never knew until he hit the dirt that Whitfield still had the ball and never threw it anywhere. He did not show up in any line-up or played against Oxford for Saltillo in the other two meetings Oxford had against them - likely because of that game-costing base-running blunder. Errors on defense and base-running mistakes (are you listening baseball players?) is what cost Saltillo this game. 3 Saltillo errors in the 2nd inning gave Oxford 2 unearned runs and base-running blunders all game long by Saltillo is what cost them the game and prevented them from scoring more than the one run they got. |