Stryker Gill
HOPE — Hauser baseball took advantage whenever visiting Southwestern (Hanover) gave the opportunity.
The Jets had two big innings, scoring five runs in the third and five in the fifth to come away with an 11-1, five-inning victory Monday night. The win is also their first victory of the season.
Hauser had six hits in the contest but also had 11 free passes, whether it was a hit by pitch or a walk.
“I tell my guys that no matter how you got on first or second, I just want to be on first or second,” Hauser coach Nate Long said. “We had a lot of productive at-bats today, a lot of deep counts in the at-bats. I thought our plate appearance was really good.”
The Jets (1-2) got on the scoreboard first when Kase Meister smacked a single to plate a run to give them a quick 1-0 lead. The Rebels got it back in the top of the third when Jamison Lewis delivered an RBI-single to tie it at 1-1.
Hauser then picked up five runs in the bottom of the third. The Jets only managed a single hit in the inning, but took advantage of wild pitches and a few walks to jump ahead to a 6-1 lead.
Hauser ended the game when it scored five more runs in the fifth. Once again, the Jets only managed one hit in the inning, but six consecutive walks essentially ended the contest.
A scary moment happened in the fifth inning for Hauser when Karson Stuckey was hit in the head area with a pitch and was on the ground for a few minutes. He was able to make his way back to the dugout, but was subbed out for the remainder of the game.
On the mound, Stryker Gill went the full game, allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts.
“He didn’t pitch a lot for us last year, and we need his arm this year. What that boils down to is, we’re going to throw him out there against some good competition and see what we’ve got for years to come after that,” Long said. “We use games like tonight for him to work on his craft to get better, and I thought he threw the ball well as far as mixing his timing, mixing his pitches up, and when we needed a strikeout, he got one for us tonight.”
For the Jets, Kam Blair went 2 for 3 with an RBI, Simeon Wasil was 1 for 2 with an RBI, Meister and RJ Foster each went 1 for 3 with two RBIs and Nathan Linke was 1 for 3.
It’s a big win for Hauser, especially against a sectional opponent that knocked them out of the tournament last year.
“I never really pay attention to wins and losses as far as overall record, but when we compete with a sectional opponent that knocked us out last year, these guys remember that,” Long said. “I thought we played well, and hopefully that momentum keeps going for us.”
