Risco remains unbeaten by holding off late charge from Bloomfield

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Veteran Risco High School baseball coach Brandon Blankenship walks to the mound to make one of three pitching changes that he had to use to get past Bloomfield 6-5 on Monday at Bloomfield High School.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

BLOOMFIELD – Veteran Risco High School coach Brandon Blankenship has coached the Tigers through 16 fall and spring baseball seasons and 22 basketball seasons, so he has seen, and had to endure, every type of scenario possible in sports.

On Monday, that experience came in handy, as Blankenship had to utilize four pitchers, and his team overcame four errors, to survive 6-5 against a pesky Bloomfield squad at Bloomfield High School.

“If you look at our (2023) fall schedule,” Blankenship said following the win, “and our (2023) spring schedule, we were in a ton of one-run ball games.”

The Tigers played in 12 games last spring and another eight last fall in which the outcome was two runs or fewer, so when Blankenship’s kids scored six runs in the third inning against the Wildcats, his kids may have felt comfortable, but Blankenship knew there was more baseball to be played, as his team led 6-1.

“We were on the losing end of a lot of those close ball games,” Blankenship said, “so that prepares you, (and) that helps you, but you actually have to come through in those moments.”

Risco remained unbeaten through three games because it did “come through” on Monday.

The Wildcats (2-2) got on the board in their initial at-bat, as sophomore Carter Edwards drew a leadoff walk and moved the second base on a balk by Tiger starting pitcher Kaiden Carlisle.

A Risco throwing error on a pick-off attempt of Edwards moved him to third, and he came home on a sacrifice fly by Justice Cossey for a 1-0 margin.

“Right now,” second-year Bloomfield coach Chris Smith said, “we are running the bases well, and we are hitting the ball OK.

“In our first loss (against Senath-Hornersville) and tonight, we hit the ball really hard, but right at them.”

The Wildcats got seven hits off of four Risco throwers and trailed 6-4 entering their final at-bat.

With Tiger junior Landon Baker on the mound in the seventh inning, Bloomfield senior Ayden Hutchison led off the inning with a hard-hit double.

With one out, Wildcat sophomore Layton McWilliams brought Hutchison home with an RBI single, before Baker got a Wildcat flyout for the second out. However, Baker walked Cossey and Benjamin Stevens to load the bases and Blankenship strode to the mound to speak with his pitcher.

Blankenship stuck with Baker, and it proved smart, as Baker got the next Wildcat hitter on a strikeout looking to end the game.

“That is part of the game,” Smith said, “sometimes (the hits) don’t fall in.”

Risco junior Sammy Smith caught the game, as well as threw 1 1/3 innings while offensively, he paced his team with three hits, one run, and one walk.

Carlisle (one hit, one run), Eli Rodgers (one run, one walk), Baker (one hit, one run, three RBI, one walk), Nate Lewis (one run), CJ Blankenship (one run, one walk), Memphis Hickerson (one hit, one RBI), Kyle Albritton (one hit, one RBI), and Camden Earnheart (one hit, one RBI, one walk) also contributed.

Baker crushed a three-run home run in the pivotal third inning, which scored Rodgers and Carlisle, as the Tigers took advantage of four hits, a sacrifice bunt, Lewis getting hit by a pitch, and a pair of walks in the inning.

Carlisle, Baker, and Smith each notched a stolen base.

On the mound, Carlisle worked 2 2/3 innings and allowed one hit, one unearned run, five walks, and five strikeouts.

Albritton threw an inning and gave up one hit, two unearned runs, and one walk while Smith gave up a couple of hits, one walk, and struck out one batter.

Baker closed the game by allowing three hits, two earned runs, four walks, and four strikeouts.

From his lead-off spot, Edwards tallied one hit, scored twice, and walked a couple of times for Bloomfield while McWilliams (one hit, one run, one RBI), Caleb Upchurch (one hit, one RBI, two walks), Cossey (one run, one RBI, three walks), Stevens (one hit, one walk), Andrew Cruz-Blanco (one hit, one RBI, one walk), Lawles Graser (one hit), and Hutchison (one hit, one run, two walks) were also productive.

Upchurch threw two innings and allowed three hits and six earned runs while walking four and striking out four.

Edwards worked five innings in relief and allowed five hits, no runs, one walk, and struck out six Tigers.