The top of the batting order came through in the clutch Monday for the Edwardsburg baseball team as the Eddies rallied to beat second-ranked (Division III) Buchanan, 7-5, in non-conference action.

With two outs in the sixth inning and Buchanan leading, 5-4, No. 1 batter Damion Pompey hit a two-run single to give the Eddies a 6-5 lead and Jesse Reinebold followed with an RBI single.

“(Pompey) does a nice job,” Edwardsburg baseball coach A.J. Gaideski. “He’s come through for us all year. He does a great job in everything thing he does for us.”

Reinebold also made key pitches on the mound to get out of jams in the fifth and seventh inning. Buchanan left the bases-loaded in the fifth and ended the game with runners on second and third.

“Jesse did a nice job of pitching his way out of it,” Gaideski said. “He got a couple balls up on some 0-2 counts, but after that he buckled down and threw some great pitches. Jackson Gaideski made a great diving catch (in foul territory) to get us out of the bases-loaded jam.”

Poor defense cost the Bucks as the Eddies scored five unearned runs. Edwardsburg took advantage of two Buchanan errors and a passed ball.

“We just let them right back in the ball game,” said Buchanan baseball coach Lonnie Hoover. “We can overcome physical errors. The mental errors are also what’s keeping us from beating really quality teams.”

A three-run fourth inning gave the Bucks a 5-2 lead. Buchanan scored a run on a sacrifice fly from Kyle Leazenby, a wild pitch and on an RBI single from Jarrett Thomas.

Edwardsburg got an RBI single from Joe Hess in the fourth inning and an RBI single from Ben Robertson in the fifth.

 

EDWARDSBURG 7, BUCHANAN 5

Buchanan                   002     300     0 – 5 10 2

Edwardsburg            200     113     x – 7 8 1

Alex Lindamood, Dalton Riddle (5-L) and Chad Adkerson; Damion Pompey, Jesse Reinebold (5-W) and Zach Plummer

2B: Christian Hall (B), Gavin Morris (B), Dalton Raymond (E)

Varsity records: Buchanan 17-5, Edwardsburg 18-8