GILMAN BASEBALL - Pirates now 5-1 after wins over Orioles, Panthers

GILMAN BASEBALL

The Gilman Pirates on Monday maintained their winning ways early in the baseball season, riding another strong pitching performance by Dawson Robinson and a two-run first-inning single by Talyn Podolak to a 2-1 non-conference win over Stanley-Boyd.

On a frigid and blustery afternoon for the Pirates’ home opener, Robinson improved to 2-0 and lowered his earned run average to 1.45 in 19.1 innings pitched. The junior struck out six, walked only one and scattered seven hits while throwing the full seven innings on 96 pitches. The Orioles’ lone run, which came in the seventh inning, was unearned.

Gilman improved to 5-1, already surpassing last year’s win total of four.

The Orioles outhit the Pirates 7-4 and Gilman committed four errors behind Robinson, but the team’s first-inning rally was just enough to get the job done. Gilman also achieved a defensive rarity, turning a triple play in the third inning.

Beau Pockat and Connor Nichols drew walks from Stanley-Boyd starter Trent Christoph. They stole second and third base and scored on Podolak’s liner to centerfield.

From there, key hits eluded both offenses. Stanley-Boyd left the bases loaded in the second. The third-inning triple play came with runners on the corners. Carter Welzin hit a line drive that was caught by Podolak at third and both runners were then caught off their respective bags.

The Orioles stranded two more runners in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth. Gilman didn’t put much pressure on Stanley-Boyd’s defense until the sixth when they loaded the bases with no outs, but then didn’t get a ball out of the infield and did not score.

Stanley-Boyd’s leadoff hitter Jackson Gindt started the top of the seventh by reaching on an error. Landon Ewer followed with a single to right that pushed Gindt to third. Alex Williams hit a sacrifice fly that scored Gindt. Welzin flied out but Storm Tiry was hit by a pitch to keep the inning alive. But Robinson got Dawson Ewer to line out to second baseman Tate Krizan to end the game. Max Pockat had two of Gilman’s four hits. Nichols had the other.

The Orioles fell to 1-4 and got two hits apiece from Landon Ewer and Williams.

The Pirates have added a tough nonconference game at Stratford today, Thursday. They’ll play two Eastern Cloverbelt Conference games against Spencer next week. They’ll go to Spencer Tuesday and host the currently 5-1 Rockets on April 24.

Gilman’s Eastern Cloverbelt game with Greenwood that was scheduled for last Thursday was postponed to May 5.

Gilman 9, Prairie Farm 5

On Friday, the Pirates got their fourth win of the season, a 9-5 non-conference victory over visiting Prairie Farm.

Freshman left-hander Max Pockat gave Gilman just what it needed on the mound, needing just 83 pitches to throw a complete game. He struck out seven and recovered nicely after a rough second inning. Pockat walked only one and allowed six hits. Just two of the Panthers’ runs were earned.

Gilman’s offense banged out 15 hits, tied the game in the bottom of the fourth and then put the game away with a fourrun sixth.

Gilman jumped ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the first. Beau Pockat reached on a dropped third strike, stole two bases and scored on a base hit by Nichols. Dawson Grunseth and Podolak singled to load the bases and Robinson was hit by a pitch to score a run. Krizan’s hit knocked in the third run of the inning.

The Panthers loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the second and then got a two-run single from Wyatt Espeseth. A strikeout and ground ball got the Pirates an out away from getting out of the jam, but an error extended the inning and the Panthers got two more runs. They added an unearned run in the third to go up 5-3.

Trevin Duellman’s one-out double and Beau Pockat’s two-out single set up a clutch, two-run double to centerfield by Nichols that tied it in the fourth.

In the sixth, all of Gilman’s damage was done with two outs after Beau Pockat was caught trying to steal second.

Grunseth started it with a single and Podolak followed with another hit. Both scored on Robinson’s double. He went to third on Prairie Farm’s unsuccessful throw home to try to get Podolak. Krizan was hit by a pitch and Max Pockat walked to load the bases and Duellman came through with a hard-hit ground ball single to score Robinson and Krizan.

Max Pockat threw a one-two-three seventh to close it out.

Beau Pockat was three for four at the plate as was Duellman. Nichols drove in three. He and Grunseth, Podolak and Krizan had two hits apiece.