But Eagles surrender 29 runs to DuBourg, Orchard Farm

 
By Steve Bowman
Editor, The Brentwood Spirit
Email: bowmansj@sbcglobal.net

April 7 was a day of firsts for the Brentwood High School baseball team. It’s the day the Eagles won their first game of the season, which happened to be both the first conference game on their schedule and the home opener at Brentwood Park. And the 9-1 blasting of Crossroads was pitcher Seth Winkleman’s first ever varsity win.

It certainly encourages the Eagles, who start this week 1-2 after being outscored 29-18 in their losses to Orchard Farm and Bishop DuBourg. Those two are bigger, Class 4 schools. But still, dominating a Crossroads team that finished one game behind BHS in the league standings last year is reason for hope.

“Our pitching stymied them, just shut them down,” said head coach Mike Imergoot. “Mike [Mills] threw well and Seth was just terrific.”

Mills threw the first three innings and, with his pitch count high for this early in the season, was replaced by Winkleman with a 5-1 lead. The tall, quiet senior then pitched a two-hit shutout over four innings.

“I threw mostly fastballs,” Winkleman said. “They weren’t terribly good at hitting, so I just threw them in there as fast as I could.”

Winkleman is 6-feet-5 and long-armed, so his fastballs seem faster to hitters.

“With that size, the leverage and the plain he’s throwing in, it’s downward,” said Imergoot. “And he’s got a hard pitch; there are some guys who when they throw it, it hits the glove, boom, it breaks hands. And he’s so tall, by the time he lets go of the ball he’s throwing a 55-foot fastball.”

Hitters supported Mills and Winkleman with an efficient nine runs from seven hits. Nobody went crazy — Skylar Sappington doubled and scored three runs, Charles “Butters” Jones stole two bases — but it was more than enough.

April 8: lost to DuBourg 17-8

It was an exciting game until the final inning, when the Eagles suddenly ran out of good pitches and surrendered eight runs. Until then, their hitting against a Class 4 school was impressive. They scored two runs in the second to tie it, five runs in the third to lead 7-6 and one in the sixth to cut the Cavaliers’ advantage to 9-8.

“We played a good team today,” said Imergoot. “That pitcher who came on in relief [Dan Mard] is one of the best lefties in the area. He was throwing BB’s and really good curveballs. But our kids hit. We still swing the bat. We are hitting the baseball and that’s a good sign.”

Starting pitcher Bischoff was replaced with Morgan Murphy after three innings and the Eagles trailing 6-2. With Murphy on the mound BHS surrendered three runs in the fourth and fifth but trailed by only one with an inning left. Butters Jones and Joe Clay pitched the final two innings.

“We were having high pitch counts and we want to make sure we work our pitchers gradually into the season, especially since it was so cold,” said Imergoot. “If you have to lose a ballgame you lose a ballgame; I’m not going to have injuries.”

The game MVP had to be DuBourg’s winning pitcher Thomas Kinney, who struck out 10 in five innings, hit a home run and had five RBI. Jones led the Eagles with three hits. Sappington smacked a triple. Mills’s two hits included a double. Bischoff scored two runs. Cobb had a hit, a run and an RBI.

April 7: beat Crossroads 9-1
Mills and Winkleman pitched a beauty, surrendering only three hits in seven innings. Inheriting a 5-1 lead, Winkleman pitched the last four innings for his first-ever varsity win. Sappington hit a double and scored three runs. Jones had two hits, two runs and two stolen bases.

April 1: lost to Orchard Farm 12-10
Brentwood trailed 4-0 before taking the lead and losing it in the fourth, then taking it again and losing it for good in the fifth. The Eagles out-hit Orchard Farm 13 hits to nine but committed five errors. Bischoff homered, doubled and had six RBI. Sappington got three hits and Jones and Mills each scored two runs. Sappington was the losing pitcher after relieving Bischoff in the third inning and lasting through the sixth. Orchard Farm was led by winning pitcher Vinny Trupiano and Ethan Purgahn, who had two home runs and five RBI.

Brentwood’s starting lineup vs. DuBourg
Pitcher: John Bischoff
Catcher: Stephen Suntrup Jr.
First base: Morgan Murphy
Second base: Mike Mills
Shortstop: Skylar Sappington
Third base: Butters Jones
Left field: Sam Tilton
Center field: Joe Clay
Right field: Alex Cobb

2016 Results and Schedule — BHS is 1-2
4/1: lost at Orchard Farm 12-10
4/7: beat Crossroads 9-1
4/8: lost to DuBourg 17-8
4/11: at Crossroads, 4 p.m., Cool Papa Bell Stadium
4/12: host Hancock, 4:15
4/13: host Bayless, 4:15
4/16: Brentwood Invitational — 11:45 vs. Barat, 3:15 vs. U. City, 6:45 vs. MS-Berkeley
4/18: host Jennings, 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
4/19: at Valley Park, 4:15
4/21: at Herculaneum, 4:15
4/22: at Principia, 4:15
4/23: host JV tournament — 11:45 vs. Clayton, 3:15 vs. Priory, 6:45 vs. Bayless
4/25: at MRH, 4:15
4/27: host Cleveland NJROTC, 4:15
4/28: host University City, 4:15
4/30: host Whitfield, doubleheader, noon
5/2: at Hancock, 4:15
5/3: at Bayless, 4:15
5/4: host Lift for Life, 4:15
5/6: host Valley Park, 4:15