The Preston Pirate varsity spring baseball team extended their winning streak to 18 games with three-straight home wins this past weekend.
The Preston Pirate varsity spring baseball team extended their winning streak to 18 games with three-straight home wins this past weekend.
The Pirates began the 3-game homestand last Thursday with a 9-1, runrule, win over the visiting Stroud Tigers.
The other two home wins last weekend came this past Saturday against Hulbert (8-0) and Porter (12-1), respectively.
The recent 3-game home sweep pushes the Class 2A No. 8 ranked Pirates’ season record to 21-1, heading into Monday’s regular-season finale at home against New Lima.
After Monday’s regular-season finale, the Preston squad will begin postseason play Thursday with a Best of 3 series with Caney Valley in the Class 2A district championships at the Jim Waller Sports Complex in Preston. The Pirates’ playoff opener will get started at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
In last Thursday’s run-rule win over Stroud, the host Pirates opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first. The Preston squad added three in the second for a 4-0 advantage after two innings of action.
Stroud tallied its lone run in the top of the third for a 4-1 contest, while the Pirates plated four in the fourth and one in the fifth to complete the 9-1, run-rule, win.
Noah Wilson worked the first three innings on the mound for Preston to earn the pitching win. Wilson allowed one run on two hits, striking out two, walking four, and hitting a batter.
Braxton Kennedy entered out of the bullpen in the fourth and worked two perfect innings of relief for the Pirates.
Jayden Herring was tops offensively for Preston in the win, finishing 3 for 3 with three singles and 2 RBIs.
The other Pirate base hits against Stroud came on a single by Wilson, double by Easton Shaw, triple by Kennedy, 2-run single by Kaden Dean, and 2-run double by Luke Hankins.
Shaw and Cooper Ausbrooks had back-to-back RBI walks for the Pirates in the 4-run fourth.
In Saturday’s shutout win over Hulbert, the Pirates scored a run in each of the first four innings, then added four in the fifth for the 8-0, run-rule, win.
Easton Shaw got the start on the mound for Preston and was awarded the pitching win, striking out 11 and giving up four hits in five scoreless innings of work.
The Pirates’ offense was led by the duo of Kellen Dean (2 for 4, single, double, 3 RBIs) and Noah Wilson (2 for 2, single, triple, RBI) with two hits apiece.
The other two Preston base hits against Hulbert came on a single by Shaw and an RBI single by Cooper Ausbrooks, who also had an RBI groundout in the third.
Jayden Herring drove in one of the four Pirate runs in the fifth with an RBI walk.
In Saturday’s rout of Porter, the host Pirates opened the scoring with four runs in the bottom of the first. The Preston squad added eight more in their half of the second for a commanding 12-0 advantage after two innings of action.
Porter tallied its lone run in the top of the third to award the host Preston Pirates the 12-1 victory.
Kellen Dean led the offensive attack for Preston, going 3 for 3 with two singles, a double, and 3 RBIs.
Cooper Ausbrooks (2 for 3, 2 singles, 2 RBIs) and Kaden Dean (2 for 2, single, double, 3 RBIs) also recorded multi-hit games for the host Pirates in the win with two hits each.
The final four base hits for Preston against Porter came on a single by Jayden Herring, RBI singles by Noah Wilson and Easton Shaw, and a 2-run single by Braxton Kennedy.
Kellen Dean was awarded the pitching win against Porter, allowing one run on four hits with two strikeouts and one walk in three innings of work.
--- April 20, 2023
Preston 9, Stroud 1
Stroud:0-0-1-0-0 1-2-4 Preston:1-3-0-4-1 9-8-0 WP: Noah Wilson LP: Turtle HR: None --- April 22, 2023
Preston 8, Hulbert 0
Hulbert:0-0-0-0-0 0-4-2 Preston:1-1-1-1-4 8-6-0 WP: Easton Shaw LP: Reese HR: None --- Preston 12, Porter 1
Porter: 0-0-1 1 - 4 -3 Preston: 4 - 8 - x 12 - 11 - 0 WP: Kellen Dean LP: Pike HR: None
