BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
You could say the Bradford High School baseball team literally put the “walk” in walk-off as Kevin Crawford drew a walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh to give the Tornadoes a 6-5 win over visiting Belleview on March 15.
Despite losing a 4-0 lead, the Tornadoes (3-6) were able to win their second straight game.
Bradford scored two runs in the second inning, which began with Mattox Burgin reaching on a walk and later stealing second. One out later, Crawford walked. An error on an attempt to catch Crawford stealing resulted in Burgin scoring and Crawford advancing to third. An error on a ground ball hit by Blake Wynn allowed Crawford to score.
The Rattlers put two on with one out in the top of the third, but the Tornadoes got out of the inning with a double play. Starting pitcher Burgin fielded a bunt and threw to catcher Kacen Thomassen, who was able to tag out a runner trying to score. Thomassen then fired the ball to third baseman Ryland Rike to complete the play.
In the bottom of the inning, Bradford pushed another two runs across. Rike drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored when Belleview committed an error on a Thomassen ground ball. Brayden Smyth, who entered to run for Thomassen, scored on a Cason Pilcher ground ball.
Belleview tied the score with four runs in the fourth. Three came on a home run by Eric McLaughlin. A wild pitch allowed the Rattlers to score their fourth run.
The Rattlers took a 5-4 lead in the sixth. Brian Reynolds hit a leadoff single, followed by McLaughlin drawing a walk. The runners advanced on Juan Mojica’s sacrifice bunt before Reynolds scored on Cooper Wilson’s ground out.
Bradford’s Jeffrey Brugh hit a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth. He advanced to second and third on wild pitches and then scored on a steal of home to tie the score.
Thomassen led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk. Courtesy runner Smyth advanced on a Luke Stucky sacrifice bunt before Belleview intentionally walked Burgin and Pilcher. Crawford stepped to the plate and took a first-ball strike before taking four straight balls for the win.
Burgin gave up five hits through five innings, striking out five and allowing just one walk. Brugh gave up one hit in pitching the sixth, while Pilcher struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh.
The Tornadoes entered the game off a 14-4, five-inning win over visiting Hamilton County on March 14.
Bradford led 2-1 before scoring seven runs in the third, which included RBI singles by Crawford, Pilcher and Rike. Burgin and Stafford each drew a bases-loaded walk, while Burgin and Crawford both scored on wild pitches.
Brugh hit a two-run single as part of a five-run fifth that ended the game early. Breion Johnson drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in the inning, which also saw Crawford draw a bases-loaded walk and Pilcher score on a wild pitch.
Brugh, Crawford and Stafford each finished with two RBI, while Burgin, Johnson, Pilcher and Rike each had one.
Starting pitcher Stucky gave up three runs through four innings on six hits. Ryder Thompson pitched the fifth, giving up one run on one hit.
The Tornadoes host Middleburg on Thursday, March 16, at 7 p.m.
