Clark shines in Freeport’s BCABL regular season finale
FREEPORT — With Butler Township’s Ethan Trettel standing at third with nobody gone in the top of the guests’ sixth, Freeport had a lot to do to preserve its 2-1 lead.
Their starting pitcher, Braden Clark, buckled down.
The visitors’ Mac Schnur fouled out, then — after Braden Marcellus worked a full count — Clark got him to pop out. Kyle Yost couldn’t bring Trettel across, either.
Freeport added three insurance runs in the bottom half of that inning, which were key in its 5-3 Butler County Area Baseball League victory Friday night. The game was played at Freeport Community Park’s Laube Hall.
“This is his last year of playing ball,” Freeport coach Joe Hotalski said of Clark. “He’s been pitching for Freeport for years now. He’s having a blast.
“This was his game.”
Clark went the distance on the rubber, throwing 117 pitches — 70 of which were for strikes. His offensive effort was also a big reason as to why Freeport held the advantage at that sixth-inning juncture.
In the first, his double to deep center field plated the game’s first run in the form of Johnathan Hotalski, who reached on a fielder’s choice in the prior at-bat.
Clark moved to third as Butler Township tried to throw Hotalski out at home. He scored on a wild pitch shortly thereafter.
On the hill, Clark was painting the corners. Not that his challengers agreed.
“He (Clark) had a low outside pitch that just wasn’t a strike,” Butler Township assistant coach Josh Grigoletti said of the pitch that rung up three of his lineup’s batters. “He called it for both teams.”
The visitors got on the board in the fourth after Marcellus singled and Logan Koegler roped an RBI double to the right-center gap.
With their turns in the sixth, Zach Clark and Hotalski registered back-to-back extra-base hits that produced runs, rendering Butler Township’s two seventh-inning runs inconsequential.
“When we played them last time, we couldn’t string enough hits together in one inning,” Coach Hotalski said. “When you string two (or) three hits in one inning, throw in a couple walks, you’re going to score runs.”
After beginning the campaign with eight consecutive wins, Butler Township has dropped four of their last five.Things might have unfolded differently had they not left a runner in scoring position in the second, third, and fourth frames.
Along with that, a force play slide rule closed matters on Butler’s first time up and Koegler was picked off to end the top of the second.
“Yesterday and today, our bats just haven’t been as hot as usual,” Grigoletti said. “They’ll come back around eventually.”
Freeport is the first team in the BCABL to finish up its regular season schedule, which Hotalski said will allow his players to enjoy the holiday.
“Most of the time, we’re cramming like everybody else to get games in,” Hotalski said. “They have an entire weekend, with the fourth, free. That was my goal.”
Butler Township 000 100 2 — 3 7 0
Freeport 200 003 — 5 6 0
W: Braden Clark 7IP (8K, 2BB). L: Ryan Hepfl 6IP (4K, 3BB).
Butler Township (9-4): Ethan Trettel 2-1B, Braden Marcellus 1B R, Logan Koegler 2-1B 2B RBI, Mattix Clement 2B, CJ Singleton 1B 2RBI
Freeport (9-6): Brady Stivenson R, Zach Clark 1B 2B R RBI, Johnathan Hotalski 3B RBI, Braden Clark 2B R 2RBI, Ryan Claypoole 1B 2B
Thursday: Pine Richland at Butler
