Hard-hitting Henderson beats cold, routs Oxford

WEST CHESTER » As we are near the midway point of the scholastic baseball season, it appears the West Chester Henderson Warriors are starting to come together at the right time. Wednesday afternoon, at a frigid Bob Owens Field, the Warriors got a great six-inning pitching performance from Jackson Snyder, and the offense banged out 12 hits, as the Warriors blew out Oxford, 101. It was the second win in a row for the Warriors, who have now scored 17 runs in their last two games.

West Chester Henderson (6-2 league, 6-3 overall) scored in the first four innings against the Hornets (6-2, 6-2), and once the Warriors had the lead, Snyder did the rest, allowing Oxford just six hits, with six strike outs and no walks.

“I had real good command of my fastball today,” Snyder said. “And then the curveball kicked in and I was using that as my out pitch. It was cold sitting in the dugout when we were scoring those runs, but it makes my job a lot easier with a lead like that. You can go and challenge the hitters a little more and you have some leeway if you make a mistake.”

The Warriors jumped on Oxford starter Dom Williams right away in the first inning. Kevin Wheeler led off with a walk and Dean O’Neill hit a sharp grounder that the Hornets could not turn into a double play, leaving one on and one out. Eddie Smink walked to put two men on, and Brett McCartney ripped an RBI single to make it a 1-0 game. Eric Angle lofted a sacrifice fly to right field and it was a 2-0 game. Williams, after walking Jackson Rutecki, balked a run in from third and the Warriors were out to a fast start at 3-0.

But the Warriors were nowhere near done scoring on this day. West Chester Henderson sent nine batters to the plate in the second inning against Oxford reliever Connor Warren. McCartney and Rutecki had RBI doubles and when the inning was over the Warriors had a commanding 7-0 advantage.

“The last two games we all have been hitting,” McCartney said. “We hit well Monday and today it seemed like we all were putting our bats on the ball. I feel the offense is coming around and we are a good offensive team.”

Oxford could not generate a rally against

Snyder as the Warriors’ hurler did an adept job of keeping the Hornet hitters off balance. Connor Reilly hit a long ball to right field to lead off the top the fourth inning, but Warrior outfielder Zach Klein made a nice running catch for a loud, long out. Oxford avoided the mercy rule by scoring a single run in the top the fifth inning.

West Chester Henderson scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning and one more in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 10-0 lead after four innings. Klein was also good at the plate as he laced three hits on the day. Oxford helped the Warriors’ cause with a couple of wild pitches and a botched pick-off play, and the game belonged to to the Warriors, who now get ready for a Friday date with Bishop Shanahan.

“We hit the ball well the last two days, but in baseball we could not score a run the next game,” said West Chester Henderson coach Luke McNichol. “Oxford hit some balls hard or harder than we did, but we made the plays. And Jackson was very tough on the mound today, but baseball is a funny game. You always have to be ready for the next game.”