Huskies win seventh straight

Two early runs and Paisley's pitching key in 5-1 win over Hillcrest

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 6/14/22

Three consecutive hits with one out in the first inning provided the Huskies with almost all of the offense they would need in a 5-1 win over Hillcrest at Duane Banks Field on …

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Huskies win seventh straight

Two early runs and Paisley's pitching key in 5-1 win over Hillcrest

Posted

Three consecutive hits with one out in the first inning provided the Huskies with almost all of the offense they would need in a 5-1 win over Hillcrest at Duane Banks Field on Monday. 

“I think a lot of it is just locking in before the game when we're warming up,” said senior Kaige Vonnahme, who drove in Highland’s second run with a fielder’s choice. “You’ve got to have fun but once you step across that chalk line, you’ve just gotta be about baseball, you can’t be thinking about anything else.”

Connor Grinstead got the Huskies started with a towering double to deep left field. 

“I think anywhere else around here, at any high school, that’s over the fence,” Vonnahme said. “So that’s definitely something that gets you going, and it gets you hungry.”

Chase Schultz singled to move Grinstead to third and he scored on an RBI single from Trevor McFarland. The Huskies had just one more hit through four innings, but starter Ethan Paisley and the Highland defense protected the 2-0 lead. 

“It felt good to get two runs early,” Paisley said. “It was good momentum to start off, and it just gives you a good feeling as a pitcher.

Paisley allowed no runs on three hits and no walks. He struck out eight over 6 and 2 / 3 innings. 

“It was just being able to throw strikes whenever I can,” Paisley said. “Moving around the plate and making sure my breaking ball was finishing where I wanted it to.”

The Ravens best chance came in the fourth inning when Jace Rempel and Josiah Beachy had back-to-back singles to put the tying runs on base with one out. But a couple of ground balls were handled by shortstop Luke Miller and second baseman Peyton Yeggy. 

Miller scratched out a run with his baserunning after a leadoff single in the fifth inning. He stole second base, moved to third on a ground ball, and took home on a passed ball. 

In the sixth, Vonnahme drew a leadoff walk and Logan Bonebrake put a bunt down for a single to give the Huskies an opportunity to add insurance runs. Brenton Bonebrake reached base on an error and both runners scored. 

“That was really neat, it's good to see that execution,” Highland coachSeth Milledge said. “That's something we have to continue to do throughout the year. Obviously Seth (Ours) threw the ball well for them. They kept us off balance a little bit. But we get that base runner on, we put a bunt down, we put some pressure on them. I thought that was really nice to see that type of execution.”

Even though the ball never left the infield, Logan Bonebrake scored from second base on the play. 

“He saw that (the fielder’s) head was down and he wasn't paying attention to that,” Milledge said. “That was not on me, I did not send him there. That was him using instincts and making a play, and I ask kids to do that. He noticed that and gosh, he was right there. So, very good job.”

After giving up three consecutive singles in the first, Ours allowed just three more hits before exiting after six innings. 

“He did a great job of making some really competitive pitches and getting some big outs at different times,” Hillcrest coach Danny Hershberger said. “He found ways to get some off balance swings. So, really proud of the effort Seth had tonight.”

The Huskies improved to 12-1 with their seventh win in a row. 

Highland 9, Central Lee 6

The Huskies trailed 3-0 in the second inning before scoring eight runs over the next three frames in the 9-6 SEISC cross over win against the Hawks on Thursday. 

Kaige Vonnahme had a big game offensively with a single, a double and four RBIs. Connor Grinstead had a hit and a pair of RBIs. Brenton Bonebrake, had a hit, was hit by pitch and drove in a run. Ethan Paisley had a hit, reached on error and had an RBI as well. 

Peyton Yeggy pitched 4 and 2 / 3 innings in relief to earn the win. He allowed two runs on three hits and no walks. The Huskies gave up three unearned runs. 

Highland 11, Cardinal 3

The Comets took a 1-0 lead on Landon Beckers’ solo home run in the first inning, but the Huskies answered with nine straight runs in the win over Cardinal (7-4) on Wednesday.

Vonnahme was 3-for-4 with a double, while Trevor McFarland, Brenton Bonebrake, and Paisley each went 2-for-4. Logan Bonebrake had a hit and drove in two runs. 

Chase Schultz allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk over seven innings. He struck out eight. 

Highland 7, HLV 1

Chase Schultz was 3-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs in the Huskies’ 7-1 win over HLV. Paisley threw a 3-hitter and struck out nine to earn the win on the mound. Tyler Thompson was 2-for-3 with three steals and an RBI and Grinstead was 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs scored. Luke Miller walked twice and had a hit and an RBI. Trevor McFarland had a hit and an RBI as well.