Baseball: Grant holds off McHenry

Three times in the final three innings, McHenry got a runner to third base.

Twice, the Warriors had less than two outs.

And all three times, those runners remained stranded at third against Grant.

"That's the story of our season," McHenry coach Brian Rockweiler said. "We get guys on base and for whatever reason we haven't been coming through with the big hit."

A hit batsman, a bloop hit and another hit batsman loaded the bases for McHenry with one out in the seventh, but Bulldogs reliever Joe Taylor struck out the last two batters for a 4-3 nonconference baseball victory Saturday at Petersen Park in McHenry.

"Too many strikeouts with guys on base," Warriors center fielder-pitcher Ricky Powell said. "We didn't execute with guys on base and in scoring position. We really need that. We could have won by a few runs."

With one out in the seventh, Eddie Synek was hit by a pitch, Powell's blooper found some grass in shallow center field and Gavin Micklinghoff, the Warriors' hottest hitter, who delivered a two-run single in the fifth, was hit by a pitch.

"Of course I wanted a chance to hit," Micklinghoff said. "I wasn't looking to do too much, just looking to drive in a run or two. I would much rather have hit there."

Taylor's 1-0 pitch came high and inside and Micklinghoff had no chance to get out of the way. Taylor settled down and struck out Jaedin Kotecki looking and Cooper Cohn swinging to end the game.

"(Taylor) was bringing it a little bit and he was down in the zone," Bulldogs coach Dave Behm said. "He had a bad at-bat and a great at-bat. The great ones he was ahead in the count and challenging them. Just battling."

Grant (4-5) grabbed a 4-1 lead with two runs in the third and the fourth.

Caleb Royer and Kyle Splitt each had RBI hits in the third for the Bulldogs.

Taylor led off the fourth with a single, hustled to third on a topper in front of the plate by Tyler Levernier. Three Warriors' defenders went after the ball and third base was uncovered.

Clayton Cerna singled in Taylor and Royer later singled in Cerna for a 4-1 lead.

Levernier started for Grant on the mound and allowed three hits and one run in four innings.

Micklinghoff and Powell gave McHenry (4-5) an opportunity to come back. Micklinghoff kept the Bulldogs scoreless in the fourth and fifth, Powell did the same in the sixth and seventh.

"I was just trying to pound the zone and make them hit it soft right at people so we could get in and score," Powell said.

Trevor Rockweiler singled, Lleyton Grubich walked and Synek walked, loading the bases in the fifth. Powell went down swinging, Micklinghoff singled in two runs and Kotecki struck out to end the inning.

In the sixth, Conner Rodgers tripled with one out, but was again stranded with a strikeout and a fly out.

"We had a chance," Brian Rockweiler said. "We're just not competing in the box. Gavin's been carrying us. We have to find somebody else to follow Gavin's lead and find a way to get the job done."