It was beautiful weather for baseball at Austin High School Friday night, and both sides came ready to play to a packed house eager to see an exciting game, which is exactly what they got. With a host of playoff implications at stake on this outcome, both teams had their aces on the hill – the Bulldogs going with lefty Caleb McKinney, and Kempner countering with the always-tough Kyle Winkler. In the end, the Bulldogs came away with a crucial victory over the Cougars to keep pace in the playoff race.

Bulldog Pitcher Caleb McKinney started the game with a 1-2-3 top of the first, then watched his mates take on Winkler. Winkler had a little trouble finding the plate initially as he issued a lead-off walk to 3B Scott Viktorin; C Drew Miller found out it wouldn’t take Winkler long to find his groove, going down on strikes for the first out (the first of 11 K’s for Winkler on the night), and irritated that he couldn’t advance the runner. SS Barrett Barnes let him off the hook, though, as he smoked Winkler’s 3-1 pitch over the left field wall for a two-run homer, sending the Bulldog fans into an early frenzy. 1B Adam Shank then got a 4-pitch free pass, but was left stranded as Winkler finished the inning by striking out the side, getting LF Ryan Dalton and CF Daniel Rockett swinging.

Having come back before after being down to the Bulldogs, the Cougars figured they could do it again. 1B Creighton Hoke took McKinney deep leading off the second inning to trim the lead to 2-1. LF Fuller drew a 4-pitch walk, and moved to third on a bunt and a ground ball to the right side; 1B Adam Shank made a great play on the ball – stole a hit, saved a run, and got the out as well with a perfect feed to McKinney covering. McKinney stranded that runner at third with his second strikeout of the game.

After putting up two runs in the first, the Bulldog bats went quiet, as many other Winkler opponents can understand. Winkler kept his strikeout streak going, getting DH Blake Doerr and 2B Andrew Keplinger for the first two outs in the second. RF Tony Gigliotti logged a moral victory of sorts, avoiding a K by flying out to right for the third out. Winkler started the third with another pair of K’s, making Viktorin and Miller victims #6 and #7, then things got a little interesting. Barnes worked a full count walk, and Shank hit a hard grounder to the right side – Kempner 2B Matula playing in shallow right and made a great pick up, but the throw got by 1B Hoke. Barnes motored around third and tried to score, but C Niko’s scramble and throw to Winkler covering the plate got Barnes for the third out.

Kempner took the lead in the top of the fourth. Winkler jumped on the first pitch he saw, knocking a leadoff single into left. McKinney pitched carefully to Hoke, but even careful pitching sometimes isn’t enough against a hot hitter – Hoke took McKinney’s 3-1 change-up low and away and golfed it over the center field fence for a 2-run homer to make the score 3-2. That would be all the would get in the inning, but not without a little excitement first – Fuller and Williams both would reach safely when SS Barnes had trouble getting a handle on a couple of well-hit grounders, but 2B Andrew Keplinger turned a double play on the next batter, and Barnes grabbed the third out on a pop-up in shallow center.

Both Winkler and McKinney each hung up another couple of zeros (Winkler in the fourth & fifth; McKinney in the fifth & sixth) to take the game to the bottom of the sixth. Barnes led off the inning with his second full-count walk of the night, and Shank followed with an 0-2 single over the second baseman, send Barnes to third. With the tying run 90 feet away, Dalton did more than get a game-tying RBI; he launched Winkler’s 3-1 offering to right for a 3-run opposite field homer, which got the Bulldogs the lead and knocked Winkler from the game. Nelson came on in relief and retired the Bulldogs in order to end the inning, but the drama was far from over.

McKinney went out to start the seventh, looking for that complete game victory. He got PH Josh Charlez on a 4-3 grounder for the first out, then ran into a little trouble as Von Tungeln and Matula reached on consecutive singles. That would be the end of McKinney’s evening, as he turned the ball over to LF Ryan Dalton to close it out; Travis Goodrich took Dalton’s place in LF. First order of business for Dalton was Winkler, who was hoping for a little payback against the last batter-turned pitcher that knocked him out of the game – what the fans got was an intense 8-pitch battle, with Dalton getting the strikeout for Out #2. That brought Hoke to the plate, who had already gone deep twice tonight. He ended up with a walk to load the bases with two outs for LF Jordan Fuller. Another tough battle ensued, and Fuller worked the count full. With the runners on the move with the pitch, any hit would like tie the game, but Dalton got Fuller swinging to end the game, getting McKinney the win, himself the save, and the Bulldogs a tenuous tie for third place.

Next up for the Bulldogs will be a road game at Willowridge next Tuesday night, 7 p.m.

Bulldog Offensive Highlights:

· Only 3 hits for the Bulldogs, but they made them all count: A 2-run HR for SS Barrett Barnes, a single for 1B Adam Shank, and a 3-run HR for LF Ryan Dalton

· 5 RBIs on the game: 2 for Barnes & 3 for Dalton.

Bulldog Pitching Highlights:

· Caleb McKinney (5-2, 4-2), 6 1/3 innings, 6 K’s, 2 BB’s, 3 hits, 3 earned runs.

· Ryan Dalton, 2/3 inning, 2 K’s, 1 BB, Save #4

Bulldog Defensive Highlights:

· 1B Adam Shank made a great play on a ball headed through the hole between first and second, making a great stop and feeding McKinney covering the bag for the second out in the second inning.

· 2B Andrew Keplinger snags a grounder towards the middle, steps back to the bag for one out & fires to Shank to complete a double play in the fourth inning.

· The only thing missing on this play was the Superman cape -- RF Tony Gigliotti shows his speed, glove, and flying ability while racing deep into foul territory to dive and snowcone a foul fly ball for the first out in the sixth inning.

Playoff Picture:

· The only thing that’s been determined in District 23-5A is first place, and that belongs to Elkins with a 14-1 record. Five other teams are still in the hunt for the remaining three playoff spots:

* Kempner is currently in second place at 10-5. Games remaining are Elkins and Hightower.

*Austin (9-6), tied for third – Willowridge and Bush remaining.

*Clements (9-6), tied for third – Hightower and Travis remaining.

*Dulles (9-6), tied for third – Travis and Marshall remaining.

* Hightower has a glimmer of hope at 8-7. Clements and Kempner and remaining.

Winning Pitcher: Caleb McKinney (5-2, 4-2), 6 K’s

Save: Ryan Dalton (4) 2 K’s

Losing Pitcher: Kyle Winkler, 11 K’s

HR, Kempner: Creighton Hoke (2 HR, 3 RBIs)

HR, FB Austin: Barrett Barnes (2 RBIs), Ryan Dalton (3 RBIs)

Score by inning: