By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Visiting Crestview pieced together a 10-run fifth inning to defeat Ada 16-2 in Northwest Conference baseball action on a warm but overcast Thursday night.
The loss dropped Ada to 8-7 overall and 1-3 in NWC play. The Knights improved to 5-6 and 4-1 in league action with the victory.
The Bulldogs led 2-0 after the first inning. Zac Swaney singled, stole a base and scored on a Brandon Hull double. Hull then came in to score on a Phillip Coulson groundout.
The Knights scored a run in the top of the second inning, then pulled in front to stay with four more scores in the top of the third. The Knights added a run in the fourth frame to make it 6-2.
Crestview blew the game open with 10 runs in the fifth. A run-scoring double by Brody Brecht and an RBI single built the lead to 9-2. A wild pitch brought home another run.
Knight southpaw Brant Richardson slugged a three-run double off the base of the fence in right-center field to provide a 13-2 cushion. Two more walks and a bases-loaded wild pitch scored another run. The last Knight run scored on yet another wild pitch.
Ada ended the inning when a flyball was caught in left field, and the throw in by Ethan Hall doubled up the straying baserunner at second base.
Sophomore second baseman Hull singled and stole second in the Ada fifth. But after a pop-out to second, Austin Amburgey lined a shot to center that was caught for a game-ending double play when the baserunner was doubled off second.
Amburgey hit a double while Hall singled and walked for Ada. Dylan East singled and stole a base. Swaney swiped two bags and Hull added a single with one steal.
Lefty Richardson struck out seven and scattered six hits in five innings on the mound to earn the win. He also drove in four runs with a triple and a double, while scoring two runs to aid his own cause.
Knight Griffin Painter hit a double, singled, walked twice and scored four runs. Will Sheets singled three times, drove in three runs and scored once. Kaden Short stole three bases and scored three runs.
Kole Small collected two singles, an RBI and two runs. Brecht hit a double, singled, scored a run and had an RBI. Riley Saylor added a hit, a wlak and a run.
Coulson suffered the loss after giving up three runs and five hit sin the first two-plus innings. He was relieved by Connor Frazier, who allowed two earned runs in two innings.
East and Swaney followed in relief on the mound for the Bulldogs.
Crestview out-hit Ada 12-6 with five extra base knocks. Both teams made two errors. The purple and gold left five runners on base while Crestview stranded three.
123 45 67 R H E
Cvw 014 1(10)xx 16 12 2
Ada 200 00 xx 2 6 2
WP-Richardson LP-Coulson (3-1)
2B-Painter (C), Breecht (C), Richardson (C), Hull (A), Amburgey (A)
3B-Saylor (C), Richardson (C)
Ada (6-2 home) is slated to entertain Arlington in a non-conference twinbill Saturday at 10 a.m.
