Two out-of-hand innings doom WWCS
By Robyn Rohde, BHG News Service
After a tough loss to Central Prairie May 18, the Washburn-Wilton-Center-Stanton co-op entered the field reenergized last Tuesday to take on Kidder County in a loser-out battle to stay alive in Region 8. After jumping to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, the WWCS pitching staff allowed a few small glitches that snowballed into the final 15-4 loss after five innings to end the season. WWCS finished 13-9 overall in a season that has been hard on baseball teams across the state. At the get-go, head coach Kip Erickson couldn’t have been more pleased. His team held Kidder County scoreless their first at bat, and then rallied three runs in on the offense. The script read almost identical the next inning as WWCS added another run to move up 4-0 after two. "They were ready to play," Erickson said. "I thought they were more than ready, it showed when we jumped out 4-0. We executed well." By the third inning, Kidder County found the start they were looking for as they scored four unanswered runs to tie the score. Erickson said he wasn’t worried as his starting pitcher Charles Retterath, overall, still found the strike zone. "We were still hitting the ball and throwing strikes but allowed a couple walks," Erickson said. "It’s one of those things you hope you never see." In the fourth inning the game started to change. Retterath lost his control and then the defense exposed a few holes. By the third out, Kidder County had put a whopping six runs on the board for a 10-4 lead in the fourth.
