Enid News and Eagle
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — A mistake-plaqued second inning proved to be fatal for Enid’s baseball team in a 5-3 loss to Theodore, Ala., in the second day of the Oklahoma-Alabama Challenge Tuesday.
The Bobcats took advantage of two Enid errors, a hit batsmen and a walk to score four runs to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Theodore had three hits in the inning.
“Our defense fell apart in the second inning,’’ said Enid coach James Peoples. “We couldn’t play catch. You can’t give any team four or five outs and expect to win. I thought the kids played pretty hard after that.’’
Enid reliever Miguel Bretado kept the Plainsmen in the game by throwing five innings of shutout relief, but it wasn’t enough for the Plainsmen, who dropped to 3-2 overall.
Bretado, in his first pitching appearance of the spring, allowed only two hits while walking four and striking out one. Enid starter Lawson King left the game in the second inning.
Peoples was ejected from the game in the fifth inning after arguing an umpire’s call when Seth Floyd was thrown out trying to steal second.
“That was a pretty crucial play,’’ Peoples said. “We would have had a runner on second with no outs. We were going to bunt him over to third. There was no telling what would have happened. I thought he was safe.’’
Peoples did not blame the loss on the umpiring.
“We didn’t play like we should have had in the field,’’ he said.
Theodore pitchers Brandon Hallford and John Williams combined for a four-hitter. Hallford struck out seven over five innings.
Both teams left nine runners on base. EHS left the bases loaded in the first and sixth innings.
Enid took a 1-0 lead in the first when Floyd reached on an error and scored after two passed balls and a wild pitch. The Plainsmen leaving the bases loaded in the inning set the tone for the rest of the game, Peoples said.
“We had the guy on the ropes,’’ said Peoples of Hallford. “He was pretty erratic early. We should have gotten at least three runs.’’
Theodore tied the game in the bottom half of the frame on a triple and an error.
The Plainsmen, who have come back from deficits in all three of their wins, cut the lead to 5-2 in the third when Colter LeGrant singled and came home on a Floyd double.
Enid used some hustle to make it 5-3 in the fourth. Christian Rodriguez walked, went to second on a wild pitch and to third on a ground out.
With two out, Joe Black walked and kept running. Hallford threw to second to try to get Black, Rodriguez went home, beating the shortstop’s throw to the plate.
Enid loaded the bases in the sixth on a hit batsmen, a fielder’s choice, an error and a walk. Williams struck out LeGrant on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat.
The Plainsmen will face Fairhope, Ala., at 6:30 tonight. Tanner Leon will pitch for EHS. The game can be heard on KCRC Radio (1390 AM).
THEODORE, Ala. 5, ENID 3
ENID 101 100 0 – 3 4 4
THEODORE140 000 x — 5 5 2
King, Bretado (2) and Rose, J. Phillips (2); Hallford, Williams (6) and Spencer. HR — None
