Three Runs in the Eighth Help Alpacas to Advance
In their quarterfinal matchup over the Alexandria Angels, the Lennox Alpacas overcame their hitting slump to hold off the Angels, advancing to the semi-finals with a 9-6 win.
Hits were a struggle for both teams early, with each team only getting four hits through five-innings. All four of the Alpaca’s hits through five came in the third-inning, where the Alpaca’s scored the first runs, getting a 4-0 lead thanks in large part to Jay Green’s bases clearing triple bringing in three runs.
The Angels tried to mount a comeback starting in the sixth, getting three runs in the inning, two because of Jerrod Zens 2 RBI Single bringing in both Peyton and Reed Smith. They then got their first lead of the game with three more runs in the top of the seventh, with Zens getting another 2 RBI Single.
After answering with two runs of their own in the seventh, tying the game at 6-6, the Alpacas then got three more runs in the bottom of the eighth to close out the Angels, with Drew Sweeter getting a 2 RBI Single scoring Riley Hoffman and Peyton Eich, and Corey Vasquez hitting his third RBI of the evening, bringing Sweeter in for the run.
With the three runs scored by the Alpacas, they then retired three straight Angels in the top of the ninth to win the game and advance to the quarterfinals with a final score of 9-6.
After struggling to get hits early, both teams finished with double-digit hits. The Alpacas registered 12 hits to the Angels 11 hits.
Alpacas will play Garretson Saturday evening at 5:30pm with a trip to the state championship on the line.