OAK GROVE – Two factors stood out in Oak Grove’s 3-2 win over Petal on Monday night – errors and Turner Swistak.
Swistak delivered both on the mound and in the batter’s box as he not only threw a complete game but also drove in two of the Warriors’ three runs. The other distinction of the night was the 11 total errors between the two teams.
“I’m glad Turner Swistak is on my team,” Oak Grove coach Chris McCardle said. “He did a really good job for us, but it was a sloppy game on both sides with eleven errors between the two of us. I think the pressure of the game got to (both teams). A lot of their guys are new, and a lot of our guys are new, but it’s just one of those tight Petal-Oak Grove games. But it didn’t look fun to watch. I thought we scratched a few runs across the plate on a couple of errors they made, and Turner did the rest.”
However, the Panther’s six errors carried far more weight than Oak Grove’s five.
In the first inning, Petal got on the board first as the Warriors committed three back-to-back errors, which allowed the Panthers to take a 1-0 lead.
Oak Grove quickly responded as DeeJay Booth hit a double off Petal’s starting pitcher Bobby Magee. Swistak later drove in Booth on a fielder’s choice to tie the game at 1-1.
In the third inning, Petal allowed another run to score after committing two more errors Klabron Pollard drove in a run on a fielder’s choice to take a 2-1 lead.
Like the third inning, the Panthers committed another error that prolonged the fourth inning and set up an RBI single that extended Oak Grove’s lead to 3-1.
“We had that last-minute game against (Petal) on Saturday, and all I saw was off-speed pitches,” Swistak said. “I went into the cage pregame and worked on really shortening my swing and being able to take the ball up the middle the other way. On my (single) to right center, it was a fastball, he left it up and I was just going to put into play. That was my whole mindset all night.”
Like it’s defense, Petal’s offense also struggled against Swistak as he totaled 11 strikeouts by the end of the night.
“It’s always a great atmosphere getting to play against them,” Swistak said. “I was able to command my pitches and throw my offspeeds for strikes and good pitches in counts when I needed to throw them. I was able to execute well.”
Swistak’s only flaw came in the sixth inning in which he gave up two of his three hits allowed in the inning. Petal’s Logan Walters delivered an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-2, but it was the only sign of life for the Panther offense.
Walters, with the help of an error, reached base in all three of his bats and finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI. For Oak Grove, Swistak finished 1-for-3 with two RBI while Booth finished 3-for-4.
“We played sloppy baseball,” Petal coach Shane Kelly said. “We can’t beat a team like Oak Grove with six errors and giving them too many opportunities to score runs. I thought our pitching did a really good job, but our defense was bad tonight. I thought early in the game, our hitters worked the pitcher by getting a lot of deep counts, and in the middle of the game, I think some of the errors got them frustrated, and they took that to their at-bats.”
On the mound, Swistak gave up one earned run off three hits and allowed no walks.
In five innings, Magee proved to be just as effective for Petal as he struck out five batters, walked two and allowed one earned run off five hits. According to Kelly, Magee had a successful night on the mound.
“(Bobby) is a guy that does throw hard, but he also pitched for contact and throws a lot of strikes, and he has a lot of movement,” Kelly said. “I thought he handled how our defense played very well tonight. He didn’t show any emotions or let it get to him. He did his job to get outs. We just have to do a better job of defense.
“The good thing about baseball is that you get to play a lot of games and we have to wipe this one clean. (We have to) Learn from it and go on about our business and get ready for the next one because we still have to get another win.”
The two teams return to action on Friday at 7 p.m. as Petal hosts Oak Grove for Game 2 of the series.
OAK GROVE – Two factors stood out in Oak Grove’s 3-2 win over Petal on Monday night – errors and Turner Swistak.
Swistak delivered both on the mound and in the batter’s box as he not only threw a complete game but also drove in two of the Warriors’ three runs. The other distinction of the night was the 11 total errors between the two teams.
“I’m glad Turner Swistak is on my team,” Oak Grove coach Chris McCardle said. “He did a really good job for us, but it was a sloppy game on both sides with eleven errors between the two of us. I think the pressure of the game got to (both teams). A lot of their guys are new, and a lot of our guys are new, but it’s just one of those tight Petal-Oak Grove games. But it didn’t look fun to watch. I thought we scratched a few runs across the plate on a couple of errors they made, and Turner did the rest.”
However, the Panther’s six errors carried far more weight than Oak Grove’s five.
In the first inning, Petal got on the board first as the Warriors committed three back-to-back errors, which allowed the Panthers to take a 1-0 lead.
Oak Grove quickly responded as DeeJay Booth hit a double off Petal’s starting pitcher Bobby Magee. Swistak later drove in Booth on a fielder’s choice to tie the game at 1-1.
In the third inning, Petal allowed another run to score after committing two more errors Klabron Pollard drove in a run on a fielder’s choice to take a 2-1 lead.
Like the third inning, the Panthers committed another error that prolonged the fourth inning and set up an RBI single that extended Oak Grove’s lead to 3-1.
“We had that last-minute game against (Petal) on Saturday, and all I saw was off-speed pitches,” Swistak said. “I went into the cage pregame and worked on really shortening my swing and being able to take the ball up the middle the other way. On my (single) to right center, it was a fastball, he left it up and I was just going to put into play. That was my whole mindset all night.”
Like it’s defense, Petal’s offense also struggled against Swistak as he totaled 11 strikeouts by the end of the night.
“It’s always a great atmosphere getting to play against them,” Swistak said. “I was able to command my pitches and throw my offspeeds for strikes and good pitches in counts when I needed to throw them. I was able to execute well.”
Swistak’s only flaw came in the sixth inning in which he gave up two of his three hits allowed in the inning. Petal’s Logan Walters delivered an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-2, but it was the only sign of life for the Panther offense.
Walters, with the help of an error, reached base in all three of his bats and finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI. For Oak Grove, Swistak finished 1-for-3 with two RBI while Booth finished 3-for-4.
“We played sloppy baseball,” Petal coach Shane Kelly said. “We can’t beat a team like Oak Grove with six errors and giving them too many opportunities to score runs. I thought our pitching did a really good job, but our defense was bad tonight. I thought early in the game, our hitters worked the pitcher by getting a lot of deep counts, and in the middle of the game, I think some of the errors got them frustrated, and they took that to their at-bats.”
On the mound, Swistak gave up one earned run off three hits and allowed no walks.
In five innings, Magee proved to be just as effective for Petal as he struck out five batters, walked two and allowed one earned run off five hits. According to Kelly, Magee had a successful night on the mound.
“(Bobby) is a guy that does throw hard, but he also pitched for contact and throws a lot of strikes, and he has a lot of movement,” Kelly said. “I thought he handled how our defense played very well tonight. He didn’t show any emotions or let it get to him. He did his job to get outs. We just have to do a better job of defense.
“The good thing about baseball is that you get to play a lot of games and we have to wipe this one clean. (We have to) Learn from it and go on about our business and get ready for the next one because we still have to get another win.”
The two teams return to action on Friday at 7 p.m. as Petal hosts Oak Grove for Game 2 of the series.
