Galva/Williamsfield @ Brimfield/Elmwood (Baseball)
(4/28/10)
One team that I definitely wanted to catch this season was the Brimfield/Elmwood Indians. Another team that I wanted to scope out was the emergency co-op Galva/Williamsfield, featuring do-it-all player Alex Ott. It just so worked out that these teams met up in Brimfield.
The unfortunate thing about this game, is that Brimfield is an 80-minute drive from home. It's not too bad from my office in Monmouth, but the drive home can be treacherous. This was actually my first trip to Brimfield, outside of a few stops off of Interstate 74 at the, yup, you guessed it....Casey's.
Heading over to Brimfield, from Monmouth, is a pretty easy trip. Route 34 over to Galesburg, hop on to I-74, make a pit stop at McDonalds outside of Knoxville, and shoot over to Route 150 off of highway 78. For business owners, and those handling marketing campaigns, here is a testament that advertising works. After reading the McDonalds liners throughout the WRAM game of the week yesterday, the $1 large fountain drink grabbed me, hook line and sinker.
The stop at "Mickey D's", for one of the large sweet teas was in the offering. Taking two gulps of the beverage, I think I consumed more sugar than I have all year. My teeth are hardly sweet, as I can very easily shy away from sugar, and this one drink curbed my enthusiasm. Next time, it will be a Coke. So, the advertising for $1 fountain drink worked, however the sugar high turned me off, but there are a bevy of beverage options for $1 out of the fountain. I'll go back.
Speaking of the trip, Mrs. Garmin took me an interesting route on the trip back to Macomb. I traveled from Tiber Creek Road, to my favorite, Dogtown Lane, and then headed off for Graham Chapel Road before hitting Route 78. Unfamiliar with this route, as I approached what appeared to be a town ahead, I saw school buses, and it looked kind of like coming into Princeville from the north. Expecting Princeville, I was shocked to land in Farmington. I was much closer to home than anticipated. Upon grabbing my mental atlas inside my noggin, I don't have any idea why I would think it was Princeville, knowing full well that Princeville is due north (and slightly east) of Brimfield. Oh well, I like surprises!
As I mentioned earlier, this was my first trip to Brimfield High School, which I find to be kind of rare, especially how much I have covered the Brimfield girl's basketball team over the past three seasons. For some reason, Garmin didn't have the address to the high school, so I had it direct me to the elementary school. It was just a block away, and I pulled up to the high school with no problem.
The problem, I found, was that this small little field with teams on it, didn't look like the baseball diamond I was expecting. Furthermore, a diamond across the street looked empty, and there was a ROWVA bus in this small parking lot. Was I at the wrong school? No, Coach Paxson told me where the diamond was in an email earlier in the day. Maybe, ROWVA was there for something else, I pondered.
Walking into the grounds, it was quite bare, with not many spectators on hand. Sure enough, the Tigers (ROWVA) were on the field, facing Brimfield. This was a JV game. I watched for a few minutes, then decided to search the grounds for the varsity game.
Pulling out, there were players on the diamond this time. I must have pulled into the parking lot right between innings, or my eyes are worse than I thought. I drove over to the new baseball/softball facilities, and the fields look great. The complex is just two years old.
I made my away up to the press box behind the bleachers, and a Brimfield student was handling the scoreboard, PA announcing, AND running music between innings and for the Indians batters. He had his hands full....and even had the time to answer my many questions!
It was the bottom of the first inning, and I was able to catch sophomore Nick Unes hit a 2-run triple, and later score to make it 3-0 after an inning. Galva/Williamsfield scored their only run in the 2nd inning, when Nolan Peterson reached on an infield dribbler, then advanced to third on an E1, and would score on a passed ball.
The Wildcats' starting pitcher was Brennan Steward, and his battery mate was ace Alex Ott. Ott entered the game with a 6-1 record, 0.97 ERA, 78 strikeouts and 14 walks. He isn't doing too shabby at the plate, hitting .507 with 33 RBI, 25 runs, and 11 stolen bases. Ott will be going to a junior college, and the 1st team All-State basketball player is looking to be a 2-sport college athlete at the JUCO level. He has narrowed his choices down to Olney Central College, Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, and St. Joseph's College of Rensselaer, Indiana.
Brimfield/Elmwood came untracked at the plate again in the 4th inning, with Ethan Westart knocking a 3-run home run out of the park, and Luke Staub would drill a triple off of the top of the centerfield wall. With two outs, the Indians attempted a double steal, with Staub at 3rd and Unes at first. Unes got caught in a rundown, and did a fantastic job in the pickle, allowing Staub to score. Unes did get tagged out attempting to slide into second to end the inning. It was 7-1 going into the 5th inning.
It appeared that Galva/Williamsfield plated a run in the 6th, when Ott came in to score, on a Jake Warner fielder's choice. The Indians threw to 2nd base for the force out of Nolan Peterson, and Ott crossed the plate. Apparently, there was interference, and Warner was called out at first, and Ott was sent back to 3rd, waving off the run. The Wildcats would strand Ott, and end the inning.
The mercy rule came into effect in the bottom of the 6th, when Westart led off with a double, followed by Luke Staub's 2-run home run. This was the 30th home run of the season for the team, and Staub's 11th of the year. Unes followed with a single, then Braden Streitmatter reached on an error at shortstop, followed by an RBI single by Andy England. The game-ending run was plated by Streitmatter, when Brady Westart, the younger brother of Ethan, hit a sac fly into rightfield, ending the game, giving Brimfield/Elmwood the 11-1 win.
After the game, I spoke with Galva/Williamsfield head coach Tom Walston about the emergency co-op situation before the season, and how things have transpired throughout the course of the year. Following our talk, I chatted with Ott, about his superb season, and future plans. Ethan Westart was my next interview, discussing the team's success (23-4) and the balance of youth and experience. Westart will be heading to Parkland Community College, and then looks to attend the University of Illinois academically, and maybe walk-on to the baseball team. I finished the interviews with Indians head coach Steve Paxson.
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