Baseball: Errors costly as Streator clips Ottawa in 9 innings

OTTAWA – One of the greatest things about baseball – or most frustrating, depending on which end of the game you end up on – is that you never know when the most crucial play that affects the outcome will happen, either for you or against you.

Streator and Ottawa got a taste of both Tuesday.

The Bulldogs rolled out to a 3-1 lead through the first three innings of the nonconference game before the Pirates picked away and finally tied it with an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth.

After two scoreless innings, Streator took advantage of an Ottawa error to score the tiebreaker in the ninth, then Parker Phillis shut down OHS in the bottom of the inning for a 4-3 ‘Dogs victory at King Field.

An infield hit by No. 8 hitter Dane Winterrowd and a bunt by No. 9 Jack Starkey that turned into a single set the stage for leadoff hitter Phillis, whose hard grounder got through the infield to plate the go-ahead run.

On in relief of starter Christian Benning (4 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 K, 5 BB), Phillis set the Pirates down in order to lift SHS to 18-8 this season and drop Ottawa to 13-13.

Phillis (W, 4 2/3 IP, 1 R 0 ER, 3 H, 3 K, 0 BB) also had two hits, and Adam Williamson had a single and a double among the Bulldogs’ eight hits.

For Ottawa, Payton Knoll collected two of its seven hits in support of starter Jack Olson (5 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 5 K 1 BB) and reliever Daniel Bruner (L, 4 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 5 K, 2 BB).

“It’s the time of the year where we’re trying to get guys [pitching] starts with three games this week,” Streator coach Beau Albert said. “And today, unfortunately Christian had some issues with control early, but settled in and pitched well. We didn’t want to extend him too far, so we went to Parker, and he did a great job. It was the kind of day where any ball hit in the air was hanging up, a lot of balls put in play in the air … but we were able to get a guy on, get him over and squeak one last run in and that was it.

“Against a good program like Ottawa’s, it’s always good to come away with a win.”

Ottawa’s trouble in the field helped the visitors get on top with a two-run first. A single and stolen base by Phillis was followed by an error on Cole Martin’s bouncer to score one run, with the second run later coming in on a Williamson single.

OHS got one back in its half on walks to Bruner and Aiden Mucci, a fly ball and sacrifice fly by Ryan Chamberlain.

After Streator padded that edge with a fourth inning RBI groundout by Nolan Barr, the Pirates answered with a Connor Price run-scoring single to make it 3-2.

In the home sixth against Phillis, Ottawa got a two-out single from Mucci, who scored when Luke Cushing’s fly ball was misplayed. Bruner kept the Bulldogs in check until the ninth, when the infield hits and the errors broke the deadlock.

The Pirates had the bases loaded with two outs in the second, two on with one out in the fourth and loaded again with one out in the fifth, but each time failed to score. For the game, the hosts stranded 12 runners to Streator’s 10.

“We had chances early on, and we didn’t capitalize, maybe get a big hit here or there and we didn’t,” Ottawa coach and Streator alum Tyler Wargo said. “We’re just not hitting the ball well enough right now or are good enough as a team to take advantage of those opportunities. … And we didn’t play the cleanest game in the field, either. Obviously, the errors kind of bit us, but it was a great game to watch.

“Jack did a good job keeping us in the game, but we just weren’t good enough as a team today to come away with a win.”