FINDLAY – Liberty Benton junior Landen Stansbery made key plays in the field and at bat in the seventh inning on Saturday afternoon to help his Eagles walk off visiting Bluffton 1-0.
Tied 0-0 in the top of the seventh with no outs and a pair of runners on the bases things looked good for the visiting Pirates to take the games first lead.
Bluffton leadoff hitter Landen Worcester slashed a ball off Eagles reliever Seth Elchert that appeared to be headed into shallow centerfield but was caught by a diving Stansbery for the first out of the frame. Working quickly, Stansbery flipped on to second baseman Connor Arnold to eliminate a second runner at second and off to Trevin Lieb for the third and final out to complete the triple play and keep the game scoreless.
“As soon as i saw and heard the bat hit the ball, i knew it needed to be an instant decision of what to do, having runners in scoring position for a chance at giving Bluffton the lead” said Landen Stansbery. “My decision was to lay out for the ball was really the turning point for the game. Going into the bottom of 7 coming off so much momentum after making a triple play I had a lot of trust in myself and my teammates, and when it came down to me i was able to deliver for my team.”
Batting fourth with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Stansbery delivered again for the host Eagles (3-0) on a sacrifice bunt towards third saw a return throw home from first baseman Jacob Granger go wide and allow Zach Elchert to score and give Liberty Benton the win.
Losing pitcher Tyler Cupples (0-2) tossed 6.1 innings and allowed just the one run for the Pirates (0-2) while scattering six hits and a walk to go along with a pair of strikeouts.
Liberty Benton handed the ball to Stansbery to begin the game and saw him allow just four hits while walking two and striking out four on 63 pitches over four innings before swapping spots with former centerfielder Seth Elchert. Elchert (1-0) struck out five of the first seven batters he faced in the game and gave up just a pair of hits to the Pirates.
“Overall I am very happy with my performance on the mound tonight, i was able to keep the game in reach and give us a shot at coming away with the win” said Stansbery on his review of his outing.
Shortstop Conner Hiss led the Eagles in hitting with a 2/3 performance at the plate while Zach Elchert ended 1/3 with a single and the games only run scored. Evan Speicher reached all three times he came to the plate in the game with a pair of singles and a walk to lead the Pirates offense.
Next up for LB is a Monday night home game against Vanlue and a Wednesday night tilt at Arlington before heading to Tennessee to battle Lipscomb Academy and Donelson Christian next weekend.
Bluffton will travel to Allen East next Thursday and host Carey on Friday for their next action.
Box Score:
Bluffton 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 0-6-1
LB 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 1-6-0
WP: Seth Elchert (1-0)
LP: Tyler Cupples (0-2)
Time of Game: 1:43
JV: Liberty Benton 12-2 (5 innings)