BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity baseball team let one slip away this week, falling to Colonel Richardson, 14-9, after self-destructing in the late innings.
The Seahawks got off to a good start offensively, scoring in each of the first three innings to build a 5-4 lead. Decatur got one run in the first and two more in both the second and third innings to take the lead. In the top of the fourth, Colonel Richardson tied the game at 5-5 with a single run on a fielder’s choice with two outs.
In the bottom of the fifth, it appeared Decatur had taken control of the game for good. The Seahawks loaded the bases before Mike O’Neill cracked a grand slam down the right field line to stake Decatur to a 9-5 lead. However, things started to head south for the Seahawks in the late innings.
Colonel Richardson responded in the top of the sixth, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring six runs to take an 11-9 lead despite getting just four hits in the frame. Several fielding errors set the table for the Colonels as the Seahawks could not get out of the inning. The big hit was a bases-clearing double to score two runs and push the Colonel Richardson lead to 11-9.
The Colonels were done, however, scoring three more runs in the top of the seventh on just one hit. Again, Decatur’s defense committed several errors and could not get off the field. The Seahawks went quietly in the bottom of the seventh and Colonel Richardson won the game with nine runs in the last two innings on a total of five hits. The loss dropped Decatur’s early season record to 1-2, it only win thus far coming against Queen Anne’s last Friday.