Oilers rally, walk off with victory

Updated: May 17, 2011 10:57PM

Whiting coach Kevin Lenz issued the challenge to his team before the game: “I told them that if they want to win conference, they have to win this game.”

It came down to the final pitch, but the Oilers came through, capturing the first half of their home-and-home series against GSSC rival Wheeler with a 4-3 win, moving Whiting (14-10, 9-2 GSSC) into a tie atop the Greater South Shore Conference standings with Wheeler (14-4, 9-2 GSSC).

The game-winning run scored when pinch-hitter Matt Lowe drew a bases-loaded walk from Wheeler starter Matt Ittersagon to end the game.

“We’re pretty deep as a team,” said Lenz. “Lowe has a good eye at the plate and he usually makes contact to put the ball in play. We would’ve taken a hit, but we’ll also take the walk.”

Wheeler had a chance to break the tie in the top half of the seventh, when Earn Hegan led off with a double. A sacrifice bunt from Erik Schaffer moved Hegan to third, but Whiting starter Coty Sparks forced the next two Bearcats to ground out, preserving the tie score.

“We started trying to do too much at the plate,” Wheeler coach Josh Long said. “You have to give credit to their pitcher. We came out swinging early in that second inning and got some runs, but we kind of shut down from there.”

After a scoreless opening inning, Wheeler’s offense struck in the second inning, starting with a solo home run from cleanup hitter Zack Snider. Later in the inning, with two runners in scoring position, Jesse Kellar ripped a double to the wall in right-center, giving the Bearcats an early 3-0 lead.

Ittersagon cruised through the first four innings, giving up just two hits in that span. But a Whiting adjustment helped spark a fifth-inning rally.

“We told them that they needed to move up in the box and take pitches until they got a strike,” said Lenz. “We thought we could put some pressure on him if we took a few more pitches.”

A single and a pair of walks to lead off the Whiting half of the fifth inning put Ittersagon into a bases loaded jam with nobody out. Gio Cruz then lifted a fly ball just past the outstretched glove of Kellar in center field. Cruz moved into third with a triple. Ittersagon avoided further damage, though, by striking out the side, keeping the score tied at three until the seventh inning.

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