Trojans season ends against Bedford

ESSEX — The Essex Trojans lost a 14-13 slugfest on Thursday night to Bedford in the semifinals of baseball districts.

Levi Allen and Jake Sunderman both had three hit games against the Bulldogs.

Sunderman was 3-for-4 with one run scored and two more driven in, while Allen was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI.

Tyler Slough and Justin Moyer each recorded two hits for the Trojans. Slough in fact scored two runs in the game.

Essex came back from seven runs down, including three in the bottom of the seventh inning, to defeat the Stanton Vikings, 11-10, in the quarterfinals of District play.

“I said enjoy the moment,” Trojans Head Coach TJ Young said. “If you want to win, enjoy the moment, play the game.”

The Trojans were down 10-9 with one out in the seventh when Cameron Kinney smacked a line drive past Stanton's right fielder, scoring runners from first and third.

Jacob Ohnmacht opened the inning by reaching second base thanks to a throwing error by Stanton pitcher John Mainquist. Ohnmacht was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and one run batted in.

“The first play was huge,” Young said. “If [Mainquist] fields it cleanly, it’s probably a different inning.”

Zach Dailey followed in the next at bat by reaching first thanks to a hit by pitch. Jake Sunderman sent Ohnmacht home with a single out of the infield.

Stanton had jumped out to a 7-0 lead after 3 1/2 innings. Essex had several fielding and throwing errors during that time span.

Young said part of the struggles were due Cerven hitting the corners of the strike zone, forcing Essex batters to make outs.

The Trojans crowded the plate, starting in the fourth inning and they were rewarded with a three run inning.

Essex trailed 7-3, with the key highlight being a Levi Allen RBI triple and scoring on the throwing error at third base.

A solo home run in the top of the fifth increased Stanton's lead to 8-3.

“Stanton’s gotten a lot better,” Young said. “Their coach is doing a good job.”

The Trojans comeback wasn't done however, as Essex scored four runs in the bottom half of the inning, to cut Stanton's lead to 8-7.

Fielding errors by Stanton, as well as a RBI single by Tyler Slough and a bases loaded walk, were the key scoring highlights for the Trojans in the inning.

The Vikings tacked on two more runs to make their lead, 10-7.
Kinney, Slough and Justin Moyer each had two hits at the plate for Essex.

Essex ends their season with a 6-14 record.