West Ranch Wildcats baseball won its dramatic league game with Saugus on Monday via walk-off.
Senior Josef Brosche hit a sacrifice fly to score the game-winning run by Ty DePerno.
Brosche ended the day hitless but came through in the biggest at-bat of his season so far.
Both teams had standout performances on the mound early as the game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning. However, both teams scored one run in each inning after the bottom of the fifth inning, adding extra drama.
Junior Ben Cushnie got the start for West Ranch and has been dealing on the bump in his last two games. After fanning 10 Buchanon batters on March 4, Cushnie struck out seven Centurions and allowed only three hits in his five innings of work. The pitcher also worked his way out of a jam with the bases loaded.
Senior Ryan Shalkevich notched the win for the Cats after his two-hit, two-strikeout performance over two innings.
“Ben Cushnie and Ryan Shalkevich were awesome yesterday,” West Ranch head coach Ryan Lindgreen said via text message. “Those two kept making big pitches and carried us throughout.”
Centurion right fielder Zach Plasschaert hit his first home run of the year in the sixth inning, with a 406-foot bomb to right field. Senior TJ Cataldi also hit well and was the only player on the field with a two-hit day.
Freshman Parker Allman pitched well in his start for Saugus. Allman held West Ranch to two hits for over six innings on the hills.
West Ranch is in a weird part of its schedule due to the rain. The Cats will play in round two with Canyon on Thursday before their second game with Saugus on Friday.
“Our depth is going to be tested this week,” Lindgreen said. “The rain has been bad for everybody, so we just need to handle this odd week and not let it affect us.”
The Cents were so close to their first league win of the year but fell in a tight battle. Saugus will have three days off before round two with the Wildcats at Saugus. All games are slated for 3:30 p.m.
