Green defenders Quincy Merrill (10), Braxton Conschafsky (5) and Alec Thompson (16) celebrate recording an out during the Bobcats’ non-league baseball game against host West on Monday.

Courtesy of Regina Tipton

WEST PORTSMOUTH — For the young Green Bobcats, trailing the host West Senators 4-0 following three innings on Monday, they just came to a stark realization.

Or, at least in the words of fourth-year head coach David Shoupe they did.

“I just think we were timid coming off the bus, playing Portsmouth West, which is a bigger school. They finally realized fourth inning that they are guys just like us,” said Shoupe. “So we’re going to go compete.”

Not only did the Bobcats go compete, they seized control of the Senators —waking the bats up in the fourth inning, and making standout defensive plays down the stretch.

As a result, in a non-league early-season baseball encounter at The Rock at West High School, the Bobcats rallied for five runs on six hits in the fourth —and held on to down the Senators 6-5.

Green is now 2-0, having rolled Rock Hill 13-2 in five mercy-rule innings on Saturday —with six-foot and four-inch sophomore standout pitcher Jon Knapp striking out 10.

West was already 2-0 entering Monday —having swept non-league Fairland (5-2 and 6-2) from the Ohio Valley Conference in Brady Knittel’s coaching debut on Saturday.

On Monday, West went up 4-0 following three, escaping a pair of rundowns and actually scoring two of those four runs — when the Bobcat fielders overthrew a throw to the plate.

But in the fourth, and with one out, the Green floodgates opened —as they banged out six hits, including five in a row which ultimately catapulted them into a 5-4 lead.

More on that momentarily.

In the sixth, and sandwiched around only a two-out West’s Will Kegley walk in the fourth and fifth, the Bobcats bolstered an insurance marker —a two-out infield single by Gabe Blevins, who scored from first on an RBI-double to left field from Landon Kimbler.

Turns out that run was indeed necessary.

With one out in the sixth, the Senators sandwiched a Bryson Kessinger walk around Max Rapp and Wesley Cooper singles, but Blake Smith caught a Kegley fly ball in centerfield — and fired an on-target direct dart to the catcher Blevins, who applied the tag.

In the seventh, and with West’s top of the order up, Kimbler —in his third inning of relief of senior starter Nathaniel Brannigan —walked Reece Coleman to lead off.

But Blevins caught Coleman stealing, then made the pop-out catch of a ball off the bat of Trevor Fike.

Isaak Tipton singled and Jakob Tipton walked, as Levi Pickelsimer singled to center —and scored Isaak Tipton.

However, Smith threw another rocket in from centerfield, and this time Knapp had raced over from first base to cut it off.

An aware Knapp flipped the ball almost point-blank to third baseman Braxton Conschafsky, who tagged out Jakob Tipton to end the game.

Kimbler gained the save —despite allowing four hits and three walks and a wild pitch with two strikeouts.

Brannigan pitched the first four frames and earned the win, as he allowed three earned runs on three hits and three walks with a wild pitch and two Ks.

For the Bobcats, those inning-ending —and game-saving —outs made their early-inning execution a distant memory.

“Today, we just battled. We had a lot of hiccups. With some of our defensive mistakes they got out of and scored on, and at that point, it’s easy to fold. But our guys kept their composure, came back, started putting some pressure on them, put some balls in play and the next thing you know, it’s a 6-5 victory,” raved Shoupe. “We made some big defensive plays late. Blake Smith’s throw from center to home was amazing. Excellent throw, and our catcher Gabe (Blevins) did a great job keeping his nose in it too, making that tag. Then the last inning, Jon (Knapp) was a little late getting to the cut, but he got there and we made the final out. Both of our pitchers threw strikes today, but we preach to let them (opponent) hit it and let’s play defense.”

Knittel, a 2014 West graduate now coaching at his alma mater after assisting his brother Anthony at Minford, knows his Senators’ execution late let them down.

“Green just battled, we jut got complacent, and we didn’t execute after the first three innings. Green battled back and beat us. That’s what good teams do,” he said. “We have to better. We have to make better jumps, better reads. I think all the decisions and the ideas and intentions of taking those bags in those situations were right, but we have to execute better.”

Early on, Pickelsimer pitched a perfect three-inning gem — retiring the Bobcats in order all the way through with five strikeouts.

But he walked Blevins to lead off the fourth, as with one out, Brannigan doubled, Knapp slapped a high swing for an infield hit, Smith doubled, Quincy Merrill singled down the right-field line for the tying runs, and Conschafsky singled to left.

Brannigan and Smith had RBIs in the spree — as Blevins, Brannigan, Knapp and Smith all scored for the 4-4 tie.

Finally, Green gained the 5-4 lead —when nine-hole hitter and designated hitter Mason Neal knocked a single to left, plating a feet-sliding Merrill.

Green junior Quincy Merrill (10) and West sophomore catcher Will Kegley

Courtesy of Regina Tipton

In the fifth, Knapp singled with two outs, and Merrill drew a walk from Pickelsimer, but it wasn’t until the sixth off reliever Bryson Kessinger that the Bobcats built the 6-4 edge.

Pickelsimer pitched quite well —up until the 10 Bobcat at-bat in the fourth.

He faced 25 total batters, and gave up five earned runs on seven hits with two walks and struck out nine.

Perhaps, Knittel explained, he could have had more strikeouts.

“They battled at the plate. And if I recall right, a lot of those hits were with two strikes. Two-strike approach, just putting the ball in play and they found a hole and they batted around. The ball just fell where they wanted with two strikes and they put it in play,” he said. “That’s what baseball is all about.”

The Senators scored twice in the first —combining walks by Coleman and Pickelsimer, a wild pitch, a Fike sacrifice bunt, an Isaak Tipton sacrifice fly which crossed Coleman, and Jakob Tipton’s escape artistry of a rundown between first and second which eventually led to him scoring.

In the third, Fike smacked a ground-rule double, stole third, and scored on an unsuccessful fielder’s choice —combined with another overthrow error which tried to get him at the plate.

West senior Trevor Fike

Courtesy of Regina Tipton

West went up 4-0 — when Pickelsimer doubled to left and drove in Isaak Tipton.

From there, though, the Bobcat bats came alive on the West side — and they straightened out the defensive curve-balls.

“We absolutely made plays. Again, it’s early and we’re still making those early-season mistakes, but I really like this team’s moxie. They go to work every day. Our non-league schedule is really tough this year, so we’re going to have to be ready and come to play,” said Shoupe.

The coach continued, praising his three seniors —Brannigan, Conschafsky, and Alec Thompson.

“Our three seniors have done a great job of helping me change the culture and just the expectations of winning,” said Shoupe. “That’s what we try to preach and that’s how we are.”

Green sophomore Uriah Satterfield (27)

Courtesy of Regina Tipton

Green will host Clay on Wednesday for its Southern Ohio Conference Division I opener, while West will host Minford on Wednesday in the opener —and first-ever contest —for the SOC III.

Knittel said his Senators should be better —and that baseball provides a turn-the-page quickly mentality.

West senior first baseman Jakob Tipton (26) and Green junior Landon Kimbler (11)

Courtesy of Regina Tipton

“It’s baseball, and it happens, but we have to execute better and have better energy. Just make better decisions at certain points of the game. Baseball IQ needs to be better moving forward. The good thing about baseball is tomorrow is a new day,” said the coach. “You flush it out, you tip your cap to Green because they were the better team today, and tomorrow is a new day.”

* * *

Green 000 501 0 — 6 9 2

West 202 000 1 —5 7 2

GHS: Nathaniel Brannigan 4IP, 4R, 3ER, 3H, 0HB, 3BB, 1WP, 2K, 19BF; Landon Kimbler 3IP, 1R, 1ER, 4H, 0HB, 3BB, 1WP, 2K, 13BF

WHS: Levi Pickelsimer 5IP, 5R, 5ER, 7H, 0HB, 2BB, 0WP, 9K, 25BF; Bryson Kessinger 2IP, 1R, 1ER, 2H, 0HB, 0BB, 0WP, 2K, 8BF

W —Nathaniel Brannigan (1-0); L —Levi Pickelsimer; S —Landon Kimbler (1)

Reach Paul Boggs at (740) 353-3101 ext. 1926, by email at [email protected], or on X @paulboggssports © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved