Tri-County/Gallatin Baseball District 16 Champions

DISTRICT CHAMPIONS!

- The TriCounty/Gallatin baseball team secures the Class 3 District 16 Championship after defeating the South Harrison Bulldogs 11-2. (pictured team with coaches).

Mustangs win the District Championship!

Last Wednesday, May 17th, 2023, the TriCounty/Gallatin Mustangs baseball team took on the South Harrison Bulldogs for the Class 3 District 16 Championship in Trenton. Their first game was against the Brookfield Bulldogs where they won 10-3.

The Mustangs started off strong when it came to the first inning. Being the home team, South Harrison batted first. Peyton Baker (#7) started on the pitching mound first where he faced off four batters before the defense got the three outs. After the defense got their three outs, they sent their bats flying at the bottom of the second. Draven Wright (#8) started it off for the team sending one past the South Harrison short stop and made it safely to first. Two more batters came up with one able to get on base after being walked. And to help bring in the first scoring runs, Grayson Allen (#15) stepped up to the plate to send one into right field to bring Wright home and allow the walked batter to eventually steal home.

South Harrison sent four more batters to face off against Baker before the Mustang defense got to play some offense. The recycled back to the beginning of their lineup, where this time Gavin Wilmes (#22) got the movement going after being walked by the

South Harrison pitcher.

Wilmes was able to steal 2nd, third and home scoring due to an error by the catcher. South Harrison then tried to switch pitchers up, but that didn’t stop another Mustang from scoring to end the bottom of the second, 4-0.

Baker and the defense continued to do their jobs by getting the outs they needed to prevent South Harrison from scoring.

South Harrison was able to get one run in during the fourth inning. But the Mustangs showed no worry as they stepped up to bat and scored two more runs at the bottom of the fourth.

South Harrison scored one more run during the fifth after being walked and able to steal bases. The bottom of the fifth was good for the Mustangs as they continued to swing bats. Wright and Wilmes where able to get back on base and score after Jackson Ohlberg (#3) hit one past the first baseman.

The top of the sixth the Mustangs switched pitchers bringing up Keaton Norman (#4) to help lead the defense. The defense was able to stop the South Harrison boys from scoring anymore the rest of the game. The Mustangs were able to score two more during the bottom of the sixth after Owen Waterbury (#13) sent one to the left field fence allowing courtesy runner Brendan Rainey (#5) score followed closely by Baker.

Boston Bell (#25) stepped up to the mound at the top of the seventh inning helping lead the Mustang team to victory by facing five South Harrison batters. A caught ball to center field by Wilmes got out number two before Bell struck out the final batter to win the game 11-2. This made the Tri-County/Gallatin Mustangs the Class 3 District 16 Champions.

During a post-game interview with the team’s only senior and short stop, Draven Wright, he was asked “what where his thoughts going into what could have been his final game.” He answered with “I knew we were going to win. Or at least that’s what I kept telling myself so that way it would come true.” Wright will be the only senior leaving the team this season. “I have confidence in my team to carry on what we did into next year and hope they come back and win Districts like we did this year.”

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Loss to Lathrop during sectionals.

Tuesday, May 23 the Mustangs took on the Lathrop Mules in Lathrop for the sectionals game. The Mustangs started out strong by first winning the coin toss to determine who would be the home team on the score board. With the Mustangs choosing to bat last the team got into their defensive positions to get ready for a long game ahead of them.

The Mustangs pitcher starting on the mound for the first few innings was Jackson Ohlberg (#3). Ohlberg faced four batters during the first inning. Having his defense back him up there was an out caught at center field, an out at first, and a tag made by Ohlberg at first. The Mustangs then came out strong with their bats able to bring up their first five batters. Draven Wright (#8) made it home after a deep hit by Boston Bell (#25) to deep right field. Bell then scored after Ohlberg hit one to third.

The second inning was three up three down for the Mustangs having two big plays at first and a catch out at right field by Mason Lynch (#2). The Mustangs extended their lead by having Gavin Wilmes (#22) and Keaton Norman (#4) score after Wright hit one to center field.

The top of the third is when Lathrop was able to strike first blood, after the Mules had a player send one to mid center field. The Mustang defense was able to get their remaining outs to head into the bottom of the third.

The top of the fourth was another three up three down for the Mustang defense. This is when the Mustang offense started to dwindle just a little bit. They continued to fight as long as they could, till the top of the sixth.

Top of the sixth Ohlberg walked his first two batters before helping get the third one out and walking another before having the offense hit one to center field to help score three runs. Peyton Baker (#7) took over at the mound throwing a pitch the Mule batter then hit over the fence for a home run scoring two. The Mules scored one more runner before the inning was over, taking the lead 5-7.

The Mustangs where unable to score during the bottom of the sixth. They then played defense in the top of the seventh allowing three more mules players to score. Bell finished pitching the inning after Baker, getting the last out.

The Mustangs would need five runs to tie in the bottom of the seventh. Bell was able to score after hitting one deep to left field landing on second. He then stole third and home to bring the score up to 6-10 but the Mustangs fell just short and ended their season with 15 wins and 2 losses.