BURTON BEATS THORNDALE 5-4 IN 16 INNINGS TO WIN AREA ROUND SERIES

After a 16 inning, four and half hour marathon game, the Burton Panther Baseball Team emerged victorious over the Thorndale Bulldogs 5-4. Burton sweeps the series 2-0, and moves on to the Region Quarterfinals against either Johnson City or Iola.

Thorndale struck first as Coy Stutts led off the inning with a triple, and then scored on error to make it 1-0 Bulldogs.

In the third inning, Ryder Biggs led off with a walk, and Brady Griffin got hit by a pitch. Pierson Spies came through with an RBI single that scored Biggs to tie the game 1-1. Chet Fritsch then followed with a sacrifice fly to score Griffin and put Burton ahead 2-1. Kaiden Kalkhake hit an RBI single that scored Spies to make it 3-1 Panthers.

The Bulldogs cut the lead down to 3-2 when Nathan Grimm singled in Tyler Turman in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Burton added another run in the top of the fifth inning. Vicente Veliz singled, and two batters later Fritsch brought him home with an RBI single to make it 4-2 Panthers.

Thorndale tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Turman reached on a two out single. Lance Pezl reached on an error. Grimm then drove them both in with a two-run single to make it 4-4.

It then turned into a battle of attrition as neither team was willing to give. Bryson Biggs came up huge for the Panthers by throwing eight scoreless innings of relief and would get the win.

Burton finally broke through in the top of the 16th inning. Veliz reached on a two out single, and stole second. Spies then hit one that went between the first baseman's legs and Veliz raced all the way around to score the go ahead run.

Kalkhake picked up a save by closing out the game in the bottom of the inning. After hitting the first batter, he then struck out the next two, then got a tapper back to the mound and flipped it to first to end it.

HITTING

Vicente Veliz 2-8 two singles, two runs

Pierson Spies 2-7 two singles, walk, error, run, RBI

Chet Fritsch 3-7 three single, sac fly, two RBIs

Kaiden Kalkhake 2-3 two singles, two walks, two HBP, RBI

Colby Beck 1-6 single, sac bunt

Carson Lauter 0-6 HBP, Fielder's Choice

Bryson Biggs 0-7

Ryder Biggs 0-5 two walks, run

Brady Griffin 0-5 walk, HBP, run