Photos by Jeff Barrett
The Helper American Legion Baseball team jumped out to an early 11-2 lead over Roosevelt last week. Roosevelt responded with six runs in the fourth and seven more in the fifth to go up 15-11. Nathan Richens came into the game from the bullpen with one out in the fifth and got Helper out of trouble.
Helper tied the game at 15 in the bottom of the fifth before Ty Anderson hit a two-out double in the sixth that brought two more home to regain the lead. Richens continued and closed out the seventh to pick up the win.
“[Richens] threw lots of strikes and kept hitters off balance,” said head coach Dakota Cisneros. “He got outs and that’s what I needed him to do.”
Anderson went 3-5 with three doubles and a walk to go along with the game-winning RBIs. Tylan Hart went 5-6 and scored three runs, Cody Lowe added three triples while going 4-5 and Anthony Jones went 2-3 and scored three runs while driving in two.
In game two between these teams, Roosevelt struck first and went up 2-0. Helper took the lead in the fourth, 3-2, and then added on two insurance runs in the sixth. Jaxon Carlisle struck out six through four innings for the win. Kade Dimick pitched three innings of relief and struck out four while only surrendering one hit. Helper swept the doubleheader with the 5-2 victory.
“Overall, it was a sloppy day of baseball for us. We found some things we need to work on going forward with league play,” said Cisneros after the games. “However, I was satisfied in the way we kept battling, particularly in game one, to come away with a win. Any day we can pick up two wins in a doubleheader is a good day. We still have a lot to work on, though.”
