SANDUSKY — Sandusky broke out the bats early Saturday afternoon in a doubleheader split with crosstown rival Perkins on Rather Field at Jaycee Park.
But the blustery winds took control and limited both teams’ offensive abilities as Sandusky claimed Game 1 with a 5-2 victory and Perkins countered with a 5-1 win in Game 2.
The Streaks (2-1) had a four-run first in the opening game, then scored just two runs over the next 13 innings. Meanwhile, the Pirates (3-1) did their scoring in five of the 14 innings played, but never scored more than two runs in any of them.
“I’d say it was towards the sixth inning of the first game we got heavy gusts of wind and it stayed that way the rest of the day,” Sandusky coach Matt Martin said. “Any ball that might have been well-hit in the air was held up for both teams and it ended up fairly low-scoring.”
Sandusky’s four-run first got kick-started by a one-out triple from Mike Drake, and he was quickly singled in by Trey Keegan.
Brady Smith then singled and Marcus Cobbs and Tyler Stewart both walked, setting up a two-run single by Tristan Jeffries.
“We hit the ball pretty hard the first couple innings, and they had a few walks to help us out,” Martin said.
Zak Esposito pitched well to get the win for Sandusky, going 62⁄3 innings with nine strikeouts on four hits and no runs.
“With the way Zak was pitching, and the way the wind was blowing, it was going to be tough,” Perkins coach Ray Neill said. “After the first two innings, Mike (Ryerson) settled in and found a little groove and did well, but they got after it early and got the big lead and played well.”
For Perkins, Ryerson took the loss, pitching five innings while allowing five runs on five hits.
In the second game, Xavier Turner paced the Pirates to victory with three hits and two RBI at the plate while pitching 51⁄3 innings with five strikeouts, two hits, two walks and one run.
“I was really pleased with our pitching aside from that first inning in the opener,” Neill said. “Considering how hard the wind was blowing, I thought both teams did a pretty good job of making plays.”
Perkins led 2-1 through four innings but added a pair of runs in the fifth and one run in the seventh to close out the scoring.
Freshman Cameron Waldock led off with a double in the fifth and Josh Gerold followed with a single. Turner then drove in Waldock with a single and Gerold scored on a throwing error.
Waldock, who had two hits in the game, also came in to get the save for the Pirates. He scored a run in the top of the seventh after singling and advancing two bases on wild pitches, followed by Turner driving him in with another single.
Jordan Esposito took the loss for Sandusky, pitching five innings while giving up two earned runs with a strikeout and two walks.
“You look at 14 innings, it was pretty evenly played,” Neill said. “I guess all high school baseball fans north of Perkins Ave. can be happy they got one and so can the fans south of Perkins Ave.
“Obviously we always want to win two games, but in our case we were pleased to come back and get a split. Xavier pitched very well and we pushed across a run here and there and got a win.”
Drake finished with four hits in the two games for Sandusky, including two triples. The Streaks host Findlay Tuesday while Perkins travels to Chillicothe Veterans Stadium to play Circleville.