Blair baseball clutches hard-fought victory against B-CC

On March 21, the Blazers (1-0) won the first game of the season 1-0 in a tense but ultimately triumphant matchup against the B-CC Barons (0-1).

As the crowd cheered under a cloudless blue sky, ready to see their Blazers play ball after two years of COVID-19 related restrictions, the message was clear: the Blazers were going to start their season strong. Senior pitcher Emmanuel Kraft and junior first baseman Sam Worley worked in tandem to swiftly shut down the Barons’ offense through the first two innings.

A perfect end to a first game

Photo: (Center) Junior Aidan Niemerski hits the winning line drive for Blair in the bottom of the 8th. Photo courtesy of Ethan Zajic.

(Center) Junior Aidan Niemerski hits the winning line drive for Blair in the bottom of the 8th. Photo courtesy of Ethan Zajic.

By the top of the third inning, it was still scoreless, as the Blazers were also unable to mount much of an offense against the Barons’ formidable pitcher. Their defense held strong, in the third inning, as high, arcing fly balls meant easy outs for junior infielders Evan Hunt and Jack Bevington.

Blair’s offense gained some momentum at the bottom of the third, as senior Andy Merrill, sophomore Sebastian Guzman and junior Bryan Robinette all made it to second or third base. But a few swift strikeouts squashed this momentum as soon as it began. 

This pattern continued, with both teams solid in the field but lacking on the plate. In the top of the seventh inning, however, that pattern changed for the worst, as Blair’s solid defense began to crack. The Barons capitalized on this, and quickly loaded the bases with two outs. Kraft nonetheless held under pressure, striking out the last batter for B-CC to the relief of the Blair crowd.

When their turn came in the bottom of the seventh, the Blazers retaliated with a determined attempt to gain the upper hand. Junior Aiden Niemerski hit a ground ball to first, and after a caught fly ball took out sophomore Logan Stillerman, junior Vaughn Kowal smashed a stunningly fast low ball into the right outfield, reaching second and allowing Niemerski to get to third base. With Niemerski in position for a potential win, Robinette hit a ground ball, igniting the hope of victory in both the dugout and the stands.

It was not yet to be, unfortunately, for a subsequent strikeout and an out on first base just managed to prevent Aiden Niemerski from scoring Blairs’ first points of the game. In the top of the eighth, the B-CC attempted to replicate the Blazers’ success, but didn’t get far thanks to talented catches from Bevington and Hunt, and fast throws from Kraft. 

In the bottom of the eighth, the score was still 0-0. Even though both teams had come incredibly close to scoring, neither followed through. But Guzman gave the team new life with an electrifying hit far into the outfield, getting him to second base. Alex Valdez was hit by the pitcher and walked to first, and after a courageous steal to third base from Guzman, Hunt also got to walk to first.

Now the tables had turned, and Blair had runners on all three bases. The crowd’s frustration and expectation of a scoreless draw morphed into cautious hope as Niemerski stepped up to the plate. After Guzman was tagged out in an excruciatingly close attempt to run to home, Niemerski slammed a low pitch perfectly into the far right outfield, allowing Valdez to close out the game with an easy run from second to home. 

“You can’t write a better script than this,” said head coach Kyle Wannen after the game. “A walk-off win on opening night under the lights, it’s fantastic,” Wannen said.

“I think it’s really the best [first game] you can ask for,” agreed pitcher Emmanuel Kraft. “[It was] a big team win, everybody [was] doing their part for the better,” Kraft said.

The Blazers play their next game away against Clarksburg High School Wednesday, Mar. 23 at 3:45.