Steers finish 1-3 in Clyde baseball tournament

Graham’s baseball season has gotten off to a slow start this season after they competed in the Clyde tournament over the weekend of Feb. 23-24.

In four games split between the cities of Clyde and Graham, the Steers went 1-3 with the win coming by a large margin and each of the losses by just a few runs each.

The tournament performance dropped the team to 1-4 to start the season, but there are plenty of games left to play and the team will look to improve every time out. Listed below are results, stats and information on each of the games the team played.

Steers v. Breckenridge, (L) 10-6

In their second game of the season, the Steers struggled with errors in the field again, which led to most of the Buckaroos’ runs coming as unearned. However, Graham went up 2-0 in the game through the first two innings before Breckenridge scored four unearned runs in the top half of the third.

Graham fought back and retook the lead 5-4 thanks to a couple of leadoff hits to start the inning, a few Breckenridge errors and a timely Steer groundout. But the home team couldn’t hold onto the lead as the Buckaroos scored six runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Sophomore Tripp Mahaney went 3-for-4 in the game with two runs scored and junior Colter Johnson finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Steers v. Bowie, (W) 10-2

Graham’s offense broke out for their first win of the season over the Jackrabbits. The Steers recorded 14 hits and scored 10 runs with nearly every player in the lineup managing at least one hit.

Mahaney started the game on the mound for Graham and went the distance, throwing six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) and striking out six batters.

The home team got things started right away in their half of the first inning. Back-to-back leadoff singles from juniors Ty Thompson and Bruin Wright, followed by a fielder’s choice from Johnson, set the table for senior Tate Loesch to bring two runners in with a triple to right field. And from there, the Steers never looked back.

Wright went 3-for-4 in the game, Thompson went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs, Mahaney went 2-for-4 in addition to his work on the mound and Loesch went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, as well.

Steers v. Hawley, (L) 4-3

Playing on a field in Clyde, the Steers competed in their closest game of the season so far. Both teams played clean games, as Graham only committed one error while Hawley didn’t have any.

The Steers took the lead first after junior Scout Smith scored on a single to left field by Maheny in the top of the third inning. The teams continued to battle until Hawley tied the game in the fourth inning on Graham’s lone error of the day.

Graham tacked on another run in both the fifth and sixth innings to lead 3-1 as they headed to the bottom of the seventh. But Loesch, who came in for relief of junior Ryder Taylor who pitched the first six innings, allowed three runs in the final frame as Hawley walked off with the win.

Steers v. Trinity Christian, (L) 6-3

In the final matchup of their tournament run, the Steers faced a large deficit quickly. Trinity Christian scored six runs in the first two innings to go up 6-0 and force Graham to play from behind the whole day.

The Steers dealt with more errors in the field which led to only two of the six Lions’ runs coming as earned. But Graham continued to hit as Mahaney got them on the board as he crushed a home run to left field for his first of the season.

In the fifth inning, the Steers tacked on a couple more runs on RBI singles from Smith and Thompson to cut the deficit in half and make it 6-3. But that’s where the final score would stand as Trinity Christian held on for the win.

Junior Mason Milton finished 2-for-2 in the game, Mahaney went 1-for-3 with the home run and Smith went 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.