SHERIDAN — A late-inning surge lifted Sheridan to a senior night victory against a rival Monday night.
The Sheridan baseball team defeated White Hall 9-2 in the Yellowjackets’ final home game of the season.
Sheridan senior Logan Ward said winning on senior night was a great feeling.
“We’ve grown up playing together,” he said. “So it’s like, coming out here and playing one last time, it always feels great.”
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The game was tied at 2 after four innings. Sheridan (21-7, 9-4 in 5A-South) broke through with 3 runs in the bottom of the fifth and 4 in the sixth to take the lead and beat its Highway 270 rival for the second time this season.
Center fielder Payton Sterritt, one of several seniors Sheridan honored after the game, hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly to drive home senior Chandler Stanton and give the Yellowjackets a 3-2 advantage in the fifth.
The next three batters tallied hits, culminating in a 2-RBI double by Ward to extend the lead to 5-2.
The Yellowjackets added 4 runs without a hit in the sixth to pull away. White Hall (12-13, 4-8) issued six walks and committed two errors as what had been a close game slipped away. The Bulldogs had led 2-1 after scoring two runs in the third inning, which included an RBI single by first baseman Drew Reece.
Sheridan Coach Mike Moore said doubles by senior Zac Carson and junior John Woodmansee, which tied the game at two in the fourth, started the momentum, which carried into the final two innings.
“We had two or three really big, clutch hits with two outs to score runs those last two innings,” Moore said. “I think it was just some guys just kind of relaxing and realizing, ‘Hey, I can do this. I just need to relax and quit being so choosey and just see a ball and hit it, and hit it hard.’ They did that several times.”
Ward finished 1 for 2 with two RBIs and a run at the plate, while Sterritt drove in two RBIs and scored twice without a hit. Carson finished 3 for 3 with a run.
All three pitchers Sheridan used were seniors. Ward pitched the first four innings, allowing two unearned runs on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Carson pitched the next two innings and held the Bulldogs to one hit with three strikeouts, while Grant Shearer gave up only a walk with a strikeout in a scoreless seventh to finish the game.
Moore said a lot of times, juniors make big plays on senior night. This time, the seniors made the plays on their special day.
“These guys, they’ve been the ones,” Moore said. “Every time there’s been a big play or a tough situation, they’re the ones that have made the plays and done what we need to get done. I can tell you stories about each one of them where they came through this year when we had to have it.”
White Hall right fielder Holdyn Brown led the Bulldogs at the plate, hitting 2 for 3.