BY MICHAEL DAVID
The Wood River Wolverines baseball team finally got a chance to perform in front of their home fans after a fistful of early season games on the road.
And they took full advantage of the opportunity Wednesday afternoon, defeating the Kimberly Bulldogs 10-0.
The Wolverines dominated the Bulldogs from start to finish playing nearly flawless ball behind the strong pitching of junior ace Christian Hovey.
Wood River put four runs across in the first inning, plated single runs in the second and third innings, and tacked on another four runs in the bottom of the fourth.
That forced the 10-run rule, ending the game in a little more than an hour.
Hovey was dominant, striking out four surrendering only four hits, walking one and facing only four batters over the minimum in his four innings on the mound.
The Wolverines’ offense struck quickly. Andrew Nelson led off the Wood River half of the first inning with an infield single. He used his speed to steal second and get into scoring position.
Following two outs, Ike Buxton singled Nelson home to score the home team’s first run. Andy Ruiz drew a base on balls, and Zach Nelson drove home Buxton and Ruiz. Jett Erickson then knocked in Nelson for the fourth two-out run of the inning.
Hovey helped his own cause with an RBI ground out in the second inning, scoring Kyle Nelson from third base. Hunter Stewart singled home Zach Nelson in the third to give the Wolverines a commanding 6-0 lead after three complete innings.
But the Wood River offensive machine was not finished. Brock Mary roped a double off the left field fence to open the bottom of the fourth inning. Buxton went opposite field with a booming triple over the right fielder’s head to score Mary, and Ruiz singled Buxton home for the second run of the fourth. A Zach Nelson double scored Ruiz, and Tiernan Naghsh finished off the scoring by knocking in Nelson.
Ruiz came in to relieve Hovey in the fifth inning, shutting out the Bulldogs and sending the Wood River fans home happy.
The Wolverines travel to Boise this weekend to face perennial powerhouse Bishop Kelly. They will be back in action at Founder’s Field on Thursday, April 6, in double-header action against the Jerome Tigers.Games start at 3 and 5 p.m.