BY MICHAEL DAVID
Coaches, players and fans watched the weather report all day Thursday, wondering if the Wood River Wolverines would have the opportunity to play the Jerome Tigers in Hailey given the forecasted rain. No sweat. The streamed through in the afternoon and when the rain did come it was limited to sprinkles.
And the Wolverines put together two solid performances, beating the Tigers 10-6 in game one and 17-6 in game two. Wood River, who defeated the Tigers the day before in Jerome, kept their conference record perfect at 5 wins and 0 losses.
Christian Hovey took the mound for the Wolverines in game one, limiting the Tigers to five hits and two runs over five innings of work. Jerome’s leadoff hitter opened the game with a single only to be immediately erased from the base paths by a Hovey pickoff. Hovey proceeded to shut the Jerome batters down for the next three innings, striking out three hitters in the process.
Wood River erupted for five runs in the third inning against Tiger starter Brandon Leal. Kyle Nelson led off the inning with a single and a stolen base. Andrew Nelson knocked him in for the first run of the game and Brock Mary brought the freshman shortstop home to make the score 2-0. An Ike Buxton triple scored Mary, and Buxton came home on a double from Andy Ruiz. Zach Nelson capped off the scoring by singling in Ruiz.
Jerome broke through in the top of the fourth, scoring two runs against Hovey and cutting the Wood River lead down to 5-2. But the Wolverines pounced on the Tigers with four more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Andrew Nelson ripped a one-out triple and came in on a Mary double. Hovey switched places with Mary, doubling the senior home. Buxton knocked in Hovey for the third run of the inning, and a Ruiz sacrifice fly scored Buxton from third.
Buxton’s fourth hit of the game, and his second triple, led to the Wolverines’ tenth and final run of game one. Buxton came in from his center field position to relieve Hovey, pitching the last two innings and preserving the victory for Wood River.
Jerome came out strong in the second game of the doubleheader, scoring three times against Wood River starting pitcher, Brock Mary. But the Wolverines picked up their pitcher, scoring four runs in the bottom half of the first inning to recapture the lead. Andrew Nelson, Mary and Ike Buxton remained hot, sparking the Wood River come back.
The Wolverines plated four more runs in the second and third innings, taking a commanding 12-4 lead into the fourth inning. Jerome could not cool down the Wood River bats, as the hometown boys scored five more in the fourth inning to put the game out of reach. Jerome managed to score two runs in the top of the fifth, but it wasn’t enough as the game was called on the 10-run rule just before the sun set over Della Mountain.
Buxton was the offensive star of the day for the Wolverines, going 8 for 8 with two triples, a double and five singles. He scored six runs and had four RBIs. Andrew Nelson had six hits and scored six runs, Brock Mary had four hits and scored five times, and Andy Ruiz had eight RBIs.
Wood River travels east to take on the Bonneville Bees on Wednesday, April 12. The Wolverines will be back in action at home on Friday, April 14, when they face the Burley Bobcats at Founders Field. First pitch is at 4:30pm.
Wood River Game 1 ab r h rbi
Nelson, A. ss 4 2 3 1
Mary, B. c 4 2 2 2
Hovey, C. p 4 1 2 0
Buxton, I. cf 4 3 4 1
Ruiz, A. 1b 2 1 2 2
Nelson, Z. rf 4 0 2 2
Erickson, J. 3b 4 0 0 0
Naghsh, T lf 3 0 1 1
Nelson, K. 2b 2 1 1 0
Totals 31 10 17 9
Wood River Game 2 ab r h rbi
Nelson, A. ss 3 4 3 1
Mary, B. p 3 3 2 2
Hovey, C. rf 3 1 0 2
Buxton, I. cf 4 3 4 3
Ruiz, A. 3b 4 1 2 6
Nelson, Z. c 3 0 0 1
Hesselbacher, E 1b 3 1 1 0
Naghsh, T lf 3 1 1 0
Nelson, K. 2b 1 3 1 0
Totals 27 17 14 15