Easton Ondruch takes advantage of opportunities
Trending
Easton Ondruch earned the save Monday against California, displaying his poise and stranding the tying runners while inducing a game-ending groundout against the team's best hitter.
Before he took the mound, Ondruch may have recorded another save.
The speedy center fielder made two excellent catches an inning earlier after California put the tying runners on base with no outs. As well as he pitches, Ondruch is even better in center field and he proved at the most opportune time Monday, helping Needville win, 3-1 while earning a spot in Wednesday's winner's bracket final against Washington.
"Easton is an absolute animal in center field," Needville manager Andy McRae said. "He might not look like the fastest kid on the team but he gets great jumps. He's a really heady player. He does it for us all the time."
He sure did against California. The West champions had runners on first and second with no outs in the fifth inning when Quinn Boehle rocketed a line drive into the right-center field gap. Off the bat, it looked like a potential RBI or two-run double.
Instead, Ondruch hustled into that gap and made a running catch. He followed with another good read and another impressive catch a batter later before closing out the game on the mound.
Talk about being a dual threat.
"So many times, he will catch them near second base. He's just a really, really good center fielder," McRae said. "He hadn't had a lot of balls hit to him, so not a lot of people have seen that, but he can go get it with anybody here. He just goes and does it. It was huge."
ANOTHER DUAL THREAT: The team's other Easton, Easton Benge also has shined in multiple rules at the Series. Benge closed out a 6-2 win against North Dakota last Friday, striking out four in two innings. He moved behind the plate against California and was just as strong.
In a game where the margin for error was so slim, Benge became a defensive weapon. He kept nearly every pitch in the dirt in front of them and rarely let runners take another base. That loomed large throughout the game and especially so over the last two innings when DJ Jablonski and Ondruch stranded four runners and preserved the win.
"(Benge) had just one passed ball," McRae said. "That's big at a 12-year-old baseball game where you can put a catcher back there and just have him be a wall."
THE OTHER LEAD-OFF HITTER: Sam Santos is the final batter in Seattle, Washington's line-up. But one underestimates the team's No. 12 hitter at his or her own peril. He has become a master at effectively turning the lineup over and was strong again in a 6-2 win against Tennessee Monday which sent Seattle to the winner's bracket final.
Santos went 1 for 2 with an RBI and had hit safely in both Seattle Series wins entering Wednesday. In Seattle's first two victories, Santos was 2 for 3 with a walk, two RBIs and two runs.
"I think I am effective at the bottom of the lineup," Santos said. "I just put together quality at-bats and hit the ball hard and put it in play and drive in runs to turn the lineup over for our really good top of the order."
The new continuous battling order change has impacted strategy a lot. Some still try stacking their best hitters up high, while others look to spread the wealth throughout the order. Seattle's depth has allowed the Seattle coaching staff to adopt the latter approach and Santos is the poster child for providing thunder down under.
Santos has hit well throughout the summer and has come up big at the Series. He played a key role in Seattle breaking open its first game against Maine and his two-out RBI single against Tennessee which highlighted a five-run, second-inning rally felt like a back breaker.
And even when Santos does not reach base, he still often produces something positive. He is a tough out, who often works pitchers deep into counts and helps jack up pitch counts. Nothing comes easy against Santos and his combination of talent and speed adds a dangerous dimension to Seattle's offense.
"It's huge. I've said over and over again Sam is not the bottom of the order because he's our worst hitter. I would describe him as a lead-off hitter. I view that last spot as our second lead-off spot because for whatever reason, so often he's the one turning our lineup over to our lead-off hitter," Seattle manager Christian Shewey said. "If teams are scouting us, they're going to know the kid at the bottom of the order is a stud."
NO JOKE: When Seattle pitchers strike a batter out and nobody is on base, the catcher often throws the ball to third baseman Brett Taylor. As Taylor returns the ball to the pitcher, he usually has a joke waiting. He is the team's funny man.
But opponents find nothing humorous about the way Taylor plays third base.
Despite missing half the regular season after suffering a broken wrist while skiing, Taylor has come back strong and become a rock at the hot corner. Against Tennessee, he was one of the game's most valuable players.
Taylor made three game-altering plays in the first two innings, helping thwart Tennessee rallies each time. The Southeast champions had loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first when Taylor produced the first two outs with good stops and even better throws. He did it again in the second inning after Tennessee put runners on second and third with no outs.
Taylor helping keep Tennessee off the board there created a momentum shift which grew seismic when Seattle scored five runs in the bottom of the second and went ahead to stay. Taylor made some great plays, but that is just what Seattle has come to expect from its resident comedian.
"I wouldn't say he wouldn't necessarily be the only third baseman we rely on, but he's become that. That's just his play on the field," Shewey said. "It took him a long time to get back to where he has. Once we started our district play in all-stars, Brett just became the guy that he has always been."