Berean Free Presbyterian softball team drops second straight

After having its four-game winning streak snapped in its last game, Berean Free Presbyterian Church’s softball team hit the field against the top team in its division, Orchard Park Community Church, on June 28.

In the teams’ last meeting on May 14, OPCC rallied from a three-run deficit in the seventh inning to secure a 14 – 13 win in extra innings. That loss set BFPC back to 0 – 2 before the church went on its four-game run.

A slow start haunted the Boston church, both in the field and at the plate. After a throw from third baseman and Springville resident Drew Payne to Scott Overhoff, a Boston resident who is the team’s first baseman, OPCC’s first batter was out. But the next five batters got hits and built a 4 – 0 lead before BFPC got the final two outs to end the inning. Not a single batter got on base in the first inning for BFPC.

It was not the first time this season the Boston church trailed early. This time, Overhoff led off the bottom of the second inning with a triple, and the next batter brought Overhoff in. After two innings, BFPC was within one run of the lead and, after shutting out the offense in back-to-back innings, held a 6 – 4 advantage after sending in three more runners in the third.

OPCC countered with two runs to tie the game in the fourth, but BFPC scored three runs for the third consecutive inning to hold a 9 – 6 lead going into the fifth. Jerry Hartnett of OPCC started the inning with a double, but that was the only hit his team mustered that inning.

BFPC pitcher Wesley Ellis struck out the next batter and the following two failed to reach first base as well, sending the game to the bottom of the fifth.

But BFPC’s scoring streak ended in that inning. No runners came home, but the team still held its three-run lead going into the sixth. That was when BFPC’s defense fell apart and surrendered five runs and the lead, as the game reached its final moments.

Going into the bottom of the sixth, Boston had some ground to make up.

BFPC cut the deficit in half by scoring one run and the teams headed into the seventh and final inning with OPCC ahead 11-10.

The pitching and fielding came through for BFPC in the top of the seventh. A base hit and a couple of stolen bases landed an OPCC runner on third and in scoring position, but BFPC held him and got the next three batters out before they reached even first base.

Defensively, Boston got what it needed; now it was up to the offense to produce.

Three batters stepped up to the plate and all three were immediately sent back to the dugout. There would be no comeback for BFPC on this occasion, as the church’s record fell to an even 4 – 4. The final score was 11 – 10, the second straight loss by just a single run. All but one of those four defeats were by a slim margin. The other loss was a 22 – 9 blowout on opening night, when several of the team’s starters were not present.

“All three of our losses as a complete team have come by one run,” said East Concord resident Jared Owen, left fielder. “Patient fielding and fewer pop ups are what we need to come through in the clutch and win those one-run games.”

The team’s next chance to get back in the win column was on Thursday, July 5 against St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.

After that, BFPC will play My Father’s House on July 9 at 8:15 p.m. All games are played at the Hamburg Recreation Center, located at 2982 Lakeview Road in Hamburg.