Hopewell Youth Baseball
Smetana’s Bat and Vikings Pitching Lead Way to Hopewell 5-0 Win Over South Fayette
The Hopewell 12-year olds were on the field early this morning at 9 AM as they opened up bracket play with a matchup against South Fayette.
Thanks to outstanding pitching and a big day at the plate from Vin Smetana, Hopewell advanced with a 5-0 victory.
The storyline of today’s win no doubt was the pitching and the timely hitting of Vin Smetana.
Head coach BJ Rankin sent Connor Reed out to the mound first and he responded with 3 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and striking out five batters.
Liam Rankin followed Reed in the 4th and 5th innings, giving up just 2 hits and striking out four South Fayette hitters.
The final inning was pitched by Ryder Kostrick and was pitched a perfect frame.
The Hopewell bats were somewhat quiet but got the hits they needed.
In the bottom of the first with 2 outs, Smetana brought in the first run of the game with a single to center. Following that, Smetana and Kostrick pulled off a double steal and Hopewell led 2-0.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the 3rd, Ethan Adams led off with a single and two batters later, Kostrick drew a 4-pitch walk. As he did in the first inning, Smetana came through with 2 outs, this time a double to right field. Hopewell now led 4-0.
South Fayette’s best chance to score came in the fourth inning and fifth innings. In the 4th, they advanced a runner to third base with 1 out. However, he didn’t score as Rankin struck out the next two batters.
In the 5th, South Fayette loaded the bases with 2 outs but Hopewell escaped as the SF hitter grounded out to Kostrick at shortstop.
Next up for the 12 year olds is a rematch against Collier Township, which defeated them yesterday, 7-4.
