Placentia Racks Up 17 Hits in Victory Over Oak Park
West Zone representative Placentia, CA came out of the gates swinging in their Pony-13 World Series matchup with Oak Park, IL and didn’t slow down at York Field in Whittier, CA on Friday, July 27. Placentia ended the game with 17 hits, leading them to a 10-4 victory.
The scoring started early for Placentia. Jayden Flaig drove in the first runner of the game with a hard ground ball that made its way to the outfield.
Later in the top of the first, Flaig was batted in by Jeffrey Conrad, who reached base with a single. Conrad’s single and RBI gave Placentia the early 2-0 lead.
The North Zone representatives, Oak Park started the game even hotter than Placentia. With the bases loaded, Bobby Kilburg smacked a ball into the outfield and brought home the runners on second and third.
The next batters, Aaron Smeaton and Gordy Hunter both singled and brought in a run each, giving Oak Park the lead. Smeaton and Hunter’s work made it a four run first inning for Oak Park.
Placentia cut Oak Park’s 4-2 lead to one after Damian Mora scored on a wild pitch that made it passed the Oak Park catcher. Later in the top of the third inning, Placentia tied the game at four after Conrad hit another single and drove in another runner for the California team.
The difference in the game ultimately ended up being Placentia’s fourth inning splurge. Evan Rolbiecki started the scoring when he drove in a run and put himself on base with another runner.
Two batters later, Jake Milligan tripled, bringing in Rolbiecki and Nicholas Sandstedt and pushing Placentia’s lead to three at 7-4. The next batter, Flaig continued the hot streak with a double that brought in Milligan to score.
Oak Park was finally able to put an end to the inning with a couple groundouts, put too much damage was done by Placentia already.
Placentia ended up adding a couple late insurance runs in the later innings and won the game 10-4.
Jake Milligan’s was the leading hitter for Placentia, accounting for five of the 10 runs. He finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored.
Placentia, CA now faces Johnstown, PA Saturday, July 28 at York Field in Whittier. The game starts at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
Oak Park, IL will take on Brownsville, TX Saturday, July 28 at York Field. The game has a 10:30 a.m. start time.