Rayce Fisher hit two home runs and drove in seven, as the Onaga baseball team run-ruled Wabaunsee in the opener of a double-header on Friday night, winning 13-3 in five innings.
Wabaunsee opened the game by taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, when sophomore Cole Frank scored on an error. The Buffaloes would erase that lead in the bottom of the first, however, as junior Jackson Kolterman was hit by a pitch, L.J. Koelzer followed that up with an RBI-double, and Hunter Lamond would eventually score on a balk.
A scoreless second inning took the game to the third with the score still 2-1. After Lamond held the Chargers scoreless in the top of the third, the Onaga offense broke the game open by scoring ten runs in the bottom half of the frame. Koelzer would walk to lead off the inning, then Lamond would single to put two on with no outs. Senior Rayce Fisher would then blast a homerun to left-center field, the first of two homeruns for the team captain in the game, and the first of five on the night for the Buffaloes.
With the game now 5-1, Onaga began to pour it on. Freshman Casen Hutfles singled, sophomore Keagan Venneberg walked, Dylan Magnett reached on an error that scored two runs in the process, Isaac Wegner was hit by a pitch, and the Buffaloes were back to the top of their order after batting around in the inning. Kolterman would single on a line drive, then Koelzer scored Wegner with a single of his own, then Lamond was hit by a pitch to load the bases. That brought Fisher back up, who would send the payoff pitch of the at-bat over the left field fence for his second homerun of the inning, the first grand slam of his career, and just the second in program history.
That gave Onaga a 12-1 lead and they would never look back, ending the game in five innings with a final score of 13-3. The Buffaloes accumulated nine hits and six walks in the game, while also stealing thirteen bases on the night. Hunter Lamond would earn the win on the night, pitching four and a third innings, allowing just one hit, striking out nine, and walking three.
The onslaught of offense in the first game continued into game two, as Onaga jumped out of the gate with five runs in the first inning. They would score seventeen runs in just four innings, run-ruling the Chargers once again.
Kolterman got things started, belting the second pitch of the game over the center field fence for his second homerun of the season. L.J. Koelzer would follow that up with a walk before senior Hunter Lamond belted his first homerun of the season to give Onaga a 3-0 lead. The Buffaloes would add two more runs in the inning before heading to the second.
Kolterman was on the mound in game two and retired the side in the top of the second, then the Buffalo offense got back to work. The junior pitcher helped his own cause, once again leading off the inning with a solo homerun to take a 6-0 lead. Onaga would nearly bat around the lineup again in the second, adding four runs to make it 9-0 heading into the third.
Wabaunsee would piece together two runs in the top of the third, but Onaga was still able to extend its lead by scoring three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. Kolterman then retired the side in the top of the fourth, and the Buffaloes were on the verge of a run-rule.
In the bottom of the fourth, Onaga put up five runs on just three hits. Freshman Maddex Honas earned his first career hit with a single that scored two runs, Koelzer grounded out to score Honas, and error scored another, and a bases-loaded walk by Venneberg ended the game with a 17-2 final score.
Kolterman earned the win for Onaga, surrendering just two hits on the night and two run, neither of which were earned. He would strike out seven on the night and walk just one. On offense, the Buffaloes would amass ten hits, led by Kolterman and Lamond who each had three hits. Lamond also led Onaga with four runs batted in.
The Buffaloes are now 2-2 on the season and have a showdown with Jackson Heights next Thursday in Onaga, with first pitch set for 4:30pm.
You can check out the baseball team's roster, look at stats, follow results, look at the program’s history, and much more by heading over to the team's page on the school website, www.usd322.org/page/baseball.