ELDRED – After falling 14-0 to Chapel Field a week earlier, Eldred showed major improvement Wednesday night, battling to the final out in a narrow 7-6 loss. Chapel Field carried a 7-4 lead into the bottom of the fifth before Eldred rallied with runners on second and third and one out, plating two runs to trim the deficit to 7-6. According to the scorebook, Eldred got contributions throughout the lineup from Jacob Tice with a solo homerun, Jayson Banach who went 3-for-3 with a double and two singles, Evan Zgrodek, Mason Tice going 2-for-4 and Holden Gillespie as the Yellowjackets stayed within striking distance late. “We lost 14-0 to them last week so this was a big improvement,” Eldred Coach John Tice said. “Defensively we played better, and our pitching was much better. It also helps that we had a lot more positive energy tonight.”

The opening four innings were closely contested before Chapel Field built its slim advantage. Eldred scratched across early runs while getting traffic on the bases from several hitters, answering Chapel Field inning for inning and keeping pressure on the visitors. Chapel Field, however, capitalized on a few key opportunities in the middle innings to move ahead 7-4 after four complete. Eldred’s defense also came through with timely outs during that stretch, limiting further damage and keeping the game within reach heading into the late innings.

Eldred’s defense kept the game tight the rest of the way. In the sixth inning, after a quick first out, Chapel Field put runners on first and third with two soft hits, but Eldred turned to Jayson Banach in relief. Banach delivered an immediate strikeout, then the outfield tracked down a deep pop fly that likely saved two runs. Chapel Field was held scoreless again in the seventh as Banach added two more strikeouts before a foul pop-up was secured at first base. Eldred had chances to tie it in both the sixth and seventh innings. Chapel Field escaped the sixth with three straight strikeouts, but the Yellowjackets threatened again in their final at-bat when the leadoff batter walked, stole second and advanced on an error. A later single moved the runner to third, bringing the tying run 90 feet away, but Chapel Field recorded the final strikeout to seal the 7-6 decision. For the visiting team Logan Harvey hit 3 homeruns, and Micah McDuffie had 1 homerun.