By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
After putting up enough runs at Palmyra-Eagle last week to challenge a football team, the Big Foot baseball team dialed it back a bit Tuesday afternoon.
And as it turned out, the Chiefs had just enough offense to pull off a hard-fought win.
Big Foot, which scored 19 runs and lost earlier in the week, pushed two across the plate in the bottom of the first inning and made that hold up in a 3-1 Rock Valley Conference win over visiting Beloit Turner.
The Chiefs improved to 5-12 overall and 5-8 in the RVC with the win.
Turner tried to rally in the sixth with a single run to cut the deficit in half, but Big Foot answered with an insurance tally in the bottom of the frame to ice the victory.
Alex Landers led the offense with two hits, two runs scored and an RBI, while Foster Isham added a hit and an RBI and Brandon Hausner an RBI.
Chipping with hits for the Chiefs were Zak Greco, Chandler Hehr and Dan Rabic.
Hehr picked up the complete-game win, as he allowed nine hits, four walks and struck out two. Turner’s lone run charged to Hehr was unearned.
In back-to-back games with Palmyra-Eagle earlier in the week, the Chiefs allowed a combined 41 runs in losses of 20-19 in nine innings May 7 and 21-4 the following day.
The box score from the May 7 game read like a football result, as the teams combined to pound out 45 hits.
Big Foot trailed 16-7 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning when it erupted for 12 runs to take a 19-16 lead. Palmyra eventually tied the score with a single run in the seventh and won it in the ninth.
Mark Schauf led the Chiefs, who had 19 hits, with four hits, three runs scored and three RBI, followed by Connor McCarthy with three hits, two runs scored and two RBI and Landers with three hits, three runs scored and two RBI.
Other offensive leaders included Jack Senft with two hits, three runs scored and an RBI; Greco with two hits, two runs scored and an RBI; Isham with two hits and three RBI; and Hehr with two hits, a run scored and two RBI.
Hehr took the loss in relief, as he allowed eight hits, four earned runs, three walks and struck out six. Hausner started the game and was followed to the mound by Schauf for two innings and Senft for two-thirds.
Big Foot, which also dropped a non-conference decision May at Union Grove, fell 21-4 to Palmyra in the rematch May 8.
The Panthers erased an early 2-0 deficit with a nine-run first inning, and then added six runs in both the third and fourth to end the game via the 10-run rule.
Hehr had two of Big Foot’s four hits to lead the Chiefs, followed by Landers with a hit, a run scored and an RBI. Greco had the Chiefs’ other hit.
Brendan Kelley took the loss, as he allowed four hits, four earned runs and three walks in one-third of an inning. Nigel Manning allowed an earned run and four walks in one-third of an inning, followed by McCarthy, who gave up five hits, 12 earned runs, seven walks and struck out three in 3 1-3 innings.
Big Foot traveled to Turner Thursday afternoon and to Elkhorn Friday for a non-conference matchup with the Elks. Big Foot also hits the road next Tuesday, May 19, to face Parkview in an RVC contest.
