Wheatmore escapes Jets 2-1 in key PAC 7 tilt

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TRINITY — Wheatmore used a two-run fifth Thursday night to escape visiting Jordan-Matthews 2-1 in a key 2A PAC 7 Conference contest in area baseball action.

To say the contest was a gut-wrenching loss for the Jets would be an understatement as the pitching combo of Samuel Murchison and Kevin Cano combined for a no-hitter, yet still saw the locals suffer the 2-1 setback.

But a pair of leadoff walks in the bottom of the 5th coupled with a J-M error, and subsequently another walk and wild pitch, led to two runs by the Warriors who proceeded to capture the improbable victory.

Murchison worked five innings and suffered the loss despite giving up no hits and three walks while allowing two unearned runs and striking out seven.

Cano worked the bottom of the sixth for J-M and fanned two of the three batters he faced.

For Wheatmore, Conner Cox fired a complete-game six-hitter that used 102 pitches in seven innings to stymie what has been a hot Jordan-Matthews hitting attack of late, allowing one run in the top of the first before blanking the Jets the remainder of the way while issuing just two walks and striking out 11.

Jordan-Matthews took the lead in the first when Luke Hinshaw and Thomas Smith singled to open the contest and Camden Fuquay singled to right to drive in Hinshaw.

The Jets went down in order in the second through the fifth innings with the exception of a Smith single in the third.

After falling behind 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Jordan-Matthews placed a pair on when Hinshaw led off the frame with a single and Murchison singled to left one out later. The rally ended moments later, however, when Fuquay belted a sharp grounder right at the Wheatmore third baseman who tagged the bag and fired to second for a double play.

Cano doubled to center to open the visiting half of the seventh for the Jets but Cox would answer with a pop up back to the mound and two consecutive strikeouts.

Smith was 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Jordan-Matthews offensively while Hinshaw was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run, Fuquay 1-for-3 with an RBI, Cano 1-for-3 with a double, and Carson Rickman had a walk.