Baseball Recap: West Ottawa Comes Up Short

Byron Center hit West Ottawa with a four-run sixth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Panthers fell just short of the Bulldogs by a score of 5-4. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Tai Hescott

Earned Runs

03/21/25 - Home

2

Tai Hescott was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because West Ottawa is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 4-7 otherwise.

On the hitting side, Quinn VanderKamp was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-2 with three stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Chase Gerlach, who earned one run and two stolen bases.

West Ottawa's defeat dropped their record down to 6-8. As for Byron Center, their record now sits at 6-2.

West Ottawa and Byron Center should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps Michigan Rankings. The Panthers (ranked 110th) will meet East Kentwood (ranked 347th) at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Byron Center will take on Zeeland West at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday with a big rank advantage (50 vs. 282).