Drew Nettleton, Sterling rally in final inning to beat Dixon

DIXON – It took six innings, but Sterling was finally able to take advantage of its baserunners Friday against Dixon.

After stranding lone baserunners in each of the first five innings, the Golden Warriors finally strung four hits together in the top of the seventh to erase a two-run deficit and rally for a 3-2 win over the Dukes at Veterans Memorial Field in Page Park.

“It’s great to get a win like this. We’ve been right there all year long, and to finally win a close one means a lot,” Sterling starter Drew Nettleton said.

Sterling (14-20) reached base on one-out errors in the first and second innings, then one-out hits in the third and fourth before a leadoff single in the fifth. But Dixon starter Daniel Fordham pitched around those instances each time before a 1-2-3 sixth inning.

The Warriors finally got to Fordham in the seventh. Lincoln Davis singled to lead off the inning, then pinch-runner Landon Kukowski stole second on a strike-three pitch. He as safe after colliding with second baseman Kellen Haenitsch fielding the throw from the catcher in front of the base.

Eli Penne then blooped a double that landed just inside the right-field foul line and it bounced sideways and rolled under the side fence for a ground-rule double, allowing Kukowski to score.

“I knew I just had to get on base any way I could, and I saw the outside pitch and just wanted to put it in play,” Penne said. “It ended up dropping right inside the line, then I saw it kick sideways, so I just kept running to second. I was confused, because I thought he called it foul, but it turned out to be a big hit for us.

“We’re playing our best baseball right now, and I think we fight through a lot of adversity – and we have all year. This shows again that we’re never out of it.”

Cale Nettleton singled off the pitcher’s glove to put runners on the corners, then Drew Nettleton ripped a line-drive single to left to tie the game 2-2. Haenitsch threw out Cale Nettleton at home on a grounder by Wyatt Cassens for the second out, but Drew Nettleton scored on a wild pitch the very next pitch to take the lead.

“I just saw it go by [the catcher] and thought, ‘I’ve got to get there, just get my hand on the plate,’” Drew Nettleton said. “It was really key to get those guys on to start the inning, because they have to be there for us to get them over and get them in.

“Our goal the whole game was to keep the ball on the ground, because fly balls are just easy outs. So we wanted to keep the ball down, and we finally did it in the last inning.”

Jagger Kemp, who came on in relief of Fordham after Drew Nettleton’s hit, got a strikeout to end the threat, but the Dukes (12-14) managed only a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh against Sterling reliever Bryce Hartman.

The loss spoiled a strong outing by Fordham, who allowed just three hits in a shutout over the first six innings. He struck out four without a walk and ended up allowing three earned runs and seven hits in 6⅓ innings.

“They put the ball in play a lot, so I couldn’t just throw fastballs. My off-speed pitches were working at the beginning, but at the end they kind of started to fall apart,” Fordham said. “It helps me out a lot when the defense is solid behind me like they were tonight.

“We’ve just got to keep hitting, keep fighting, try to pick it up next week in regionals.”

Drew Nettleton was just as solid on the mound for Sterling. He gave up two unearned runs and seven hits in six innings, striking out eight and walking one. Hartman got the save with a scoreless seventh, recording a strikeout and a walk.

“I was really just trying to throw my fastball for strikes, and then setting them up for my off-speed stuff,” Nettleton said.

Dixon took a 1-0 lead when Brady Feit singled to lead off the first inning, stole second, then went to third on Jake Whelan’s bloop single. He took off for home and scored when the ball bounced past the right fielder.

After missing a chance to score when a runner was thrown out at home on a single in the second inning, the Dukes made it 2-0 when Brady Lawrence smashed a one-out ground-rule double in the sixth, then pinch-runner James Simpson took third on an errant pickoff throw. Simpson scored on Kemp’s chopper over the mound that turned into an infield single.