Benton Community sweeps Class 2A No. 5 Williamsburg in Wamac Conference doubleheader

WILLIAMSBURG — Benton Community’s Wyatt Rinderknecht said he struggled at the plate to start this season.

He claimed he hadn’t barreled up many pitches, despite 10 hits, including three doubles and a .345 batting average. Rinderknecht wasn’t satisfied and went to work, which produced some rewards Thursday night.

Rinderknecht went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a run in the opener and knocked in the game winner in the nightcap, helping the Bobcats to a Wamac Conference baseball doubleheader sweep over Class 2A No. 4 Williamsburg. Benton won the opener, 4-2, and followed with a 7-6 victory in eight innings.

“Tonight, I came after it and started hitting the ball,” Rinderknecht said. “My coaches have been helping me get my hands through the zone. I really worked on that and it paid off.”

Rinderknecht did much of the heavy lifting offensively for Benton. He drove in Jordan Thys in the opening frame with his first of two doubles.

Williamsburg tied it in the second when Rinderknecht’s legs reclaimed the lead for the Bobcats in the third. He smacked a two-out single. A pick-off attempt appeared to catch him leaning and he took off for second. The throw to first was bobbled and the ensuing throw to second base sailed into left field. Rinderknecht came all the way around to score.

Rinderknecht’s RBI single in the fifth scored Drew Fillenworth and gave Benton the lead for good.

“My teammates set everything up for me,” Rinderknecht said. “If they weren’t on base, we wouldn’t have scored anything. My coaches put me in the right spot. It was there for me. I was ready to hit.”

Thys was masterful on the mound, pitching a complete game and allowing just two runs on five hits. He struck out seven without a walk, throwing 95 pitches.

In the nightcap, Benton showed its grit. The Bobcats battled back from a 5-1 deficit, including a three-run seventh to force extra innings.

Ryan Finn’s two-run single — his third hit of the night — pulled Benton within 5-3 in the fourth inning.

“There is a lot of fight in these guys,” Benton assistant coach Mitch Moser said. “Scrappy would be a good way to put it.

“Keeping yourself in the game and finding a way to get it done when an opportunity presents itself.”

The Raiders answered with Ty Becker’s pinch-hit RBI single to score Gavin Jensen the following inning.

Benton was down to its final out when it rallied to tie the game at 6-6. Thys and Rinderknecht scored on a crucial two-out pinch-hit single from Cody Wright to right field. It also moved the tying run to third, which scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat.

“We tell the guys that sometimes it doesn’t go your way but you have to stay even-keel because eventually you’re going to get another opportunity,” Moser said. “You can’t hang your head on two innings ago because you could be done for the rest of the game.”

Rinderknecht stepped to the plate with two on and two outs. He hit a shot between third and short that was deflected but stayed in the infield for a base hit. Blake Daugherty, who stole second earlier, never hesitated and scored the winning run.

“It felt good,” Rinderknecht said. “I was looking for a fastball to take it to right field, but got the job done.”

Fillenworth got the win in Game 2 with four innings of one-run ball.

Benton improved to 10-3 overall and 5-2 in the Wamac. Williamsburg fell to 7-5 overall and 3-3 against conference competition.

“Conference wins and sweeps are good,” Moser said. “A sweep in the Wamac is a great night.”