Tigers succumb to Bolivar in extra-inning slugfest, 14-11

Nevada High School senior Peyton Denney delivers a pitch in the ninth inning of Monday’s extra-inning clash with the visiting Bolivar Liberators.

Brandi Hammontree | Special to the Daily Mail

A seesaw extra-inning affair culminated with the Nevada Tigers falling to the Bolivar Liberators, 14-11, Monday evening at Lyons Stadium.

The non-conference home loss moves Nevada baseball to 1-11 overall.

Trailing 8-6 in the bottom of the sixth, sophomore Elijah Nadurata’s two-out bases-clearing blast to deep left handed the Tigers a 9-8 advantage. Nadurata would later come around to score on an infield throwing error, putting Nevada on top, 10-8.

Having entered the inning prior, in relief of starting pitcher Noah Cheaney, Nevada junior Grant Miller looked to slam the door on Bolivar in the seventh.

After recording a quick out, Miller encountered trouble — yielding an infield single, followed by an infield error, placing runners on first and second.

Bolivar senior Peyton Wine then lashed a Miller offering to deep left, clearing the base paths, and knotting the contest at 10-apiece. Miller minimized the damage, stranding Wine on third as the inning came to a close.

Nevada opened the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff single, but came up empty. The Tigers were then knocking on the door in the eighth. With runners on first and second and two outs, the Tigers’ threat was snuffed out when Logan Bradley grounded out sharply to third.

With Miller’s long-relief appearance coming to close at the conclusion of the eighth, Nadurata took the mound, and was hit hard — surrendering four earned runs, as Wine’s rocket RBI-double down the left field line handed Bolivar an 11-10 lead.

Ryan and Joe Hadank punctuated Bolivar’s big frame, as both knocked in critical runs, eventually stretching the Liberators’ advantage to 14-10.

Nevada threatened in the home-half of the ninth, trimming its deficit to 14-11, courtesy of Blake Pryor’s two-out RBI single to center.

With runners on the corners, Nadurata represented the tying run, but flew out to left for the game’s final out.

Bolivar relief pitcher Reed Fullerton notched the pitching victory, while Naurata was saddled with the loss.

Wine starred at the dish for Bolivar, concluding with a four-hit day. For Nevada, second baseman Lane McNeley finished 3-for-5, while Dalton Gayman slugged Nevada’s first homerun of the season, a two-run blast in the bottom of the first.

“With a tough loss like this, it’s easy to maybe forget, a lot of the positives we had today,” said Nevada head coach Danny Penn, during his postgame radio interview. “We had a lot of guys swing the bat really well for us.”

Added Penn during the postgame radio interview: “Noah Cheaney threw well, Grant Miller threw well — a lot of positives. We just weren’t able to do enough, in completing that third phase, the defensive side of it — to get the ‘W’.”

UP NEXT

Nevada returns to the diamond today, for a Big 8 Conference cross-division clash with the Reeds Spring Wolves (8-3).