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Raiders rally in the rain to topple Wiota 10-9
osterday slide
Wiota’s Tyler Osterday slides in for a run in the bottom of the sixth inning of the Indians’ 10-9 loss to Belleville in a Home Talent League exhibition Aug. 9 at Wiota Park. - photo by By Thomas Gunnell

WIOTA — With storm clouds rolling in and rain starting to fall, the Belleville Raiders kicked up a storm of their own at the plate to rally for a 10-9 seven-inning victory over the host Wiota Indians in a Home Talent League exhibition game at Wiota Park on Sunday, Aug. 9.

The game started a bit late thanks to a brief rain shower prior to the opening pitch and was scheduled to end early even before darkness and another round of rain storms moved into the area late.

The Indians opened up an 8-3 lead thanks to a seven-run outburst in the bottom of the third inning and went into the seventh still leading the Raiders by three at 9-6.

Curtis Sheahan opened the Raiders’ seventh by lining a triple to the gap in right-center field, while Sam Urqhart followed with a RBI-single and scored on Brock Gilkes’ second RBI-double of the game to cut the deficit to 9-8 with nobody down.

wiota storm clouds
Storm clouds forming behind Wiota right fielder Matthew Riedl Aug. 9 during a game against Belleville. - photo by By Thomas Gunnell

Wiota pitcher Jesse Sturtz registered a strikeout for the first out of the inning, however he followed by hitting Nate Reuter with a pitch to put the go-ahead run on the base. An unassisted groundout to first base got the Raiders down to their final out, but they were not done as Joey McNaught drove a Sturtz offering down the right field line passed a diving Matthew Riedl for a base-clearing two-run, triple to put the guests ahead 10-9.

The Indians got out of the inning without any further damage, but were then retired in order in the bottom of the seventh to end the game just before the skies opened up and poured down on the park.

Sheahan finished 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs scored for the Raiders, while Urqhart went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two batted in and Gilkes went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI.

Wiota rallied from an early 1-0 to tie the score in the bottom of the first on a RBI-fielder’s choice by Mitch Cernek; and then, after falling behind 3-1 in the third, the Indians fought back with seven runs in the bottom of the stanza to grab an 8-3 lead. Riedl and Andy Cochran lined back-to-back two-run singles to highlight the rally, while Sturtz capped the big inning with a RBI-single to help his own cause.

The Raiders scored a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth on a double by Gilkes to shave the deficit down to 8-6.

In the sixth, Hayden Hardyman put the Indians back in front by three when he ripped a RBI-double of his own to plate catcher Tyler Osterday. Hardyman went 2-for-3 for the game with a RBI and a run scored, while Osterday scored twice for the hosts.

Sturtz tossed a complete game for Wiota, yielding 10 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits and five walks. He finished with nine Ks.

Wiota managed just five hits on the day, but took advantage of six walks, four hit batters and five Raider errors to score nine runs.  

Wiota is scheduled to end the HTL season at home on Sunday, Aug. 16, by hosting Shullsburg/Benton in their finale. The game is slated to start at 1 p.m.