SMITHFIELD—Led by the timely hitting of sophomore Adam Snow, Sky View blasted Valley rival Logan Tuesday for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The problem for the Bobcats was they gave up eight runs earlier in the game.

Plagued by errors and the inability to hit the ball, the Cats fell to the Grizzlies for the second time in as many weeks. Unlike the last meeting between the two clubs though, this contest was never really in doubt as Logan walked away with an 8-3 win.

“We just started slow again, which seems to happen too much,” said SV head coach Bardett Bagley. “We didn’t hit the ball very well, that kid’s (Logan pitcher Tanner Gittins) doing a pretty good job of keeping us off balance a little bit—we just didn’t hit the ball for the little bit.”

Saying that Sky View didn’t hit the ball very well would be putting it mildly. After giving the Cats fits in the last game, Gittins again left Sky View hitters frustrated at the plate. The Logan ace carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the fifth inning before Snow sent a ball scooting between second and third base for a single.

“I’ve got to give all the credit to my defense, they made some great plays,” Gittins said. “I didn’t strike very many people out. Greg (Vernier) made some great plays at short (stop), Garrett (Hanke) had some great digs at first; it was just a great defensive game.”

All told, Gittins pitched seven and one-third innings—only allowing three hits—before being replaced by Hanke.

“Apparently he’s got our number a little I guess,” Bagley said. “He’s a little bit slower, and then when you throw his curveball in it’s even slower there. We’re having trouble just staying back and hitting the ball like we should.”

It didn’t help the Bobcats any that they got a shaky start to the game. Logan’s first five batters got on base either by hit or walk, and the Grizzlies took a 3-0 lead before Sky View could even record its first out. When the dust settled at the end of the first inning, the visitors were well in command with a 4-0 lead.

“That gave everybody lots of confidence,” said Gittings of jumping out to the early lead. “We went out like we owned the place and that helped a lot.”

For the next three innings, neither team gave any ground as Logan looked to pull further ahead while Sky View tried to tighten the gap. However, just when it looked like the Bobcats my finally be getting some rhythm at the plate, that’s when their defense fell apart.

Helped out by error after Bobcat error, the Grizzlies tacked on an insurance run in the top of the fifth inning, and three more in the top of the second. Most of Sky View’s errors occurred in the infield when the defense was unable to get a handle on the ball.

“These kids have played too much baseball to have that many errors,” Bagley said. “We just couldn’t field the ball today.”

Despite finding themselves on the wrong side of a 8-0 hole, the Bobcats did not wave the white flag. A single by Taylor Kunz sandwiched in-between two walks loaded the bases for Sky View with no out in the bottom of the seventh.

Enter Adam Snow.

The rarely used sophomore who had already ended Gittins bid for a no-hitter earlier in the game, created some fireworks again. The catcher ripped a pitch down the third-base line for a two-run double. The hit effectively ended Gittins afternoon, as well as breathed some much needed life into the home crowd.

“It was fun to come out here, step up and show people what I really can do,” Snow said. “And it feels really good to just have a good game.”

Snow wasn’t the only Bobcat pleased with his play.

“He did a great job,” Bagley said of Snow. “I think he had the first hit of the game then had a two-RBI double and threw a couple guys out. That’s the kind of stuff we need out of kids that don’t get to play a lot, especially on that level. To come in to do that was impressive.”

The Bobcats next batter, Dallen Godfrey, made contact as well as he sent a ball rolling into the infield. He was thrown out at first, but not before Sky View’s lone senior—Derrick Nield—crossed home to score another run.

With the momentum turning in their favor, two runners on base and only one out, it looked like Sky View was toying with a serious comeback. Things would not escalate from there though. Hanke got the next two batters to ground out to end the game and preserve the win for the Grizzlies.

“The biggest thing I take out of it, is we’ve tried to encourage the kids to finish the year,” said Grizzly head coach Mike Hansen. “It’s been a tough year at times and we’ve lost a lot of close games and we haven’t gotten to the number of wins that maybe we want. Sometimes that maybe leads to letting up a little and that’s the thing we’ve been asking them to do, is finish it.”

Logan will have a chance to continue its strong finish tomorrow when the teams square off again. The Cats, meanwhile, will be looking to rebound from two disappointing losses as well as for some late season momentum of their own.

“We’ve just got to start with some enthusiasm,” Bagley said. “We’ve just got to start strong, come out ready to hit and ready to play.”