By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
GOWER - Savannah scored 10 runs on 11 hits to compliment a complete-game shutout from pitcher Ethan Dudeck, and the Savages blanked East Buchanan 10-0 in five innings on Monday at Heritage Park in Gower.
Savannah (14-7) scored three runs in the top of the first inning, going against East Buchanan starting pitcher Bronco Whitt.
Whitt was pulled after the first inning due to pitch count, and Blake Pryor pitched the final four innings for the Bulldogs.
Savannah added one run in the second and five more in the fourth to put the game out of reach. The Savages' 10th run in the top of the fifth put the game into run rule territory.
"We're running bases good, we're making plays," sophomore Landon Noland said. "We're on right now. Everything's working."
East Buchanan (12-3), who has now lost back-to-back games for the first time all season, tallied just four hits on the day and stranded six total baserunners
Dudeck settled in on the mound for Savannah, striking out eight batters and walking just two in five innings.
"We've just been playing as a team and having fun out here," Dudeck said. "When you're having fun playing baseball...it's pretty fun."
Noland was a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. His two-run RBI double in the fourth inning with two outs made it a 6-0 ballgame at that point.
"Just trying to be a team player," Noland said of his performance. "Get some runs in and get on base. That's all I'm trying to do."
Truman Bodenhausen and Parker Brayley also scored twice in the victory. Savannah has now won four straight games and five of their last six. They came into Monday's bout fresh off of a Pony Express tournament championship last week.
"We just want to keep playing," head coach Erich Bodenhausen said. "We understand baseball is one of those games where you come out one night, hit the ball hard and not score any runs, and the other team could not hit hard and score a bunch of runs. So, that's the way it is, but we're trying to take it one pitch at a time, one game at a time and see what happens."
Savannah plays Kirksville in Chillicothe on Tuesday at 4 p.m. East Buchanan is home to Hamilton Tuesday. That game's start time has been pushed back to 5 p.m.
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