LocalSportsJournal.com

What a difference a day can make.

For the Reeths-Puffer baseball team, the difference was not good.

The Rockets were leading Zeeland West 3-1 on Wednesday in a Division 1 regional semifinal game when the contest was suspended by weather. The two teams met up again on Thursday, picking up the action in the top of the third inning.

Reeths-Puffer couldn’t muster any more runs on the second day, and ended up falling 4-3 in a 12-inning marathon despite a great pitching performance from Ryan Barmes.

Corey Holtrust scored the winning run in the bottom of the 12th for Zeeland West.

Reeths-Puffer finished the season with a 24-11 record and a Division 1 district championship, which it earned last weekend with a tense victory over rival Mona Shores in the finals.

The Rockets jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning on Wednesday. Alex Johnson reached on an error and was able to advance to third base with no outs.  Kaden Edwards and Alex Orchard walked, loading the bases for Jaxson Whitaker, who singled in Johnson.

Ayden Willacker then knocked in Edwards to extend the lead to 2-0.  With two outs, Willacker was able to get into a rundown, allowing Orchard to score from third.

Zeeland West scored a run in the bottom of the first, then heavy rain forced play to be suspended in the third.

Zeeland West tied the score with two runs in the fifth inning when play resumed on Thursday. The game remained tied until the bottom of the 12th, when Holtrust scored from third on a grounder in a bases-loaded situation.

Barmes was excellent on the mound for R-P, totaling 8 2/3 innings over the two days and striking out six while only allowing two runs.