Charleston’s Archibald, Dahlke shut down Eisenhower in 14-0 rout

Charleston pitchers Aidan Archibald and Eoin Dahlke combined to one-hit Decatur Eisenhower, registering 11 strikeouts in a five-inning abbreviated baseball victory, 14-0, Monday at Marty Pattin Field.

The Trojans (4-1) scored seven runs in the second inning and 14 in the opening four innings to enforce the 10-run rule after five innings.

Archibald struck out seven batters in the first three innings before junior Eoin Dahlke retired the side in order with a strikeout in the fourth and then struck out three batters in the fifth, stranding two runners who reached on errors.

Charleston Coach Daniel Bennett said these pitching performances will help the team stay fresh for games later this week.

“We have big conference games coming up tomorrow, so we want to save some of our arms,” Bennett said. “So we had some good pitching step in today with Dahlke and Archibald.”

Charleston’s William Applegate swings Monday against a pitch from Eisenhour High School at Pattin Field. (Photo/Dominic Baima)
Eoin Dahlke pitches against Eisenhour Monday at Pattin Field. (Photo/Dominic Baima)
William Applegate slides safely into second base Monday at Pattin Field. (Photo/Dominic Baima)
Connor Woodley slides into home plate to score for Charleston Monday at Pattin Field. (Photo/Dominic Baima)

Charleston scored one run in the first inning thanks to aggressive baserunning by designated hitter Kendall Pankey. The senior walked, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch from Eisenhower left-hander Braden Thomas. Pankey collected three hits and scored four total runs.

The missed pitches and errors continued for Eisenhower (2-8) in the third, after a routine groundball to Panther shortstop Ian Roberts was scooped up and thrown past first baseman Sam Benner, putting Charleston’s Logan Beal on base. Senior Caydin Reed the walked before Pankey stepped up to the plate and lined a single to right-center. Another walk loaded the bases for senior third baseman Collin Patterson, who ripped a double into centerfield to clear the bases and increase his team lead in RBIs to nine, which put the Trojans ahead 11-0.

Junior William Applegate then launched a ball more than 330 feet over the right-field wall for his second homer of the season, giving the Trojans their final two runs of the game.

“It felt good. I was trying to get one all day, really,” Applegate said about the homer. “Against weaker teams, you get some good hacks in.”

Charleston travels to play at Lincoln on Tuesday in Apollo Conference action.

Notes: Pankey’s three hits put him at six, tied for the team lead with Patterson. He also leads the team in runs scored (nine) after crossing the plate four times Monday, in stolen bases (6) and on-base percentage (.667). Pankey and Patterson lead the team with .545 batting averages. … Applegate, who doubled and homered in two at-bats Monday, now has a 1.000 slugging percentage, second to James Hess’s 1.250.