Buckeye falls to Kendall after a disastrous 4th inning 6-1

Kendall turned a close game into a decisive one with a five-run fourth inning Thursday, handing Buckeye a 6-1 loss at Crosley Field in Myrtle Beach.

The game was still within reach until the fourth, when Buckeye's difficult inning, marked by defensive miscues, allowed Kendall to pull away. Kendall scored once in the third on Dagostino's sacrifice fly, then added five more runs in the top of the fourth. Conte drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, Dagostino followed with a single that brought home three runs, and another run scored on an error. The stretch matched the author-supplied summary of a disastrous fourth inning compounded by errors, and it proved to be the turning point.

Price took the loss for Buckeye after working four innings. The right-hander allowed six runs, though only two were earned, on seven hits with one strikeout and two walks. That line reflected how much the fourth inning swung on mistakes behind him as much as Kendall's timely contact. On the other side, Dagostino earned the win for Kendall, limiting Buckeye to two hits and one run over 5 1/3 innings while striking out five and not issuing a walk.

Buckeye's offense had few openings, but Brown provided most of the production. Brown finished 2 for 3 to account for both of the team's hits and also stole two bases. The Bucks scratched across their lone run against Dagostino, but Kendall kept Buckeye from building any sustained pressure the rest of the afternoon.

Played under partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the low 80s at first pitch, the matchup stayed tight early before the fourth inning changed the tone. Buckeye, listed as the away side in the event data despite the schedule naming Buckeye High School as the home team, could not recover after Kendall's six-run surge across the third and fourth. The Bucks will look to rebound after a game in which one rough inning made the difference at Crosley Field.