Swett defeat Oilers, move into first-place tie

Swett High southpaw Allen Ressler took his A-game the mound Wednesday evening as the Indians defeated the visiting Richmond Oilers 13-1. The win moved Swett (4-1, 4-10) into a first-place tie with Hercules, while Richmond (1-3, 1-10) fell three games behind in the win column.

Oilers’ batters had a hard time seeing the ball come out of Ressler’s hand as the senior lefty retired the first nine Richmond batters he faced—eight of which were strikeouts. In the fifth inning, the Oilers got their first and only hit of the game as centerfielder Eric Silva roped a double down the left field line.

After the game Oilers’ head coach Deryk Hudson told his team they put forth a decent effort against a really good pitcher. “We have to learn to come out fighting and not come out on our heels,” the former Montreal Expos third base prospect told his team kneeling in right field after the game. “I’d like to see you guys swing at a lot more pitches. We’re not swinging at enough pitches. We don’t get a lot of practice at curveballs so I give you a pass on that. If you don’t see a curveball [in practice] I can’t expect you to hit a curveball [in a game].”

Richmond’s next game is today at home against De Anza.