Comets can’t find the gaps in 4-1 loss to Green Devils

By John Burbridge
sports@charlescitypress.com
CHARLES CITY — The response wasn’t grammatically correct, but when “Wee Willie” Keeler said “Just hit ‘em where they ain’t” when a sportswriter asked him about the secret of his baseball success, it answered the question.

What bedeviled the Charles City Comets in their non-conference 4-1 loss to the Osage Green Devils, Thursday at Sportsmen’s Park was repeatedly “hitting them where they are.”

Osage freshman right-hander Tyler Oberfoell got the complete-game victory after scattering three hits in seven innings. The Comets were able to make contact off Oberfoell, who recorded only one strikeout. And much of it was solid contact.

But Oberfoell was backed by a just-as-solid and well-placed defense — in particular left fielder Hayden Meek, who took away would-be extra-base hits from JJ Ritter and Jace Cajthaml with running catches going back toward the left-field corner.

Comet junior Tait Arndt also went the distance on the mound as 3 of the 4 runs scored off him were earned.

The Green Devils rudely greeted Arndt with four straight hits from Gavin Shaeffer, Brett Bobinet, Zach Williams and Meek to start the game on way to scoring 2 runs in the first inning.

Arndt and the Comets kept the door shut for the next four innings, but other than scoring their only run in the third inning, they couldn’t find the gaps enough to get anything going offensively.

Colton Slinger, Atticus Parrott and Ian Collins had the only hits for the Comets (9-11).

Williams was 3 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs, and Oberfoell was 2 for 3 with an RBI for the Green Devils (11-4).

OSAGE 4, CHARLES CITY 1
OSAGE AB R H BI CC AB R H BI
Gavin Shaeffer 3 1 1 0 Colton Slinger 3 0 1 0
Brett Bobinet 4 1 1 0 JJ Ritter 3 0 0 0
Zach Williams 4 1 3 2 Cole Reams 3 0 0 0
Hayden Meek 3 0 1 0 Jace Cajthaml 2 0 0 0
Lucas Weigle 3 0 1 1 Tait Arndt 2 0 0 0
Colin Mueller 3 0 0 0 Elliott Sinwell 3 0 0 0
Tyler Oberfoell3 0 2 1 Wyatt Stevenson 3 0 0 0
Caleb Danner 3 0 0 0 Atticus Parrott 2 0 1 0
Connor Tabbert 2 1 0 0 Ian Collins 2 1 1 0
TOTALS 28 4 9 4 TOTALS 23 1 3 0
OSAGE 200 001 1 — 4
CHARLES CITY 001 000 0 — 1
LOB–OSAGE 6, CHARLES CITY 7. ERR–Gavin Shaeffer, JJ Ritter, Jace Cajthaml. 2B–Zach Williams. HBP–Hayden Meek, Colton Slinger, Atticus Parrott. SACB–Gavin Shaeffer, JJ Ritter, Ian Collins. SB–Gavin Shaeffer, Lucas Weigle, Brett Bobinet, Ian Collins.
OSAGE IP H R ER BB SO HR
Tyler Oberfoell 7.00 3 1 0 2 1 0
CHARLES CITY
Tait Arndt 7.00 9 4 3 1 1 0
PB–Mason O’Mallley. SO–Caleb Danner, Colton Slinger. BB–Connor Tabbert, Jace Cajthaml, Tait Arndt.