Writers’ Player of the Game vs. Falmouth Commodores: Zach Ehrhard

A season-high four RBIs on the night leads to outfielder's second honor

By: Mike Maynard

Zach Ehrhard continued to stay hot at the plate Monday night and took home the Writers’ Player of the Game in the process. Timely hitting led to a productive night swinging the bat.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Ehrhard came up to the plate with runners on second and third base. The Oklahoma State outfielder worked himself into a 3-2 count and found a hanging breaking ball over the middle of the plate.

“There’s no reason to get worked up and think that an at-bat is bigger than it is,” Ehrhard said. “I just played my game; I got my pitches I needed to get and I battled and got a pitch to hit.”

Ehrhard deposited the ball into the left-center field gap and took off out of the box. Will Taylor and Trey Lipsey both came in to score and by the time Falmouth got the ball back into the infield, Ehrhard was standing on second base with a two-RBI double.

The outfielder’s second hit of the night came with runners on the corners and two outs in the sixth inning. Ehrhard caught the Commodores defense off guard and laid down a beautiful bunt down the third base line.

The success at the plate is somewhat of a new thing for Ehrhard as of late. At the beginning of the season, this type of consistent hitting was limited, but over the last few weeks, the man has been on a tear.

Lipsey scored from third base on the play as the Falmouth third baseman couldn’t handle the slow roller. This made it three RBIs for Ehrhard and extended the Hyannis lead to six runs.

“Even at the beginning [of the season] when I was struggling, I think it was just a slight swing mechanic that I had to adjust,” Ehrhard said. “Drew [Ehrhard] my hitting coach and brother has helped me a lot.”

Ehrhard found himself coming up to bat again with Lipsey on base in scoring position in the bottom of the eighth inning. For the third time of the contest, Ehrhard brought him in, this time grounding a ball to the third baseman that by way of a fielder’s choice, tacked on his fourth RBI.

On the night Ehrhard finished 2-5 with two runs scored and of course, four RBIs. The four-RBI game marked his season high in the category, doubling his next-highest game.

Ehrhard’s newfound success has helped lead to wins for the Harbor Hawks as of late. The team continues to stay hot heading into the all-star break with the help of their new thriving outfielder.

“We’re starting to click we are all just really starting to bond together,” Ehrhard said. “It almost feels like a normal college team that you’re with all the time.”

Mike Maynard can be reached at mikemay62@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @mikecmaynard