Sidney Junior success not all measured on the scoreboard

"It's character now," Sidney Post #17 Junior coach Ray Witt said Tuesday following the team's latest outing.

Sidney fell to Alliance 8-4, but Witt doesn't measure the team's successes or failures by that score.

"We're making leaps and bounds," Witt said. "It's not showing on the scoreboard, but they are doing the things they need to do to learn and grow."

Alliance got out to a 2-0 lead with one run in the top of the second and another in the third, but Sidney remained within striking distance in the bottom of the third inning when Eli Ahrens reached first base with a single to left, then stole second and scored when a Kyler Lenzen hit got past the shortstop and Ahrens scooted home on the error.

In the fourth, Alliance had bases loaded with no outs when a walk by pitcher Arick Doty forced in another run. Another run was added on a sacrifice fly to center field, and a third went on the board with an RBI single.

Doty worked his way out of the inning, but Alliance had taken a 5-1 lead.

Sidney's best offensive inning came in the bottom of the sixth with the top of the order up at the plate.

Zach Holtz opened the inning with a single, then was safe on second when he beat the Alliance second baseman to the bag on a roller. He was out later on a fielder's choice, but two Sidney batters who reached base on errors, Brett Jaggers and Doty, scored.

Sidney sent eight batters to the plate in the sixth, where in the previous innings either had four appear, or went down in order.

Sidney has in part been a victim of summer activities, playing several games without different players.

Witt said that is one of the reasons he isn't real upset with the team's performance, because "some of the errors we are seeing have been by people who normally play in other parts of the field."

Sidney plays tonight in Torrington, Wyo., then travels to the Hershey Senior Tournament over the weekend.