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Swank on Sports
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News Line |
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Joining us this morning on “Sports
Saturday” are HS boys’ basketball coaches Tim Braford of Clear Fork,
David Sheldon of Colonel Crawford, Ed Rich of Bellevue, Nick Coon of Mt.
Vernon and Chris Armstrong of Madison. Girls
BB coach Natalie Lantz of Shelby. “A
Few Moments of the E.D.” with Doug Ute as we talk about helping HS
athletes with their mental health. Samantha
Bunten of NBC Sports talks the Guardians, the Browns, and more of her
favorite books. The show runs
from 10 AM to 1 PM on www.swankonsports.com.
Don’t forget to click on the listen line at the top of the page for
audio. |
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Edison
to Play for State Title After Another Extra Inning Win Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Sean Hoover
Edison is a baseball team that plays with incredible intensity and
yet patience and that played out again Thursday night as the Chargers
outlasted Roger Bacon (3-0) in eight innings to a division III state
semifinal played at Canal Park in Akron.
They have win three extra inning game in tournament over the last two
years.
They return to the Rubber City on Saturday to face Waynedale of the
Wayne County Athletic League for a state title.
The Golden Bears beat Liberty Union and likely major league draftee
Jacob Miller (5-3) in Thursday’s other semifinal.
Coach Sean Hoover says his team found a way to overcome.
“It was just back and forth with zeros on the board for seven
innings. You can get frustrated
with loss opportunities throughout the game, but our guys didn’t do that.
I know we went out and did the right things on the mound and
defensive wise to hold them to the same zeros and we were finally able to
break through in the eighth inning,” said Hoover.
Lefty Thomas Simon went the first seven inning and Hoover says he
battled and was able to get out of some jams and keep Roger Bacon off the
scoreboard. “He was awesome.
He made a lot of big pitches, especially with guys in scoring
position for them. A lot of big
“K’s” in those situations,” he said.
With the game still scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, Roger Bacon
tried to score a sac fly, but centerfielder Bryce Michaelis gunned they down
at the plate and it wouldn’t be they last big play he would make.
“It was a shallow fly ball to center and they tested his arm and he
threw a laser right to the plate. That
was a big out of us to end the inning,” said Hoover.
It was still all zeros through seven until Edison finally broke
through to get on the board with a clutch hit from Michaelis.
Hoover says that relieved a little of the tension for them.
“We got a leadoff single by Haden Fry and Noah Smith laid down a
nice bunt and their pitcher kind of bobbled it and that gave us two guys on.
We bunted again to get them both into scoring position.
Bryce Michaelis came up with a big hit by third base to kind of break
the ice,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Xander Danner hit a
hard ball that third basemen made a great play on, but threw it kind of
quicky to home. He had a little
more time that he thought he did. It
was a high school kid making a great play, but it was a little wide at home
and we were able score two runs on that throw.”
Ben Bates got the save for the Chargers by working a scoreless
eighth.
As for Waynedale, Hoover believes his team is going to have to score
some runs to take the trophy home. “I
have not had a lot of time to look into them.
They played really will (Thursday), they hit up and down the order.
I think we are going to see a lefty on Saturday.
Their number two is a lefty. The
kid that came in pitched at the end of the day (Thursday).
They hit the best pitcher in the State of Ohio.
We are going to have to be ready to go and have our hitting shoes on
I have a feeling,” said Hoover. Published 6/10/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM |
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Click here to listen to comments from coaches on Ryan Teglovic
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Edison
Downs Fredericktown in Extra Innings Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Sean Hoover Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Hathaway
With aid of a balk and an error, Edison scored the winning run in the
bottom of the eighth inning and they rallied to beat Fredericktown (5-4) in
a division III regional semifinal on Thursday evening at Elida Middle
School.
The Chargers return on Friday to face Ottawa Hills for a regional
title. The Green Bears beat
Pemberville Eastwood (5-1) in Thursday’s first semifinal.
Fredericktown, the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference champ, scored
three times in the first inning off Edison ace Thomas Simon.
With one out Kaid Carpenter singled.
Then with two outs Jackson Doup singled and Luke Bean drove home the
first run with a hit. Xavier
Mullins walked and Braden Sapp followed with a two run single.
Edison, the “SBC” Bay Division winner, got two in the bottom of
the fourth when with two out, Dominic Dymond reached on an error, Hayden Fry
and Noah Smith walked, and Brady Barker got an RBI hit driving in Dymond and
Fry scored when the ball was thrown away by the Freddy infield.
However, Fredericktown responded to make it (4-2) in the top of the
fifth when Brady Lester doubled inside the bag at first and scored on
Carpenter’s sacrifice fly.
Edison tied it in their half of the fifth when Xander Danner reached
on an error, Thomas Simon singled and Dymond singled him home.
They tied it on an error by the third baseman, scoring Simon.
Simon was replaced by Ben Bates after seven and likewise Carpenter,
the Fredericktown starter, was replaced by Ben Mast after seven.
In the bottom of the eighth, Barker got a one out single.
He got to second when Blake Simon chopped one in front of the plate
and was thrown out at first by Mast. He
was then balked to third and scored when the Freddies were unable to handle
an infield roller hit by Bryce Michaelis.
Edison coach Sean Hoover says they got behind early, but they kept
plugging away and eventually made the plays they had to make.
“We have been down early before, so we did a good job of chipping
away. We were able to hit balls
hard enough, I guess. They
helped us out with a few errors there to extend some innings.
I told the guys we don’t necessarily have to hit ball hard, we just
have to make them make plays,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game,
“Make a little contact and see what happens.
Blake got Brady up to second. He
didn’t hit it 40 feet, but he made them make a play.
He got a guy in scoring position.
When you just need one hit to win the game that is a big at bat to
move him over there.”
Fredericktown made five errors in all, all of Edison’s runs were
unearned, and coach Ryan Hathaway says you can’t do that in the regional
tournament. “We just didn’t
make enough plays defensively. We
gave them too many opportunities. They
scored probably all of their runs with two outs if I had to look back on it
now. We fought the whole game
and tried to stick with them. We
just couldn’t get one across in the late innings,” he said.
Carpenter was dominate early in the game, retiring the first 11
batters. Hoover says they tried to get him out of his rhythm.
“He went nine up and nine down and then we loaded them up in the
fourth and he started to tire a little bit.
We made him throw from the stretch and feel a little pressure.
He was just free and easy. He
was working slow, he was working quick, he was trying to quick pitch.
He was doing a good job of messing up our timing early.
I think later we called timeout in the box a little more to make sure
we were ready making sure our hitters were in there and not getting quick
pitched. We kept the pressure
on. We were able to get it tied
and pull it out,” said Hoover.
Hathaway says Edison got some clutch hits.
“After they saw Carpenter a couple of times around it seemed like
they started to figure him out a little bit.
We let them on there with two outs multiple times.
You give any team life when you are at this point in the tournament,
they are going to capitalize on it, they are a good team,” he said.
A big key, according to
Hoover, was laying off Carpenter’s curveball.
“I think we swung at too many curveballs in those first two
innings. We have tried to work
on not swinging at those too early in the count.
We didn’t do a great job of that the first three innings.
He really wasn’t throwing any curveballs over for strikes.
The only strike he threw over the plate to the first three innings
was a called strike three on the seven hitter, that was the only curve he
threw over the plate. He bounced
every other one on the dirt. So,
we were a little more patient. We
went back to stuff we worked on early in the year bringing us fastballs so
we can barrel them up and we did a better job of getting some guys on
base,” said Hoover.
When it comes to Ottawa Hills on Friday, Hoover says they are what
you would expect at this level and they will have to play well.
“They are obviously a very good team.
I don’t really know a lot about them.
I watched hit the ball really well against Eastwood.
They pitched well, they played good defense.
They are what you expect in a regional finals opponent.
We will have to come out and battle and be ready to go,” he said. Published 6/03/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM |
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Fundamentals
Key in Columbian Win over Defiance Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Curt Mellott
Tiffin Columbian used great pitching and timely hitting to beat
Defiance (1-0) in a division II regional semifinal played on Thursday
afternoon at Carter Park in Bowling Green.
Senior Carson Mellott threw the shutout and had the only RBI hit of
the game for the Tornadoes, who play Akron Hoban Friday, again at Carter
Park, in the regional final. Hoban
beat Sandusky Perkins (8-0) on Thursday.
Coach Curt Mellott says it was just a great baseball game.
“It was such a great game on both sides.
Both teams had phenomenal pitching, phenomenal defense, some diving
plays, some balls that we thought might get to the gap were caught.
We had they one big, timely hit when we needed it and were able to
close the door at the end. All
of the credit goes to the kids, they were just amazing,” he said.
Mellott says Carson was outstanding again and he had great defense
behind him. “We were just able
to stay ahead in counts for the most part.
We had a little bit traffic on the base paths, but Carson was able to
pick off two runners, might have had a third if we would have gotten the
throw down at second base. That
kind of helped alleviate some of their run game, which is something they
have always relied heavily on. We
fielded the bunts when we needed to and just made routine plays,” said
Mellott.
Defiance has been ranked number one in the state in the statewide
coaches poll and they are a team that likes to be aggressive.
Mellott says they were able to take advantage of that.
“We had a lot of discussion leading into this.
Just talking about what they like to do in terms of the run game.
We know Defiance in playing them for a number of years during my
coaching career. Just how they
can take advantage of you by seeding you up.
Like clockwork, the first guy that gets on base, he goes on the first
move and we have him picked off. That
kind of set the tone for us that we know what is coming,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “So, a couple of times later when they
tried that, we picked two runners back to back.
We threw behind a guy from the outfield and got a big one and got a
few out there. Those little
things that Defiance typically does we took advantage of.
I felt our guys where just a half step ahead.
Thank goodness we were able to take care of some of those mistakes
and capitalize on the defensive end.”
They only run of the game came in the fourth inning and Mellott says
again it was fundamentals that were a factor.
“We got that because of things we really preach.
Gunther Kissell, our leadoff hitter, on a 1-2 pitch, wears one on his
shoulder. Bryce Roggow comes up
and lays done a beautiful bunt that we thought might me a hit down the third
base line and their third baseman had a great play on the run.
With two strikes, Carson Mellott drives one off the right center wall
to make it 1-0. It kind of give
us the steading factor that okay we have a lead now let’s finish this
off,” said Mellott. Published 6/03/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM |
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Hillsdale
Does it Again Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jason Snow
Hillsdale has a chance to make it to the final four for the second
time in three seasons as they beat defending division IV state champ Warren
JFK (4-3) in a regional semifinal played at Gates Milles Gilmour Academy on
Thursday.
The Falcons were state runners up in 2019.
They will play Tiffin Calvert, of the Sandusky Bay Conference River
Division, for a regional title at Gilmour Academy on Friday.
Calvert beat Bristol (5-3) on Thursday.
Warren JFK scored three runs in the first inning, all unearned, but
after that Hillsdale coach Jason Snow says Nick Kandel was masterful.
“It was a great credit to Nick Kandel on the mound.
He kind of got himself in a little trouble that first inning on a
bunt that we threw away and it led to three unearned runs, but he settled
down after that and over the next six innings held them to two hits and
struck out seven. Quite a
performance for Nick,” he said.
Hillsdale got single runs in the second and fifth to cut their
deficit to (2-1) and then got two in the sixth to win it.
Ninth place hitter, catcher Daniel Painter tied it on a double that
scored Braylen Jarvis and then Kandel followed with a run scoring single to
give the Falcons the lead.
Snow says they just kept fighting.
“That is kind of how our whole tournament run has been.
It has been 4-3, 4-2, 4-3 the last three games.
It has been one here and one there.
We talked (Thursday) it would be nice if we could just have one of
those big innings. If we could
get three or four and get a crooked number up there one time it would be
great. The kids are so
resilient,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “They talked about,
guys let’s just chip away and find a way.
Every inning we had guys on base.
We didn’t get the big hits all of the time, but eventually Daniel
Painter came through with a big hit to get us on the board there in the
sixth inning, just a key spot for us.”
Regarding Friday against Calvert, Snow says they just have to keep
finding a way. “They stole a
few bases. We had chance to see
them (Thursday) and we got a little more scouting elsewhere.
It is probably the same scenario as us.
We are both coming with our number twos, mixing up some speed, see
how we can stay back and take care of some off speed pitches.
The same thing for us, we just have got to throw strikes and give our
kids a chance to field the ball. When
we do that, we are usually in the game.
Right now, our offense if just finding ways to get just enough.
Hopefully, that will continue to (Friday),” said Snow. Published 6/03/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM |
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Plymouth
Beats South Central for District Title Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jake Strayer Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Perry
There aren’t many times when a coach addresses the opponent after a
tournament baseball game, but both coaches did that on Saturday amid the
controversy surrounding the division IV district final at Heise Park in
Galion.
The work by the umpires in the game seemed to be inconsistent at
best. The strike zone appeared to be a moving target.
There were a total of 16 walks in the game.
Plymouth beat South Central (6-5) and will advance to the division IV
regional tournament where they will face Antwerp at Patrick Henry High
School on Thursday afternoon.
Plymouth coach Jake Strayer says his players handled a difficult
situation. “They battled and
fought through a lot of adversity, a lot of stuff they couldn’t control
and they played hard. They are
16, 17, 18-year-old kids. A lot
of them were put in positions (Saturday) that they were never put in before
and they handled it. That is
something we talk about in the program is handle things the right way.
You don’t know how things are going to happen or why they are going
to happen. You have to make the
best decision you can with them and I am proud of how our guys handled
that,” said Strayer.
The Big Red score twice in the top of the second inning when Shae
Sparks belted an RBI triple and scored himself when the ball was thrown away
trying to get him at third.
South Central tied it (2-2) in the bottom of the second when Brandon
Mitchell and Aaron Hauler walked, Eric Sanders singled home Mitchell and
Hauler scored on a ground out by Isiah White.
The Trojans took a (3-2) lead in the of the third when Mitchell again
walked and scored on White’s double. They
added two more in the fourth on a couple of walks, three stolen bases a
sacrifice and an error and it was (5-2) Trojans after four.
After a scoreless fifth, things got interesting in the top of the
sixth. Trace McVey walked and
Cole Wentz followed with what was called a two run home run down the
leftfield line, although in the opinion of this reporter it appeared to be
foul by a good 20 feet. Third
base umpire Mark McCoy called it a home run and when asking home plate ump
Jeff Sutter, the call was confirmed. Galion
Police were called to the park to handle the unhappy crowd, but no physical
altercations took place.
That cut the South Central lead to (5-4), but the Big Red wasn’t
done. The next batter, Ethan
Gilliam walked and Carson Tucker followed with a single. Sparks
sacrificed and Clayton Miller singled home the tying run.
Following a strikeout and a walk, Zeth Goth’s single gave Plymouth
a (6-5) lead.
Miller, who had replaced Goth on the mound, in the fourth, retired
six of the last eight batters he faced to give the Big Red the win.
South Central coach Mike Perry says he feels the performance of the
umpires was inexcusable. “The
umpire tells my shortstop that he lost the ball in the sun, so he called it
a home run. Out there guessing
in a situation like that is inexcusable and it breaks my heart that I have a
bunch of seniors that are walking off a high school baseball field because a
guy didn’t see it, so he guessed. That
can not happen in a district championship game and it did and they are
dealing with that right now,” said Perry.
Perry says they are in no way blaming the Plymouth coaching staff or
players, but feels they were robbed. “We
are not mad at Plymouth. I even
told Plymouth, guys you just won a district championship, be happy, be loud,
we are good with that. I told
(our players) not a lot of teams win 20 games and their conference and we
were able to do that. We felt
like we were the better team. Honestly,
shooting from the hip, this game was taken away from us,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the game, “I told them that there are lessons that
you are going to learn in this life and one of those lessons is not
everything is fair, not everything balances out.
Sometimes you are going to end up on the short end of it.
You learn from it and move on.”
South Central left eight men on base in the game and Plymouth coach
Strayer says he feels his team took advantage of their chances.
“They responded to the options that they had.
I said it on Wednesday night that all we need is a chance.
We gave ourselves a chance and I couldn’t be happier with them,”
said Strayer.
Miller was a star for Plymouth, not only does he get the game tying
hit, but he pitched four innings of one hit baseball for the Big Red.
“He comes in and throws strikes and he competes.
He does what we ask him to do. He
goes out there and he works quick and he works fast and he is efficient.
That’s what we needed and that is what he did for us,” said
Strayer.
The OHSAA has been concerned with the lack of umpires and that came
to a head on Saturday. The game
was originally scheduled for Friday and was not played due to wet field
conditions. A new group of
umpires had to be found for Saturday and there were more questionable calls
than normal in a game of this magnitude. Published 5/29/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM |
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Norwalk
Eliminates Bellevue Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Wes Douglas Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Dennings
Norwalk scored a run in the first inning and made it stand up as the
Truckers beat Bellevue (1-0) in a division II district semifinal played at
Fremont Ross High School on Thursday afternoon.
They will play either Sandusky Perkins or Shelby for the district
title on Saturday. The Pirates
lead Shelby (4-0) in the bottom of the third inning in a game that was
suspended on Thursday when the skies opened up.
Nolan Thomas hit a big three run home run for the Pirates in the
first inning. That game will be
resumed Friday afternoon, weather permitting.
Kelton Chapin got the start for the Truckers and he fired a shutout,
allowing only four hits. He
induced eight pop ups or fly outs in the game as he was able to keep the
Redmen off balance.
Norwalk coach Wes Douglas says he has improved tremendously this
year. “He went from our number
four, number five to giving up one earned run in 40 plus innings.
He doesn’t walk people, he hit one guy (Thursday) maybe.
He fields his position. Works
quick, which our guys like and keeps the ball down for the most part.
Good for him, I couldn’t be happier for him, he’s a great kid,”
said Douglas.
Bellevue coach Andy Dennings can’t fault his team’s effort and
intensity. “We played our
hearts out, but unfortunately we weren’t able to get one across the
plate,” he said.
Norwalk catcher Sam Battles was instrumental in his team’s win on
Thursday. He started two run
downs and threw a runner out trying to steal second.
Douglas says he can fly under the radar sometimes, but he is the
leader of this baseball team and he makes big plays.
“He picked off three guys back there.
He made a nice call on the bunt back to the mound to get the lead
runner there. He goes unnoticed
by a lot of people, but not by me. He
controls things. I’d like to
take credit for coaching him, but he came to me that way.
He keeps getting better. He
understands the game really well. Those
were huge outs. I hate making
them and when we can get them those are just huge outs,” said Douglas.
Small ball has been a key to Bellevue’s success this spring, but
Dennings says they didn’t execute very well on Thursday.
“Small ball, we didn’t do what we needed to do there, seeing the
bunts down, and getting the bunts down.
In games like this you have to be able to do that,” he said.
Norwalk got on the board in the first inning when Caleb Sommers was
hit by a pitch, advanced to third on a double inside the third base line by
Ian Minor and scored on a sacrifice fly by Eli Obringer.
Douglas says it was good execution and aggressive play, especially by
Sommers. “We started Sommers
on that hit, so he was moving on the pitch.
It was pretty bold to come to third, he made that decision on his
own, a good throw would have had him. To
get the sac fly from Obringer after that.
Then zeros, zeros and good,” he said.
Sommers also helped turn an inning ending double play in the fifth.
Douglas says he does what is asked of him.
“We have the big three in Battles, Oblinger and Minor and he is
right there with them. He always
gets the short end of the publicity stick.
I have known him and his family and his older brother played for us.
I’m happy for him, he is enjoying himself and having fun,” he
said.
Norwalk (19-7) has been playing outstanding baseball as they have
lost only three games in the last month.
Douglas says this is a veteran, experienced team that has good focus
right now. “They just have a
really good vibe right now. We
had a couple of good days of practice, we had a team meal, they are loose,
they are having fun, they are confident.
They are a veteran group, they have been through it.
They missed the COVID year or they would right up there across the
board in the record book in team wins and individual stuff, but they don’t
care about that,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “They have
played a lot of baseball together since they were kids.
Their dads were a great group of coaches that taught them the right
way, taught them to play multiple positions, everybody could pitch,
everybody could catch and it was paid off for our program.” Published 5/27/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM |
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Big
Inning Gives Edison Win Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Sean Hoover
Edison scored seven of their eight runs in one inning on Thursday
afternoon as they downed Wynford (8-6) in a division III district semifinal
played at Norwalk High School.
The Chargers (20-8) will play Margaretta (20-7) for a district title
Saturday afternoon at Norwalk. The
Polar Bears (20-7) beat Genoa (3-1) on Thursday.
Wynford (20-6), the Northern 10 Athletic Conference champion, led
(3-1) going to the bottom half of the sixth inning and that is when Edison
got busy.
Haden Fry tripled to start the inning and Noah Smith doubled him
home. Then Brady Barker tied the
game (3-3) with an RBI triple. After
a Max Hoover infield single, Bryce Michaels gave Edison the lead (4-3) an
RBI double. It became (5-3) on
Xavier Donner sacrifice fly. Three
more runs scored on an error, a Clint Finnen BRI single and a wild pitch.
It was (8-3) Edison going to the seventh.
Edison coach Sean Hoover says the hits became contagious.
“We hit some balls hard early in the game and didn’t have a whole
lot to show for it. Wynford made
a couple of nice defensive plays and we smoked a couple of balls right at
them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “In the sixth inning
we were able to drive some balls out over their heads.
We started the inning with a triple, a double, and another triple and
it just snowballed from there.”
Wynford battled back too to score three times in the seventh, but
Hoover says they were able to survive. “It
was a little nerve raking there at the end.
That is kind why we preach to our guys that you can never have enough
runs, just keep going and pushing. No
lead is ever safe. Wynford
fought to the very end like we expected they would, but we were able to pull
it out,” he said.
Edison has beaten Margaretta twice this season (7-0) on the road May
5 and (7-4) at home May 12.
Hoover says they know each other well.
“We have played them six times in the last two years, the seventh
time on Saturday. The kids are
familiar with each other and the coaches as well.
It is good to have an all “SBC” district final.
We are expecting a tough game,” he said.
Hoover adds it is going to boil down to execution, which is mostly
the case in district finals. “We
both have a general idea of what each team is trying to accomplish out there
offensively and defensively. You
have to be able to make the plays when they are there to be made.
Errors will always come up and bite you in any game.
I think it is going to come down to execution on Saturday,” he
said. Published 5/27/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM |
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South
Central Moves onto the District Final Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Perry
South Central pounded Hardin-Northern (10-0) in five innings in a
division IV district semifinal played Wednesday afternoon at Galion Heise
Park.
The Trojans (20-6), the Firelands Conference champion, will play
conference foe Plymouth for the district title on Friday evening back at
Heise Park.
Sophomore Eric Sanders got the ball from coach Mike Perry and he
turned in a terrific performance going all five innings and allowing only
three hits and two walks while striking out five Polar Bears.
Perry says he did exactly what he asked him to do.
“Eric will throw strikes. We
were thinking were we going to start Sam (Seidel) or start Eric and we went
with Eric because I want Sam’s glove out there defensively,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “Eric did exactly what we wanted him to
do, throw strikes and make them put the ball in play and let our defense do
its job and everybody did their job.”
Seidel is an All-Ohio shortstop headed to Bowling Green next year.
He and the Trojans played a clean game with no errors.
Perry says Sanders works well with catcher Kayden Hauler.
“You have a sophomore that is starting the biggest game he has ever
started in his high school career. Giving
him a few runs early kind of calmed him down.
He was going to attack anyway, that just the kind of kid he is.
He did a great job and he has a lot of trust in his catcher.
We let Kayden call the game and he does a great job with that in
keeping them in the moment,” said Perry.
South Central got going early in the game with a three spot in the
first when Seidel, the lead off hitter, walked and eventually scored on a
wild pitch. Karl Ferber, the
number one starter and expected to start against Plymouth, singled and later
scored on an Aaron Hauler hit. Another
run scored on a Polar Bear error.
They added another run in the third when Ferber walked and scored on
Sanders double up the left-centerfield ally.
Make it (4-0) Trojans.
Perry says he liked their approach at the plate.
“We have not been all year. It
started with the five conference games in five days and for some reason that
just got a lot better. We have
been feeding off of that. Their
kids didn’t throw as hard as we have seen, so we worked on staying back
and using the middle of the field. They
did a great job, great at bats,” said Perry.
Ferber put the hammer down in fourth when he greeted relief pitcher
Zach Spearman with a three run moonshot homer over the rightfield fence.
“When they made the pitching change, he came down, and I said, what
are you going to do if they hang that curveball and he said I’m going to
hit it 450. It wasn’t 450, but
he put a change into that one,” said Perry.
South Central added another in the fourth on Brandon Mitchell’s
hit. Mitchell then ended the
game in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run single.
Plymouth beat Buckeye Central (8-6) in the second semifinal.
Friday’s district final will be a rubber match with the Trojans and
Big Red splitting their conference games. Published 5/26/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Plymouth
Holds Off Buckeye Central Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jake Strayer Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Chad Jensen
Plymouth scored at least one run in each of the first four innings
and then hung on to beat Buckeye Central (8-6) in a division IV district
semifinal played on Wednesday evening at Heise Park in Galion.
They return to Galion on Friday to meet rival South Central, a (10-0)
winner over Hardin-Northern on Wednesday, in the district final.
Zach Hamman opened the bottom of the first with a single and with the
aid of a walk and two errors, the Big Red jumped to a (3-0) lead.
They added two more in the second when after back to back hit
batters, Zeth Goth tripled to the left-centerfield wall and it was (5-0)
Plymouth after two.
Coach Jake Strayer says they barreled up some balls and took
advantage of their chances to score. “We
came out and hit the ball hard. The
first inning or two the helped us a little bit by kicking it around, but we
were hitting the ball hard. That
is an extremely good baseball team. That
(Alex) Kanney kid is a heck of a pitcher.
He has thrown well all year. He
threw well (Wednesday) night,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win,
“We just happened to get bats on balls and hit them hard.
Kudos for our guys being able to do that.
I know that hasn’t happened a lot to him this year.
There is a reason for it because he is a good pitcher.”
Ethan Gillum walked with one out in the bottom of the third and
scored when Cole Wentz singled and the ball was misplayed in the outfield
and it became (7-1) Plymouth.
Buckeye Central coach Chad Jensen says the errors were
uncharacteristic of the Bucks, plus with 10 runners stranded they had a lot
of chances to cash I and did not. “We
have had the same defense all year. Our
kids have played well all year. They
hit it hard and we had a couple of miscues, but we had opportunities
throughout the game. That is not
the reason that we lost. We had
opportunities. Plymouth put the
ball in play and took advantage of the opportunities that they had,” said
Jensen.
Plymouth added another run in their half of the fourth making it an
(8-1) Big Red lead after four.
The back came Buckeye with two in the fifth and three in the seventh.
Strayer says they walked nine guys and that is way too many.
“I wish they would have made a few more plays.
They helped us out. Especially
with as many walks as we game up (nine).
That was our problem, we didn’t throw a ton of strikes.
We walked a lot of guys and that is where a lot of their runners came
from. They hit one or two balls
hard and one was in the seventh inning.
That has got to get that fixed for Friday,” he said.
Buckeye’s runs in the fifth came on three walks and an error.
In the seventh thy got a couple more walks and RBI hits from Clay
Green and Graham Geissman.
Pitcher Alex Kanney, a first team all district selection, went the
distance for the Bucks and he gave up eight runs, but only three were
earned.
Jensen says his kids kept grinding.
“Our kids don’t quit. Our
kids at Buckeye Central don’t quit. I
am really proud of these kids and really proud of our seniors.
Alex is our senior. He is
our ace. He is an All-Ohio kind
of kid. He was chosen to be in
the All-Ohio senior series, so he is one of the top 80 seniors in Ohio and
he proved that. One thing about
our kids they are going to be very successful in life because things happen
and they just let it go and move on,” said Jensen.
With two runners in scoring position when the final out was recorded,
the Big Red almost surrendered that big lead, but Strayer says he will take
a win anyway he can get it. “The
district semifinal win is a win. I don’t care what it is.
I don’t care how we win. It
is satisfying,” he said.
Plymouth and South Central split their regular season meetings, South
Central won the Firelands Conference pennant.
Stayer knows it will be a challenge on Friday.
“I have coached there, dad teaches there.
We know each other. Coach
(Mike) Perry and I have a lot respect for each other.
At the start of the season this is who we expected to be here with.
They are a darn good team. They
know they are good because they saved (Karl) Ferber.
They didn’t throw Ferber (Wednesday) and he is a good pitcher too.
Let’s line it up and play ball,” said Strayer. Published 5/26/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Fredericktown
Back in Regionals Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Hathaway
Fredericktown is making a return visit to the regional tournament
after a (5-1) win over Amanda-Clearcreek in a division III district
championship game played on Wednesday at Olentangy Orange High School.
They advance to play at Elida Middle School and will meet the winner
of the Norwalk district which will be determined on Thursday and Saturday.
The thought going in was the Freedies might have to use a number of
pitchers with their number one having gone in the semifinal.
However, coach Ryan Hathaway says Luke Beam would have none of that.
“With our pitching (Wednesday) night was all hands on deck, but we
didn’t need it. Luke Beam came
out and gave us a start and went seven innings.
He was just in control from the first inning on.
He got in a little bit of trouble, but he really settled in.
I just felt like he pitched with a lot of confidence and our guys
just had his back all night and had confidence is what we he was doing,”
said Hathaway.
Beam allowed one run on four hits.
Plus, Hathaway says their defense was outstanding with only one error
and solid play. “Their top
three guys are all going to play college baseball next year and we knew they
were going to swing it. Our
defense was really strong (Wednesday) night.
We made a lot of good plays behind Luke.
We made the routine plays, which was the most important thing.
We didn’t do anything spectacular.
We just made the routine play and got us out of some jams.
It was just great to see our guys just playing with a lot
confidence,” he said.
Amanda-Clearcreek took a (1-0) lead in the top of the first on Kansas
Rhymer’s RBI hit. They would
not score again.
Fredericktown got busy with the bats right away as Brady Lester
singled, Kaid Carpenter walked and Trevor Jobes bunt back to the mound
resulted in a single and the bases were loaded.
Jaxen Doup’s sacrifice fly tied the game (1-1) and them pitcher
Trent Hodges walked in two more to give the Freddies an early (3-1) lead.
Carpenter stole home in the second inning to make it (4-1) part of
six steals the Freddies put together on the day.
Hathaway says they were aggressive.
“We got three in the first inning and then we got one in the second
and maybe another one in the fourth. We
knew we were going to have to try and keep up.
At least get three or four there and we lucked out and got five.
I thought we kept the pressure on them on the base paths.
We were able to move up. We
ran a lot. We just put a lot of
pressure their defense to make plays. That
is what we felt like we had to do,” he told Swankonsports.com after the
win, “The wind was blowing in again, so we knew we weren’t going to have
a lot of extra base hits. We
executed the bunt and moved a lot of guys over.
Got guys in where we had runners in scoring position.
Just all around great execution by our guys.” Published 5/26/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Hillsdale
Wins District Title Click
here to listen an interview with coach Jason Snow
Hillsdale earned a division IV district title Wednesday evening with
a (4-2) win over Columbia in a game played at Medina High School.
They will play either Warren JFK or Lake Center Christian in next
week’s regional in Gates Mills.
Just like in their district semifinal win over Mogadore on Tuesday,
the Falcons fell behind Wednesday, but rallied from a (2-1) deficit after
two to tie it in the third and put two up in the fourth to take the lead.
Coach Jason Snow says pitcher Cade Fickes was tremendous on
Wednesday. “It was really
similar to (Tuesday) we fell behind, we get one, they get one, we get a zero
finally on them and then we get one. The
kids are really resilient. They
battled. Cade Fickes threw one
heck of a game,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Wednesday,
“He gave up a couple of runs the first two innings.
Then next three innings he put zeros on in the hits and the runs.
We just found a way. The
top of the order got things done offensively.
Daniel Painter in the nine hole had a couple of hits for us.”
Fickes went six innings and gave up only three hits and struck out
six.
Hillsdale was not as sound as they normally are with three errors
that led to two unearned runs for Columbia.
Snow says Fickes was able to work around their errors while they took
advantage of the Columbia mistakes. “The
key for us we have said is defense. We
talked about this after our last game. Both
teams kind of booted the ball around. We
took more advantage of their mistakes. Caden
battled around our mistakes and just gave us a chance to win.
Mark Able closed it out. He
came in with a guy on base and got the next three guys to seal it,” he
said.
Fickes also added two hits and an RBI for the Falcons (23-4) and they
also got one hit each from the top part of their order in Nick Kandle, Jack
Fickes and Ethan Goodwin. Plus,
they got two hits, including a double from Daniel Painter.
Snow says Painter was a big plus for him.
“He hit the ball well. His
second hit should have been another double, but he kind of lost his balance
and fell coming around first base and he settled for a single, but we were
still fortunate to pick him up and score him that inning.
We have potential one through nine and we will have to continue to
find ways for all of guys to pitch in if we want to keep rolling,” said
Snow. Published 5/26/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Northmor
Outlasts Pleasant; Advances to District Final Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Buck Workman
Northmor needed extra innings and a lot of them, eight in fact, to
beat Marion Pleasant (4-2) in a division III district semifinal played on
Tuesday evening at Pleasant.
The game had all of the plot twists of a Stephen King novel, just
when you were sure one team would win, they didn’t.
Northmor coach Buck Workman, already an old man, probably got a lot
older on Tuesday, but he says it was worth it.
“With games like that your will get old fast.
It was crazy. I still
haven’t digested the whole thing quite yet. Credit
our kids they kept grinding and found a way to get it done,” he said.
Drew Hammond, who didn’t even start the game with a bat in his
hands drilled an RBI single off Pleasant’s Peydon Gosnell in the top of
the 15th to give the Golden Knights a (3-2) lead.
A second run would score that inning on a walk.
Northmor tied the game at (2-2) in top of the seventh on Max
Lower’s RBI double to force extra innings.
Pleasant had taken a (2-1) lead in the bottom of the fifth on RBI
hits by J.T. Snively and Nik Osborn.
There were lots of histrionics in extra innings.
A Northmor runner was thrown out at the plate in the eighth.
The Golden Knights Trenton Ramos made a game saving diving catch in
the ninth. Pleasant stranded two
runners in the 12th, left them loaded in the 13th, and
had a runner forced at home in the 14th.
Workman says their defense was exceptional.
“It was about every inning because it felt like we were always
intentionally walking somebody every inning to set up a better situation for
us. Grant (Bentley) started and
went eight innings and did a tremendous job and Drew (Hammond) came in and
went the remaining seven and he did a fantastic job too dancing in and out
of trouble,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “The defense was
huge (Tuesday) night. We played
15 innings and we had maybe two errors.
That was why we won because of our defense.”
In a game like this is there are many stars, but if the were an MVP
for the Golden Knights, it might be Hammond.
He took the mound in the 8th inning and went the rest of
the way, allowing only two hits.
He also picked up a bat when called upon in extra innings by Workman
and boy did he deliver. “Drew
was big. He started off the game
at third base and he was getting DH’d for.
Our DH was struggling a little bit, so I said we have to give Drew a
shot here. I think he grounded
out the first time and hit it decent. Then
that next time with two outs, he had a big hit.
He is only a sophomore, but I expect him to continue to do big things
like that these next two years,” said Workman.
Northmor (18-7) meets Liberty Union at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University
on Thursday in the district final. The
Lions beat Grandview Heights (7-0) on Tuesday.
Workman knows they will face one of the better high school pitchers
in the nation. “That is going
to be a tall order. We are going
to be seeing Jacob Miller, who is arguably the best pitcher in the state and
one of the best pitchers in the county.
The kid can hit 98. So,
we are going to have our work cut out for us.
I am probably going set up the “L” screen (Wednesday) 10 feet
away and try and throw as hard as I can to replicate what he does.
We will just see what we can do on Thursday,” he said. Published 5/25/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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St.
Paul Uses Small Ball to Beat Old Fort Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Fries
Norwalk St. Paul scored five runs on two hits in the bottom of the
sixth inning to rally and beat Old Fort (7-3) in a division IV district
semifinal on Tuesday evening at Clyde High School.
They will have a district rematch with Tiffin Calvert on Friday in
the district final.
Old Fort (13-8) took a (3-2) lead to the bottom of the sixth, but
their mistakes helped the St. Paul rally.
Kole Maxwell led off the inning with a solid single.
He moved to second on a wild pitch and was sacrificed to third.
Eli Fisher tied the game with a bunt hit.
After a hit by pitch, Kaden Maxwell dropped another bunt down and
Fisher scored to give the Flyers the lead (4-3) and everybody was safe.
Three more St. Paul runners crossed home plate on a passed ball, a
wild pitch and a ground ball.
Kaden Maxwell retired the Stockaders in the seventh to get the win.
He pitched 4 2/3 innings of hitless baseball.
Fisher went the first 2 1/3, giving up three unearned runs.
St. Paul coach Aaron Fries says they executed what he asked the
players to do in that sixth inning. “We
got a couple of runs early. We
got guys on throughout the game, but we just couldn’t get the big base hit
with runners in scoring position. In
that sixth inning we got the leadoff runner on and then we just started
playing some small ball. It was
a combination of our kids doing a good job of really getting the bunts down
and them starting to throw it around a little bit.
We got us five runs and the only ball that left the infield was the
first base hit of the inning. So,
we were pretty happy with the results,” said Fries.
In high school baseball, according to Fries, it the execution of
small ball that makes the difference. “There
is no other way to say it. Absolutely
you have to be able to move guys up and put them in position and certainly
you need to be able to defend it. Both
of us bunted (Tuesday) night a number of times.
I thought we did a pretty good job defensively handling it.
I thought we did a really good job throughout the game of moving guys
up. We kept moving guys up, we
just couldn’t get that big base hit. Then
in the sixth I just kept pushing the button.
Our kids did a really nice job of executing,” he said.
St. Paul (17-9) plays Tiffin Calvert (14-12) on Friday at Clyde.
The Senecas beat state ranked Hopewell-Loudon, who also won the
Swankonsports.com coaches poll title in the small school division, (7-3), in
10 innings in the first semi played on Tuesday.
Calvert also beat St. Paul (12-2) in last year’s district
semifinal.
Fries says they will have to be at their best.
“I expect that is going to be a challenge for us.
They are a good baseball team. Obviously,
they were in the regional finals last year.
They beat us in the district semis last year.
They are well coached. I
got a chance to watch some of their game (Tuesday) when they played
Hopewell-Loudon and they are a very good baseball team and they were able to
beat them. So, we are going to
have our hands full,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Tuesday,
“You expect nothing less in a district final game.
So, I think it was just exciting to have the opportunity to play for
a district championship. Anytime
you get to play for a championship it is special and we are looking forward
to it.” Published 5/25/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Hillsdale
Edges Mogadore in Districts Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jason Snow
With single tallies in the fifth and sixth innings Hillsdale rallied
to beat Mogadore (4-3) in a division IV district semifinal played Tuesday
afternoon at Medina High School.
They return to Medina on Wednesday to face Columbia in the district
final.
Hillsdale took a (1-0) in the first when Nick Kandel scored on a
Mogadore error. The Falcons tied
the game (2-2) in the third when Kandel again scored on an error, the
Wildcats had five on the day. They
would respond again in the fifth as Kandel, the Falcons lead off hitter,
scored his third run of the day, this time on a fielder’s choice, and the
game was tied (3-3) after five.
The biggest hit of the day came in the bottom of the sixth when
Braylen Jarvis doubled to score Jake Hoverstock and give the Falcons the
(4-3) lead.
Kandel also went the distance on the mound giving up three runs, one
of them unearned, on five hits. He
struck out four and walked three.
Hillsdale coach Jason Snow says they made enough plays to win.
“It was a great game offensively.
Really both teams made some mistakes defensively.
They made a few more than we did.
We were fortunate enough to get that run in the sixth and hold on,”
he said.
Hillsdale has had a great deal of tournament success in recent years,
including an appearance in the division IV state final in 2019.
Snow says his kid’s experience in pressure situations was a plus.
“Even with a lot of our kids with their travel ball teams playing
in tournament championships. I
think the last several years just being around the success that we have been
fortunate to have in our program. Plus,
all year long winning those games, but also have those tight games that we
won and lost. I think those
experiences add up and our kids feel comfortable.
Everybody gets those butterflies and those nerves, but they are
excited. They are ready to go
for (Wednesday),” said Snow.
Hillsdale (22-4) will face Columbia on Wednesday, who beat Dalton,
also of the Wayne County Athletic League, like Hillsdale, (2-1) on Tuesday,
also in come from behind fashion.
Snow says they have to throw strikes and good strikes.
“They are a pretty aggressive team.
They have a couple of power arms, so we are going to be challenged
with our batters. They have some
pitchers that have gotten some strikeouts. We
are going to have to find some ways to muster runs.
We have to throw strikes. They
are pretty patient. They like to
wait for a fastball. So, our
pitchers are going to have to mix it up and throw some off speed,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win Tuesday, “Our key with our guys is
throwing strikes. If we don’t
walk four or five guys or lead the inning off with a walk.
Typically, our defense is pretty good and they will give us a chance
to win the game. It is key for
us to challenge their hitters, but also be smart with where we are making
our pitches.” Published 5/25/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Freddies
Rally Past Worthington Christian Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Hathaway
Fredericktown scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the
sixth inning and they held on to beat Worthington Christian (4-3) in a
division III district semifinal played Monday evening at Fredericktown.
The Freddies (20-4) will play Amanda Clearcreek, who scored six runs
in the seventh Monday to beat Centerburg (7-4), in district final to be
played on Wednesday evening at Olentangy Orange High School.
Worthington Christian lead (1-0) going to the bottom of the sixth.
Fredericktown coach Ryan Hathaway says they couldn’t get anything
going. “It seemed like an
impossible thing (Monday) night to get baserunners on with the pitcher that
they had. Everything we hit went
right to them. The wind was
blowing in, you couldn’t get anything over an outfielder’s head.
He kept us off balance the whole entire game,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “Our guys just kind of stuck with it and
then in the sixth inning we got a couple of guys on and got the top of the
order up at the right time and we were able to put some runs up on the
board. It was a scratch and claw
kind of night for us.”
Hathaway says his team, who advanced to the regional last season,
never lost confidence on Monday. “We
felt like we have played a lot tight games this season against a lot of good
teams. It is good to see it pay
off when you get in the tournament in tight games like this.
It didn’t seem like our guys lacked confidence or anything.
They were just waiting on us to get something going.
I felt like we were prepared to grind that game out,” he said.
With the Freddies having a three run lead going to the seventh maybe
they could breath a little easier? Well,
there was probably some pacing going on in the dugout and the sidelines
before Fredericktown put it away.
Hathaway says they got the outs they had to get.
“Kaid Carpenter, we had to get him out, he was getting up their in
pitch count as far as his limit. We
felt like if we couldn’t get one more out with a relief pitcher, we
probably didn’t deserve to win it. Luke
Beam came in and he ended up closing the door in a tough situation.
It was just good to see him step up.
The defense made plays. Just
a good all around team win for us,” said Hathaway.
Fredericktown beat Amanda Clearcreek (4-3) in a district final last
year and Hathaway says a lot of kids that played in that game will suit up
for both sides on Wednesday. “I
know they are really going to want a piece of us after last year, beating
them last year in the district final. They
have all of those guys back from that team.
We have bunch of our guys back from that team.
It will be another tough game. We
will see their good pitcher. At
this point in the season, you just have to show up and figure out how to get
one more run than them. We will
see what we can do,” he said. Published 5/24/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Northmor
Blanks Buckeye in Tune up Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Buck Workman
Northmor, who plays a district semi on Tuesday, beat Buckeye Central
(10-0) in six innings on Monday in a game scheduled to get both teams some
work.
Jack Sears and Drew Hammond combined on a two hitter for the Golden
Knights. Grant Bentley, Gavin
Whited and Garret Corwin all had two hits.
Andrew Armrose and Corwin had two RBI each.
Coach Buck Workman says they wanted to stay sharp.
“We have been playing pretty well of late.
We just wanted to make sure we were seeing some live pitching before
we got into this big game with Pleasant (Tuesday).
Coach (Chad) Jensen was kind enough to come over,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We were scheduled to play them earlier
and then we couldn’t make it work with rainouts and stuff.
He plays Wednesday against Plymouth and we have a game (Tuesday), so
we got together and had a little tune up.”
Buckeye Central (11-11) plays Plymouth in a division IV district semi
on Wednesday in Galion. Northmor
(17-7) plays at home against Marion Pleasant (14-8) in division III district
semifinal on Tuesday.
Workman says their pitchers did a good job and when Buckeye hit the
ball hard, they hit it right at someone.
“They hit some balls hard, but out defense was solid.
Jack Sears has been coming around.
We thew Drew (Hammond) for a couple of innings.
Anything they hit hard seemed to be right at us.
It was one of those nights when we were fortunate from that
respect,” he said.
Northmor got 10 runs on nine hits highlighted by a big six spot in
the bottom of the sixth. Workman
says things seemed to mushroom for them in the sixth.
“We scored three in the third.
Everything seemed to be hard to come by until we got to the sixth.
Things just snowballed in the sixth we were able to get a couple of
walks, a couple of hits, they made a couple of mistakes and the next thing
you know we score six runs and it’s over.
We hit the ball pretty well, I wasn’t disappointed with that.
We had some at bats that I would like to have back, but on the whole
it was pretty nice,” said Workman. Published 5/24/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Northmor
Shuts Down West Jeff Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Buck Workman
Northmor won their division III tournament opener Thursday evening in
beating West Jefferson (4-1) at Northmor to advance to play Marion Pleasant
next week.
Starter Grant Bentley was terrific in limiting the Roughriders to one
run on one hit and the Golden Knight had only one error.
Coach Buck Workman says that is how they have to play baseball.
“Bentley was on point (Thursday) night.
He only gave up one hit and when they did put if in play our defense
was solid behind him. That is
the recipe we have to have to be successful,” he said.
Northmor only got three hits themselves, but Workman says they were
able to find ways to get runs. “Our
guys did a nice job of coaxing some walks.
They were patient. We got
a couple of bunts down. We got a
couple of slow rollers. The
speed that some of our guys have put pressure on them and they made a couple
of mistakes. Normally, when you
get three hits, you don’t score four runs.
Our approach at the plate was really nice.
We hit some ball hard, but there were right at them.” he said.
Workman has been coaching the game for a long time and he feels that
getting down bunts in key situations is important.
“West Jeff came and scouted us on Tuesday when we played Fairbanks,
who is in their league. It is
hard not to show too much. I am
a small ball guy by nature. I
didn’t care, we were still going to put pressure on them,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “It is tough, you are playing on that
turf, and the ball is bouncing and they have to go get it, field it and make
a nice throw. Let’s make them
make plays instead of swinging at bad pitches and striking out.
We don’t need to do that.”
Northmor (16-7) plays host to Marion Pleasant (14-8), a (7-3) winner
over Columbus Bishop Ready on Thursday, next Tuesday in district semifinal.
Workman says Pleasant is solid and they have to continue to play
fundamental baseball. “I have
kind of followed the “MOAC” pretty closely this year.
I have some kids that play travel ball they play for Shelby, Ontario,
and Galion, so I keep an eye on those guys.
Pleasant being in our district. They
are a really good team. They
have some studs. It is going to
come down to who executes in that game.
We have the ability to beat them, but if we don’t play baseball
like we are capable of, they could run us off the field.
It is one those deals that if we play like we did (Thursday) night,
we will be fine, if we make errors we are going to be in trouble,” said
Workman. Published 5/20/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Buckeye
Central Downs Carey Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Chad Jensen
Buckeye Central Thursday evening won a game between two teams in the
Northern 10 Athletic Conference as they beat Carey (5-1) to win a division
IV sectional title on their home field in New Washington.
It isn’t east to beat a team three times in a season, but the Bucks
also swept the Blue Devils in conference play, winning (6-0) April 22 and
(6-4) on April 22 this season.
The Bucks starter Alex Kanney delivered the kind of start that the
team has become used to as he went the distance striking out 10 Blue Devils
and permitting only four hits and walking just one.
Carey’s only run came in the first inning and after that Kanney
threw up goose eggs.
Coach Chad Jensen says he came out Thursday as was business like and
did the job. “Alex is our ace.
He has been our ace the last two seasons.
He pitched great. He kind
of had a fluke balk in the first that scored a run, but after that he
settled down and was his usual great self.
He really came to play (Thursday) and he did a great job as he always
does,” he said.
Buckeye Central would tie the game (1-1) in the bottom of the second.
They then took the lead with a three spot in the third.
Jensen says they got a couple of big hits off a tough pitcher in
Carey’s Jordan Vallejo. “We
had a big hit by Clay Green and we had a big hit by Lane Bauer.
Those were huge because we were facing a very good pitcher in Jordan
Vallejo. We knew we had to get
some timely hits against him because he is a kid that if he gets a lead, he
is hard to beat. We knew if we
could get a couple of runs that would help us and give us a cushion,” said
Jensen.
Buckeye Central (11-10) will play Plymouth, who beat Lucas (4-1) on
Thursday, in a division IV district semifinal, next Wednesday in Galion.
South Central and Hardin-Northern play in the other semi. Published 5/20/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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St.
Paul Advances With Win Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Fries
With four runs in the fifth inning Norwalk St. Paul rallied to beat
Toledo Christian (6-3) on Thursday evening and will advance to play Old Fort
in the district semis next week at Clyde.
It is the sixth straight sectional title for the Flyers.
Kaden Maxwell belted a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth to
give the Flyers a (4-3) lead. Luke
Blum’s double made it (5-3) and Ashton Stang’s RBI single put the Flyers
up by three.
Coach Aaron Fries they knew they had to play well to win.
“We knew coming in it was going to be a battle.
Toledo Christian is a good baseball team and we absolutely knew that.
It was a very good baseball game and we played really well.
They certainly made us earn it and I think we did that,” he said.
Toledo Christian scored three in the first inning, all unearned due
to a misplayed flyball, but St. Paul thew a runner out at the plate to end
the inning.
Fries says from then on their played some solid baseball.
“We had maybe one miscue in the first inning that really allowed
them to get their three runs and then after that we played really clean
baseball. The past couple of
games have been a little challenge for us and giving some runs away and
stuff. There were a few spots in
the field where the kids just weren’t playing confident.
Those kids really turned out and made a lot of good plays in the
field. We got some good hitting,
some timely hitting, 10 hits,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win,
“It was a good all around game. We
got great pitching from Eli Fisher and Kaden Maxwell.
They were really in control for most of the game.
The three runs they get were all in the first inning.
If we didn’t have a miscue there on a flyball they don’t get any.
If was a good win for us for sure.
A good confidence builder.”
Fisher allowed three unearned runs in five innings and Maxwell went
two for the save.
Fries says their defensive play over the last week had not been very
good, but they stepped up on Thursday. “You
have to have a short memory, especially if you are coming off a couple of
games when you have a few miscues that were really impactful.
So, you have to have a short memory.
Our kids have worked hard and they have grinded it in practice
(Wednesday) and came out (Thursday) and played very good baseball,” he
said. Published 5/20/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Colonel
Crawford Beats Crestview Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Dan Gorbett
Colonel Crawford is a step away from returning to the division III
district tournament as they beat Crestview (6-2) a sectional semifinal game
at Crestview on Thursday evening.
They travel to Genoa on Friday for a chance to earn a ticket to the
districts.
They gave the ball to Brennan Hamilton on Thursday and coach Dan
Gorbett says he wasn’t at his best, but he made some big pitches when he
had to against the Cougars. “Brennan
struggled a little bit at times, but he got the big out when we needed it.
In one inning he walked three batters, but they didn’t get any runs
in that inning. They had
threatened two or three times early and we were able to shut them down with
no runs. So, Brennan struggled,
but when his back was against the wall, he made the big pitch,” said
Gorbett.
Gorbett adds that they were able to get some key hits, but also do
some fundamental things in order to get on the scoreboard.
“We had a big inning. We
were up 2-0 and we scored four. We
have kind of struggled with guys on base.
Just not move them around. (Thursday)
we had hits and walks, moving up on passed balls.
A good inning where you are scoring on a like a ground ball.
We had some big hits in the bottom the order,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night after the win, “A little bit of
everything. Really pleased with
our offense. We did strikeout a
lot, but we got clutch hits that we have kind of been lacking throughout the
year.”
Colonel Crawford (9-13) plays at Genoa, a (20-0) winner over Bucyrus
on Thursday, in a sectional final.
Gorbett says again fundamentals are going to be key for the Eagles.
“We have had some struggles in some of those things throughout the
year. The whole lesson was,
okay, when we get to tournament time, we can’t do that kind of stuff.
We have got to clean it up and not make those fundamental mistakes.
That is the key to winning a tight game,” he said. Published 5/20/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM |
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Seneca
East Gets Past Oak Harbor Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Rick Bowerman
Seneca East rallied in the late going to beat Oak Harbor (11-9) in a
division III sectional semifinal on Thursday evening outside on Attica.
They will play fellow Northern 10 Athletic Conference member Wynford
on the road on Friday for a sectional title.
Coach Rick Bowerman says it was a game where they had to score runs
and they were able to do it. “It
was a back and forth game. We
started (Wednesday) and got two and half innings in and unfortunately with
the pitch count rule neither of our number one pitchers could throw
(Thursday). So, we went with our
number two and they went with their number two.
We started hitting the ball very well (Thursday), so that was a very
good thing,” said Bowerman.
The Tigers were trailing when the action resumed on Thursday, but
Bowerman says they go busy with the bats right away.
“We started the day down 2-1 in the bottom of the third.
We get a walk and error an then a big triple by our sophomore number
two hitter. It just seemed every
inning we were able to get key hits. Something
that at times during the season, we haven’t been able to do, but in key
situations we were able to come through,” he said.
Trailing (8-7) going to the bottom of the sixth, Seneca East put up
four runs to take the lead.
Getting clutch hits can be the toughest thing in baseball.
Bowerman says when you do that if really give the team that needed
confidence. “What a momentum
booster it is when you get those,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
night, “We got bit hits and our dugout was going nuts and just kept that
momentum going for us. Oak
Harbor didn’t back down. We
took the lead and they came back and took the lead, but we came right back
and took the lead away from them.”
Brandon Hines and Blake Martin both had two hits for the Tigers
against Oak Harbor. Hines and
Jake Bowerman both had 2 RBI.
Wynford (19-4), #3 in the final Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the small school division, won the “N10” this year and beat
Seneca East (13-2) and (11-0) in conference games.
Bowerman says they have to be at the top of their game on Friday.
“They are a very good team. They
hit very well. I know they have
three hitters hitting over .450, so our pitcher is going to have to be on
and spot the ball and make good pitches.
If you make a mistake against anyone of their hitters, they are going
to make you pay for it. We have
to be solid on defense,” he said. Published 5/20/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Clear
Fork Hammers Mansfield Senior Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Joe Staab
Clear Fork dodged the rain drops and demolished Mansfield Senior
(21-0) in five innings in a sectional semifinal game in division II on
Wednesday afternoon at American Legion Field in Bellville.
The Colts (13-10) will advance to play at Shelby (15-6) in a
sectional final on Friday.
Coach Joe Staab says it was good to get back on the field and play
well. “We had a spell there a
couple of weeks ago where we weren’t playing our best baseball.
Last week, we really started to turn the corner coming into the
tournament and this part of the season.
It was good to get out there and our kids had the right approach.
The boys played hard,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win,
“We put the ball in play really hard and that was awesome to see.
We had a number of different hits by a number of different guys in
the lineup. So, it was total
offensive production and hopefully the hot bats can carry over.”
They scored 13 runs in the first inning.
Clear Fork totaled 19 hits, including four each by Jay Jackson and Ty
Sellers, both also had two doubles. Kaleb
Hollar had four RBI on the day. Kaden
Riddle go the start and win for the Colts, allowing two hits over four
innings and striking out seven.
Clear Fork has gone through some offensive slumps this season and
Staab says they just have to stay grounded.
“Slumps happen just because of how mental the game of baseball can
be. You can never be too high,
never be too low. That’s why
it’s called a batting average. That
is why you have somebody that will go 4-4 one game and 0-4 the next game and
everything has to even its way out. You
just have to stay grounded and humble and you have to go up there with the
right approach and not worry about the outcome so much,” said Staab.
Actually, the Colts didn’t dodge the rain drops, they got rained on
a lot and Staab says they showed some mental discipline.
“It was nice to see and the boys did have mental discipline.
Hopefully, at this point of the year the mental stuff doesn’t have
to be coached up as much because it is win and advance and lose and go home.
We are a very senior dominate team.
They know it’s the last go around and it’s time to play some
quality baseball and play together because that is the only way we are going
to be able to advance,” he said.
Shelby won both of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference meetings with the
Colts, (1-0) and (12-2), and Staab feels it will be a competitive game on
Friday. “I think it should be
a fun and competitive game. Both
teams know each other being in the same conference.
Coach (Jon) Amicone is going to have his team ready to play.
He runs such a great program and I have so much respect for them.
Our boys are hungry and want to play Shelby again.
So, it should be a fun atmosphere and hopefully it is a competitive,
clean baseball game and it should be a fun one to watch,” said Staab. Published 5/19/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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South
Central Outright Champs Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Perry
South Central claimed an outright Firelands Conference baseball title
after a (9-0), five inning, win over Monroeville on Wednesday evening
outside of Greenwich.
Coach Mike Perry says his kids came ready to claim the prize.
“All of the credit to the kids.
They came ready to play after the gauntlet that we ran last week.
They knew what the task was (Wednesday).
I had a couple of seniors that really stepped up.
Brock Hale, he has not played as much as he would have wanted, but he
ripped a double down the line. Isaac
Rapp has been hurt most of the year and he was able to get some time.
It was good to see the kids get out there and contribute and everyone
had a piece of a win,” said Perry.
Perry says they have worked hard all season and it is starting to pay
off for them. “Actually, when
you look at it, it started in January with some of the seniors leading the
lifting and the kids putting in work back in the fieldhouse in the cages and
the weight room before I was even coming down there every day.
The dedication these kids have shown to this program is really
admirable and it is great that in paid off with a conference championship
this season,” he said.
South Central (17-4), #5 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the small school division, is top seeded in the Galion district and
will host Upper Scioto Valley in a sectional final on Thursday.
Perry says they have to be at their best.
He says he has confidence in the team, especially its pitching.
“These kids know that we have a target on us and Upper Scioto
Valley is going to come to play. We
better show up or it could be a very short celebration.
The way we are hitting the ball and the way we are throwing it.
We have six arms that have really been fantastic all season,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “That is the reason we were
able to go through a week like we went through last week.
When you have six kids that can go out there and throw strikes and
make the other team put the ball in play.
As a coach that is all you can ask for.
Our pitching staff this season has been amazing.” Published 5/19/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Clear
Fork Shuts Out Bellevue Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Chris Clapper
Clear Fork blanked Bellevue (6-0) on Tuesday evening in a division II
district semifinal and the Lady Colts will advance to play Lexington in a
district final on Friday in Willard.
Ashtynn Roberts was tremendous for Clear Fork in the circle has she
dominated Bellevue.
Coach Chris Clapper says Roberts has turned it up in recent weeks for
them. “Another great outing by
Ashtynn. Her mental toughness
and performance over the last couple of weeks has been outstanding,” he
said.
Clear Fork opened the scoring in the top of the third on an RBI hit
by Trinity Cook. They added four
in fourth to take command as the first run scored on throwing error on a
bunt, that was followed by a run scoring single by Katrina Rogers and
two-double by Morgan Shafer.
Clapper says that first run gave them confidence.
“I think the trend for us has been scoring that first run.
There was a runner on second with two outs and I sent her on a steal
and got that first run across and that built a lot of confidence for
them,” said Clapper.
Rogers added a second RBI hit in the sixth.
Clear Fork (16-6) will play Lexington (17-4) on Friday for a ticket
to the regional tournament. Lexington
beat Madison (3-2) in the other district semi in Willard on Tuesday.
Lady Lex beat Clear Fork (18-9) on April 15, but Clapper predicts a
different result this time. “Lexington
is a tough team. We faced them
once already this season. We
know we can hang with them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday after
the win, “It was a three run game into the seventh and we had one bad
inning that kind of cost us. I
don’t believe we had the chemistry and the confidence that we have now
back then.” Published 5/18/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Shelby
Dedicates Win to Memory of Fan Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jon Amicone
Shelby dedicated their (8-6) win over Lexington in a non-conference
baseball game on Tuesday evening to the memory of former student and big
Shelby Whippet fan Noah Sheaffer.
The 24-year-old passed away on Monday.
He was known as the Shelby Whippets #1 fan for his love of Shelby
Athletics. He earned a sixth man
award from the basketball program.
As far as the game itself is concerned, coach Jon Amicone says it was
a solid win for them, especially with tournament starting this week.
“We apricate Lexington hosting us.
I got with coach (Kevin) Morrow and we both wanted to play a game
before our games on Friday. They
are always a quality team. We
really wanted to find some competition to get us ready for Friday.
It was a big win for us. Our
guys fought back. It turned out
to be a pretty good game for us,” he said.
Amicone says he believes the players are continuing to have a good
approach at the plate. “I
thought our guys did a really nice job of putting the ball in play and
competing in the box. It was
nice to get some younger guys in. We
were able to get some pinch runners in and practice our tournament lineup.
We dress a lot of guys for the tournament in hopes we can get them in
whether it be a pinch runner, pinch hitter or defensive replacement.
We tried to play this game as if it was a tournament game, so a lot
of guys got some quality reps,” said Amicone.
Shelby (15-6) will play either Clear Fork or Mansfield Senior, who
play Wednesday in a sectional semifinal in Bellville, in a division II
sectional championship game on Friday at Shelby.
Amicone says it terms of how much who want to play and who want to
pitch in preparation for the tournament is a judgment call.
“I don’t there is a right answer.
I think all teams are different and all years are different.
I was hoping we would be able to get in another game before Friday,
but it just didn’t happen,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night,
“So, we will do some stuff in practice (Wednesday).
We will try to do an intersquad.
Have some of our younger guys throw to our guys so they can continue
to see live pitching. There are
so many variables, it goes by team and it goes by year.
At the end of the day, it is who comes to play on Friday and who is
ready to compete.” Published 5/18/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Madison
Gets Tournament Win
Madison opened tournament play with a (13-6) win over Toledo Bowsher
in Northwest District play in division I and they advance to meet top seeded
Perrysburg on Wednesday.
Coach Nick Melton says some early offense was a big factor for them.
“I think 13 equals a season high for us.
I think we have done that twice now.
So, that was definitely good. It
was nice to kind of break the game open there in the second inning.
I knew we needed to get a couple of early runs to break the seal and
loosen some things up. Sure
enough once we got one five them followed pretty quickly,” he said.
Melton says they were doing some things against Bowsher that they
have not been able to do all season. “The
kids started putting the ball in play and they saw some things happen.
They did some things (Monday) night what we have been preaching all
year and that was getting bunts down and stealing bases.
When you practice so long and you haven’t had success, to see it
work (Monday) night the kids gain confidence in that and they start to
believe and buy in to what we are doing.
It was kind of full circle there in the second inning we ran a double
suicide and got a couple of runs with our two hole hitter Gavy Cates up.
He helped his own cause because he was on the mound too,” said
Melton.
It is a two hour bus ride to Toledo, but Melton says it seemed a
whole lot quicker coming home. “It
makes that bus ride home so much better.
Going up there, myself and the assistants, got to kick back and talk
a little baseball and enjoy the ride up.
On the way back the kids are feeling good about themselves after
picking up a win. Coach (Zac)
Huff had pizza delivered the bus and we got off at a rest stop and had pizza
on the bus, so that as nice. It
is nice to see them enjoying the baseball season at this point of year,”
he said.
Perrysburg is very talented, but Melton says the pressure is on them
and he thinks they will be able to compete.
“We talked about that a little bit (Monday) night now that we are
at the Perrysburg game kind of what is coming and what is before us.
We really having nothing to lose.
Outside of our dugout and all the support we have everybody else
thinks it’s a done deal for Perrysburg.
It was nice to get through the game (Monday) night with Gavin Cates,
our number two on the mound, so we are able to save our number one Seth Ohl
for Perrysburg,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Monday,
“Seth has been outstanding for us on the mound.
He doesn’t give up a lot of runs or hits.
So, you have to think going into that game he is going to give us our
best chance to win. So, might as
well go up there and compete and have fun and see what happens.” Published 5/17/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Hillsdale
Tops South Central
Hillsdale beat South Central (6-1) in a non-conference game played
Monday evening between two of the hotter teams in North Central Ohio.
The Falcons, who have lost only once since the first week of April,
and South Central, at least co-champs of the Firelands Conference, who won
five straight important conference games last week.
Hillsdale coach Jason Snow says it was a good test.
“It was a pretty good game. It
was actually 1-1 in the fifth inning. We
got five runs late to kind of break it open.
We are pretty competitive teams.
It was probably good for both of us to play each other before the
tournament,” said Snow.
Snow adds that fifth inning uprising was key for them.
“We mixed it in. We got
a couple of walks. We only got
three hits for the game. We
happened to get a couple of hits that inning to break it open after a couple
of walks. The pitchers did a
nice job for us working out of trouble and holding them to one,” he said.
Hillsdale (19-4) threw five pitchers, none going more than more than
two innings against the Trojans (16-4) on Monday.
Snow says thy wanted to get a lot of guys some work to keep them
ready. “We are trying to keep
guys fresh. We haven’t played
since last Thursday. We wanted a
couple of the guys that pitched Thursday an inning of two.
Just trying to keep guy’s arms ready to go.
Keep them active so they are ready to go when they get on the mound
in a big tournament game,” he said.
Snow says preparing for the tournament, especially having your
pitching set up, can be tricky. “Especially
with that first round bye. If we
limit ourselves to one guy in that first game and we are fortunate enough to
win then we don’t play again until the 24th, so we have five
days in between there then you are going to get to the point where some of
the guys, maybe they throw some bullpens, but it is different than actually
seeing game action,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “
So, anytime we can get somebody an extra inning of work to try and
get them out on that field we are going to do that here on this tournament
run.” Published 5/17/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Columbian
Wins the “SBC” Lake
Tiffin Columbian is the outright champion of the Sandusky Bay
Conference Lake Division after a (4-1) victory over Norwalk on Thursday
evening in Tiffin.
Coach Curt Mellott, back in charge of the Tiffin program after two
years at Heidelberg, says they are thankful for all this season has been so
far, especially Thursday night. “It
was so enjoyable (Thursday) night. What
a great group of kids, a great group of seniors.
We are just so appreciative of everything that has come our way.
Just so thankful for everything,” he said.
Columbian ace Carson Mellott went the distance allowing only five
hits, striking out five and walking none.
Coach Mellott says his senior son was efficient against the Truckers.
“Carson Mellott went out and had his typical game that he typically
does. The only difference I
would says is we were not high in the strikeout totals, so kept his pitch
count down, so that was a good thing. We
just played solid defense and got some timely hitting.
Just a credit to the kids to persevere and finish things off
(Thursday) night the right way,” said Mellott.
It was a clean game as both teams only had one error.
Norwalk (14-7,8-4), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll
in the large school division, scored first on a RBI single by Griffin
Peiples in the second. Tiffin
took a (2-1) in the fourth when they scored on a groundout and wild pitch by
Norwalk starter Buddy Baker.
Mellott says the clutch hit for them came in the sixth and form an
somewhat unexpected source. “We
talked about how that just really changes momentum.
For us (Thursday) night in the bottom of the sixth inning.
A senior who has not played since his senior year Preston Keckler
came through with a huge hit to get to RBI to make it 4-1.
He was just grinding his at bat and found a way to line a single to
right field and scored two guys. Really
proud of him and just all of the kids for their effort,” said Mellott.
Keckler got the hit off reliever Kelton Chapin, who had just taken to
the mound with two Tornadoes on base.
Columbian (17-4,9-2), #2 in our poll, is the top seed in division II
in the Bluffton District and Mellott likes their position.
“We are really excited for the tournament.
We love our draw. We love
where we at with opportunity to play at home.
Having our one go next Friday and then hopefully things go our way
and be able to come back and throw the one again right way in the
district,” he told Swanknsports.com after the win, “We just like the way
things have set up for us. The
kids have been there, there is some experience.
Those things just kind of play into each other and create the
snowball than can roll downhill right now.” Published 5/13/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Wynford
Claims Share of “N10”
Wynford is going to at least share in its first Northern 10 Athletic
Conference baseball title since 2016 after beating Buckeye Central (12-2) in
five innings in a conference game Thursday evening at Wynford.
They play Buckeye again Friday in New Washington and coach Tom Smith
says they want to be greedy and claim that title to themselves.
“Absolutely, we want to win it all (Friday),” he said.
Avery Langenderfer banged out three hits and had thee RBI on
Thursday. Teammate Cainen Allen
had three hits and two runs batted in.
The Royals (17-3,12-1), # 3 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the small school division, totaled 14 hits.
Smith says it has been a team effort with the bats.
“We are hitting good right now top to bottom one through nine.
The bottom of our order is just putting the ball in play and
generating a lot of runs,” Smith said.
Nine of their hits on Thursday came from hitters six through nine and
Smith says those kids have been doing an excellent job.
“(Thursday) we had a couple of our big guys lead off an inning and
didn’t get a hit and six, seven, eight, nine all got a hit after we scored
three runs with two outs in the bottom of the lineup.
They are producing a lot of runs for us,” he said.
Spencer Miller went all five innings to get the win against Buckeye
(10-8,8-4) allowing eight hits and two runs.
Smith says their pitchers have been putting them in positions to win.
Spencer and Sam Collene both have been pitching well all year,” he
told Swankonsports.com after the win on Thursday, “Spencer started out a
little slow in the first inning, but came around and shut them out after we
gave up those two runs in the first inning.
Defense played well again, especially our outfield, they are really
running balls down when they are hit their way.” Published 5/13/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Edison
Now Outright Champs
Edison beat Margaretta (7-4) for the second time in a week Thursday
evening and the Chargers are now outright champs of the Bay Division of the
Sandusky Bay Conference.
Actually, that took place on Wednesday when Margaretta lost to Oak
Harbor, but Edison coach Sean Hoover says they wanted to take care of their
own business. “We talked to
the guys about not wanting to win the title through the back door by losing
the game (Thursday) night and still have the title because of their loss.
We came out and fell down early in the game, but we were able to come
back and get the win,” he said.
Margaretta took a (4-2) lead with three runs in the third inning, but
the Chargers put up a four spot in the fourth to take command.
Hoover says its important to respond quickly.
“The longer you stay down in a game I think the harder it is
mentally to make the comeback a lot of times.
We did a nice job of coming right back, it was only an inning of so
that they had the lead. We had a
couple of guys start the inning with a couple of hits.
We were able to string some more hits together and put up a four run
inning of our own. Then Thomas
(Simon) and our defense shut them down the rest of the way,” said Hoover.
Simon had eight strikeouts in the complete game win.
Edison (15-8,9-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll
in the small school division, is the second seed in next week’s district
tournament in division III, but Hoover says you have always go to be ready
to play. “We have been playing
fairly well. I think we have hit
the ball well especially the last three games, so the bats are starting to
get hot at the right time. Defensively,
we have been pretty good, there was a play or two out there (Thursday)
night. They have been good all
season long,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “So, it looks
like things are starting to come together for us.
You have to make sure you go play every game and play every game
hard. You never know in baseball
what is going to happen, it is one of those funny games.
You have to show up every night ready to play.” Published 5/13/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Wooster
Wins Another “OCC”
Wooster has laid claim to a second straight outright Ohio Cardinal
Conference baseball title after beating West Holmes in (11-1) in Wooster on
Wednesday evening.
It is the time in over 35 years the Generals have win back to back
conference titles and coach Steve Young says it feels pretty good.
“It was awesome. To be
completely transparent, we weren’t really sure what we were going to have
coming into this year. Early on
in the year you lose your number one pitcher in Elijah Steiner, defending
“OCC” pitcher of the year. We
just talked to our kids all year about playing the next pitch, being
resilient, fighting through and doing whatever is asked,” he told
Swanknsports.com, “These guys did an awesome job of that and the reward
came (Wednesday) night. It is
the first time since 84-85 that a Wooster baseball team has gone back to
back. It was definitely a very,
very special moment and we certainly enjoyed it.”
Young says this is a baseball team that has been getting better all
season because they dedicated to working on their skills.
“That’s a credit to our guys.
Our guys showed up every single day.
I can’t tell you how many times the day after can I get extra work
with guys. For an example, after
we win Wednesday and we celebrate out on the field with parents taking
pictures and we had three kids going to extra work and taking ground balls
after the game. That is just
kind of the work ethic and the mentality that trickles down through the
entire program. We are very,
very excited to see these kids grow as young men.
They know if they want to earn something they are going to have to go
out and work for it. They did a
great job this year and it certainly paid off,” said Young.
Wooster (18-4), #3 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in
the large school division, beat Berlin Hiland (7-6) on Thursday in
non-conference play and Young says they want to continue to play good
baseball teams going into the tournament.
“We want to stay in a rhythm here.
We are finally getting some good breaks with the weather.
We are trying to find that rhythm that we haven’t been to find
really all year because of the weather.
We are playing quality teams. That
was the whole point late in the year to see quality teams.
Berlin Hiland is ranked top 10 in the state, Norwayne is ranked top
10 in the state and Brunswick is a very solid program that we are going to
see on Monday. Just trying to
make sure our guys are seeing good pitching and our pitchers are seeing
quality hitters and get better every day,” he said. Published 5/13/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Shelby
Beats Ontario Again
Trailing three different times in the game, Shelby rallied and beat
Ontario (10-7) in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Wednesday evening
in Shelby.
The win knocked Ontario out of a share of first place in the
conference. Highland beat Clear
Fork (12-2) to secure the outright title.
Both Shelby and Ontario stand a game back, but the Warriors have two
more “MOAC” games to play this week.
They didn’t win a league title, but Shelby coach Jon Amicone says
he was very proud their efforts. “I
told our kids after we got the Highland news there is nothing to be ashamed
of. Obviously, we didn’t’
reach our goal. That was a gutsy
two weeks by our team,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “I am
extremely proud of them. We made
our bed and we have to lie in it. In
my mind we continue to get better and we have to continue that going into
the tournament. We know we are
going to have a tough first game next Friday.”
Ontario (12-5,8-4) began the week with a one game lead, but lost
Tuesday (5-2) to Shelby and without ace Ryan Chapman available Wednesday the
Warriors sent four pitchers to the hill.
Jacob Barabani started and went the first 3 1/3 innings allowing
three earned runs on three hits. He
was followed by Carter Walters and game three runs on three hits over an
inning and a third. Eli
Stankovich also went 1 1/3 innings giving up two runs on three hits.
Braxton Hall got the last out of the sixth for the Warriors.
Ontario coach Mike Ellis says it was a tough loss, no question.
“It was an up and down game. Our
pitchers, we felt like they threw strikes.
They won, they scored more than we did.
It’s just tough to lose, especially this way.
We just have to regroup and get ready for Marion Harding
(Thursday),” he said.
Overall, Ontario hurlers walked 11 Whippets and hit two more.
Ontario took a (1-0) lead in the top of the first when Gage Weaver
reached on an error and scored on a single by Colton Ramian.
Shelby tied in their half they loaded the bases on two hits and a hit
batsmen and the scored on a RBI groundout by Luke Shepherd.
Ontario took a (3-1) in the third on an error, walk and a couple of
hits, including a RBI single by Ramian.
Shelby went back in front with a four spot in fourth on a two-run
single by Luke Shepherd and a RBI Texas Leaguer by Logan Green, and it was
(5-3) Whippets after four.
Ontario chased Shelby starter Landon Kennard with five straight hits
in the fifth and run scoring single by Drew Yetter and two-run hit by
Barabani. Enter Shelby reliever
Jeremy Holloway and he slammed the door.
“He was the player of the game for us.
He is a senior leader. He
takes the mound with a one run deficit with guys on base and they don’t
extend the lead. That was
crucial in our game and it allowed our offense to stay in the game and
continue to play our game and score some runs,” said Amicone.
Holloway only permitted one run on four hits over the final three
innings.
Shelby retook the lead with three in the fifth on a Warrior error and
three walks to make it (8-6) Shelby and they scored twice in the sixth on
back to back doubles by Holloway and Marshall Shepherd.
Luke Shepherd added an RBI single and it was (10-6) Whippets.
Shelby added nine hits to their walks and hit batsmen, so the
Whippets had a lot of traffic on the bases.
Amicone says his offense had a good day.
“Our kids did a really nice job against some tough pitching.
Our kids did a nice job of barreling up the baseball.
We have to clean up some base running things.
I was really proud of our lineup’s ability to score runs,” he
said.
Ontario plays Marion Harding on Thursday and Clear Fork on Friday in
league games and Ellis believes they will be ready to play.
“I think after they get a good night’s sleep.
I always tell them the thing about baseball is it’s the next day,
you have another game. I’m the
same way. It will be hard to
sleep. I’ll get up and it’s
a new day and we have Marion Harding. Give
Shelby credit, they are a good team. Jon
does a good job over here,” said Ellis. Published 5/12/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Highland
is “MOAC” Champ
Highland is in its first year as a member of the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference and after a (12-2) destruction of Clear Fork in five innings on
Wednesday evening they are outright baseball champs.
Shelby helped them by defeating Ontario (10-7) on Wednesday and
knocking the Warriors out of a share of first.
Coach Donnie Kline says the title feels pretty good.
“The boys have worked hard all year.
It’s a fun league to be a part of.
To be a competitive team at the end of the season, and playing
meaningful games, is a lot of fun. We
got a couple of breaks and things went our way and we are really happy,”
he said.
Zach Pinkerton got his first starting assignment of the season and
went four innings surrendering only four hits and no runs.
Rider Minnick and Kort Sears led the offensive explosion with three
hits each for the Scots. Sears
had two doubles and two RBI for Highland.
Kline said it last week after a loss to River Valley that the Scots
(15-7,11-3), #5 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large
school division, had to win the rest of their league games and that is
exactly what they did. “With
senior leaders it makes it a little bit easier.
They are kind of an extension of our coaching staff at times.
Our message to the boys was our tournament starts a little bit
earlier than other teams,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win
Wednesday, “We have to face it that way, where every game had that
tournament feel. We really
couldn’t afford any losses. We
didn’t want to rely on any outside help.
We wanted to take care of business ourselves.
They boys kind of bucked down and played really good baseball.
We cleaned up some things offensively and defensively and played some
pretty good baseball.”
Highland has now won four straight conference titles, the last three
in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
They have won or shared 13 league title since 2005.
Kline says it’s about fundamentals.
“We talk about priorities and how we organize our team activities
and team workouts. They always
center around pitching and defense. The
ability to control small ball and try and keep runners close and limit the
big inning. When you do that at
the high school level all that it takes is for your offense to have a good
inning here or there. If you do
that it puts pressure on the other side.
Fundamentals are what works at the high school level,” he said. Published 5/12/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Norwalk
in Position
Norwalk has taken care of its business and now has a chance to move
into a share of first place in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay
Conference.
They beat Clyde (5-2) on Wednesday and now they head for Tiffin
Columbian (16-4,8-2), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in
the large school division, on Thursday with a plan in mind.
Veteran coach Wes Douglas says they really played well in all aspects
of the game on Wednesday. “I
was very proud of our team (Wednesday).
There was a little pressure on us, but they came through.
Ian Minor has 110 pitches and put us in position to win on the mound,
he went six innings. We got some
production from the bottom of our order.
We ran the bases well. It
puts us in great position to go to Tiffin (Thursday) and see what we can do
down there to get a share of the title.
Who knows what happens after that,” said Douglas.
The Truckers are also the top seed in their division II district.
Norwalk has played outstanding baseball as of late.
They have won their last six league games since a (6-0) loss to
Sandusky Perkins on April 20.
Douglas says they have been fighting to be in this position.
“All you want to be doing is to have a chance the last week or two.
Now, when it is a 12 game league season there is not a lot of
separation. What every coach at
the beginning of the season predicted it would be a tough horse race has
come to fruition. We are happy
to have that opportunity (Thursday) and we look forward to it,” he said.
Norwalk (14-6,8-3), #4 in our poll, lost to Columbian (4-2) back on
April 5.
They likely face Columbian ace Carson Mellott again as they did the
first time. Mellott has
surrendered only four earned runs all season.
Douglas says they will have to be at the top of their game.
“That was our message to the kids.
We are going to have to play as well as we can play.
They are obviously a talented team with one of the best pitchers in
Ohio on the mound. Their coach
has been there a long time. Him
and I have gone at it 40 plus times. We
have a lot of respect for their program.
We have our number one guy set up, our best defense, we will go down
there in see what happens,” he said. Published 5/12/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Jackets
Win in Walk off Fashion
Mt. Vernon is going to finish second in the Ohio Cardinal Conference
this season as they rallied to beat Ashland (6-5) in an “OCC” game in
Mt. Vernon Wednesday evening.
Wooster beat West Holmes (11-1) and will win the title again this
season. The Jackets will finish
a game back.
They had lost (3-1) to the Arrows on Tuesday to fall out of a share
of first and coach Nate Hunt says it looked like Wednesday’s game was
going along a similar path. “We
were up three and quickly found ourselves down 5-3.
They did a nice job both nights.
Game one we were up 1-0 and they came back quickly and answered and
made it 3-1 and that was the end of it for game one.
In game two, we put ourselves in the exact same situation up 3-0 and
they come back 5-3 and we are down two.
We were stale right at the beginning, we scored three runs, and we
were stale again,” he said.
Hunt says they go a big rally going that ended on a walk off hit by
senior Beau Bridges. “Then in
dramatic fashion we found ourselves with our one and two guys in the lineup,
they got on base, we decided to get the guys in scoring position with a bunt
and a throwing error scored those guys.
So, we have a guy on third base, so they walked our number two and
our number three to make a force. It
is hard to not me romantic about the game of baseball, our four hole hitter,
a senior, on senior night, hits a walk off to end it.
It was fun,” said Hunt.
This is the first senior group to come through the Mt. Vernon program
under Hunt’s leadership and he says it was a special night.
“Especially on senior night to have a senior come in the fourth and
to basically close the door in the fifth, sixth and seventh, have a senior
come in and close it. It is
something they will remember, it is something that I’ll remember for them
as Mt. Vernon baseball players,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
night, “We talked at the beginning with the senior ceremony, this group of
kids just sticking with me and believing in me and believing in my coaching
staff, and believing in the program. It
was just a beautiful way to end the night.
We still have another home game, but what a fun way to end it for
them.” Published 5/12/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Ashland
Has a Chance
They are going to need some help from West Holmes, but Ashland has a
chance to share the Ohio Cardinal Conference title after they beat Mt.
Vernon (3-1) in Ashland on Tuesday evening.
With their backs against a wall, the Arrows had to have a win and
coach Rich Gough says they came out and did the job.
“Our kids played outstanding baseball (Tuesday) night.
We played a clean game and Luke Bryant was absolutely outstanding on
the hill. I couldn’t ask for
much more,” he said.
Mt. Vernon coach Nate Hunt says Ashland was tremendous and they need
to be ready to play on Wednesday. “Ashland
did a great job (Tuesday) of battling all seven innings.
This time of year, is when you want to be working as one big unit and
Ashland did that. Hats off to
Luke for pitching a great game. We
have to come ready to go (Wednesday) like it’s a fresh start.
We need to treat every game like were 0-0 and so is the other
team,” said Hunt.
Bryant, a sophomore, is Ashland’s number one and Gough says he
turned in a clutch performance. “Yeah,
he is our ace. I mean he has
carried us into the sixth inning at least in every outing.
He would have finished the game, but his pitch count got a little
high, so we had to go to Alex Grissinger to finish the game.
Luke pitched an outstanding ballgame.
He battled all of the way through,” said Gough.
Gough says it was a well played game by both teams.
He says they made a couple of more plays.
“It was a battle. Mt.
Vernon is a good team and a well coached team.
I think each team had four hits.
They made a couple of mistakes at critical times and we were able to
push across three. I was a heck
of a battle,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “I think a key
moment in the game was when out rightfielder Wyatt Mohrman threw out a
runner at the plate and made a heck of a play.
I think that turned the game around in our favor.
Gough says they just want a chance.
“To go into the last game of the “OCC” season and have a chance
to win a league title is about all you can ask for.
If we can get Mt. Vernon (Wednesday).
I know West Holmes and Wooster had a heck of a ballgame (Tuesday), I
think it was 1-0. If things fall
our way. We have a chance,
that’s all you can ask for,” he said. Published 5/11/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Shelby
Closes to Within One
This is the final week of regular season and the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference could still end in five different ways.
A key was Shelby’s (5-2) win over Ontario on Tuesday combined with
Highland’s (6-2) win over Clear Fork.
Ontario and Highland share first place with Shelby a game back.
The same two matchups are set for Wednesday.
Ontario must still play Clear Fork on Friday.
On Wednesday at Ontario, Shelby got another solid pitching effort
from Marshall Shepherd and three RBI from Alex Brushkotter in their key win.
Brushkotter opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first and
the Whippets tacked on three more in third on RBI singles by Marshall and
Luke Shepherd and Brushkotter to make it (4-0) Whippets after two and half
innings. Ontario’s starting
pitcher Ryan Chapman helped himself with a two run homer in the fourth
making it (4-2), but the Warriors could get no closer.
Brushkotter provided an insurance run with another RBI hit in the top
of the seventh.
Shelby coach Jon Amicone says their understood there was no room for
error. “We understood going
into this week what we had to do to give ourselves a chance for a league
championship. It is nice to get
off on a good foot, but we understand the challenge is still in front of us.
We have a hungry team to play (Wednesday) in Ontario,” said Amicone.
Ontario coach Mike Ellis makes no excuses, he says the best team
Tuesday night won the game. “Shelby
was the better team (Tuesday). They
were aggressive at the plate and Shepherd was good on the bump.
Their defense made the plays. I
have to give them credit they are a good team,” he said.
Amicone says the early runs the Whippets were able to produce was key
for them on Tuesday. “It was
important for us to score early to give “Shep” a little breathing room.
Anytime you go up against a pitcher the caliper of Chapman runs are
going to be hard to come by, so we really wanted to try and scratch a few
across to give “Shep” some easy innings.
Getting that lead early was key for our team,” said he said.
It comes down to this, if Ontario (12-4,8-3) wins Wednesday they can
do no worse than share the “MOAC” title with Highland.
If Shelby (12-6,7-4) wins they also need Clear Fork to upset Highland
to create a three way share of the title.
Amicone says he is exceptionally proud of the way his kids have
responded this year. “That is
why we play. For us to be in our
last league series with a least a chance to win a championship is why you do
it. I was very proud of our kids
after starting slow this season they could have folded,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win on Tuesday, “They could have started
working for the tournament, but they did a good job of understanding the
goal and the mission to do everything they could to give themselves a
chance. Obviously, we want to do
everything we can to win. I
can’t say how proud I am of this team with how they started and where they
are now.” Published 5/11/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Freddies
Claim Outright “KMAC” Title
They shared it last year, but there was none of that this year for
the Fredericktown Freddies as they beat Mt. Gilead (7-3) on Tuesday to win
an outright title in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
Leadoff hitter Brady Lester collected two hits, including a double, a
three RBI for the Freddies (15-3,11-1), #1 in the Swankonsports.com baseball
coaches poll in the small school division, on Tuesday.
Coach Ryan Hathaway says winning that conference title was the first
goal they had in mind this season. “Anytime
you can put numbers up on your banner and add something to your jacket
it’s a good first step for the season.
There is still a lot we have to work for.
I am proud of our guys for accomplishing that (Tuesday),” said
Hathaway.
Ben Mast started the game for Fredericktown and went the first four
innings allowing two earned runs on six hits.
Kaid Carpenter, the Freddies ace, went the final three innings,
permitting only one hit.
Fredericktown suffered its only conference loss to Centerburg (6-4)
last Wednesday.
They needed the win Tuesday to avoid sharing the title with the
Trojans.
Hathaway says it was a good response.
“It was good to see us bounce back.
After you have a tough loss like that, we kind of got to see what our
guys were about. That was our
first league loss. We rallied
this last week and started playing better baseball.
It seems like we are starting to hit our stride at the right time,”
he said.
Fredericktown earned the second seed in the division III in Central
District and will play either Madison Plains or Johnstown Northridge on May
19th at home.
Hathaway says will they are peaking, they still have some improving
to do. “That is always the
plan. Some years are a little
different than others. I think
this year we are starting to put it together and kind of seeing where guys
fit in in the lineup and what guys we can rely on on the mound.
We have another week here to figure things out, but I think it is
starting to come together,” said Hathaway. Published 5/11/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Wooster
Guarantees Share With Win Over West Holmes
Wooster will do no less than share of the Ohio Cardinal Conference
baseball title this season after edging West Holmes (1-0) on Tuesday evening
outside of Millersburg.
They lead Ashland and Mt. Vernon by a game.
Wooster hosts West Holmes on Wednesday.
The Arrows and Jackets play each other in Mt. Vernon.
Ashland knocked Mt. Vernon from a share of lead in beating them (3-1)
on Tuesday.
Coach Steve Young says they want that title to themselves.
“Every team sets out at the beginning of the year to try and win a
championship. At least to know
we have part of a grip on one is a good feeling.
Our boys really didn’t celebrate (Tuesday) night.
Of course, we celebrated the win, but we really didn’t celebrate
any championship. We know we
have one more to get and it is going to be a tough one to get.
(Wednesday) we will wake up and hit the reset button and try and get
after it,” he said.
Freshmen Brady Bowden was again outstanding for the Generals
(16-4,10-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large
school division, as he went six and third innings, allowing only four hits.
Drew Becker got the save.
Young says it was a pitcher’s duel.
“(Tuesday) night was everything high school baseball should be.
You had two teams that were fundamentally sound.
It was a pretty clean game, just competing, and grinding out every
single pitch. It was really fun
to be part of. Obviously, it’s
a little more fun when you are on the winning end of it.
Tip my cap to our freshman Brady Bowen, who had a good game.
We kind of knew going in that Noah Clark, he was our only league loss
last year, so we knew we had a tough one ahead of going down there, he thew
a heck of a game, he is a competitor,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday night, “To be quite frank, I am glad we are never going to see him
again on the mound because that kid can fill it up.
It was a great team win and glad we got it done.
It was definitely an instant classic.”
Jack Williams got the big hit. An
RBI single the top of the sixth.
Young says it was a clutch play.
“We thought we would have a few more.
We had a kid thrown out a home plate.
They made a couple real nice plays defensively.
I think we had three hits with a runner on second base and we were
only able to muster up one run there. We
had some guys come through in a clutch spot.
It was one where there was a little bit of small ball and try and see
what we can come up with. We
were fortunate enough to get a big hit from Jack Williams, one of our
seniors, our of our leaders. He
got the game winning RBI in the sixth inning there,” said Young. Published 5/11/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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South
Central Survives; Holds First Place
Aaron Hauler got the win and the game winning hit as South Central
scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally and beat New
London (4-3) on Tuesday evening outside of Greenwich.
The Trojans (14-3,8-1) lead both Norwalk St. Paul and Crestview by a
game in the Firelands Conference standings.
St. Paul smoked Monroeville (18-0) and Crestview beat Plymouth (7-2)
on Tuesday.
Coach Mike Perry says New London gave them a tremendous challenge.
“We had so many opportunities.
I am not going to take anything away from New London.
The (Logan) Girton kid pitched a tremendous game.
He is a really special player and a great kid.
They came out and came after us two days in a row.
We knew we are going to get everybody’s best shot,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They came out and played very well.
They played clean defensively and they pitched well.
We were able to win a couple of games and in the grand scheme that is
the important part. If we win
4-3 or 14-3 it doesn’t matter as long as we get that “W”.
South Central beat New London (9-7) in eight innings on Monday.
Brandon Mitchell pitched the first 3 and two-thirds for the Trojans
and Aaron Hauler finished up with the final 3 and one third, allowing only
one hit.
In the pivotal seventh Aaron’s older brother Kayden tied the game
with an RBI single and the Aaron provided the winning run with his own RBI
single.
Perry says Aaron is young and talented.
“Aaron Hauler, a 14-year-old freshmen, who came in and threw three
innings and shut them down and then got the game winning hit.
Sometimes I have to remind myself he is a 14-year-old kid, he is a
special player. He has
confidence in himself. His
talent is off the charts. Three
more years of high school baseball for this kid.
He is one of those kids that some of these big schools need to start
looking at now because he has that level of ability,” said Perry.
It has been a year of rainouts and South Central has had more than
its share.
Perry says they have three more Firelands Conference games this week.
“We have another back to back to back.
We have Western (Wednesday), we finish up our game with Mapleton on
Thursday and then we have Crestview on Friday.
It’s one game at a time, we are not looking down the road at
anybody. We did kind of hold
back a little bit of pitching because we knew it was going to be a grind.
(Wednesday) I fully expect Western Reserve to come out and take their
best shot at us too,” said Perry. Published 5/11/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Ontario
Rallies to Win Again
Ontario still has a one game lead on Highland in the Mid-Ohio
Athletic Conference standings after they rallied to beat Marion Harding
(5-4) on Monday evening in Ontario.
Similar to last week’s game with River Valley, a (16-14) win,
Warriors coach Mike Ellis says they picked it up in the eighth inning.
“It was a game that we started last week, but we were tied 3-3
after seven innings and had to call it due to darkness, so it got pushed
back to the beginning of this week,” he said.
Ontario made some mistakes in the top of the eighth, leading to a
Harding run, but Ellis says they didn’t make an out in responding in their
half of the inning, culminating with a game winning hit by Gage Weaver.
“They were up first and we hit the first batter.
The ball got away from my pitcher, but he pitched out of it.
We had a throwing error, which cost us a run.
So, it was 4-3 going to the bottom of the eighth,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “Carter Walters was leading it off and he
got up and hit a single to leftfield. Then
Carter Weaver and he gets a single to rightfield.
We had two on, first and second, and we laid a perfect bunt down.
They didn’t want to throw the ball away at first, so it was another
single. So, with the bases
loaded and no outs, Gage Weaver came up and he laced a single to leftfield
and we scored two runs there.”
Ontario (12-3,8-2) plays third place Shelby (11-6,6-4) on Tuesday and
Wednesday.
Ellis says they have been pretty good in clutch situations and they
have to be ready to play this week. “These
guys have been in this situation before continuing a game that was tied last
week with River Valley. We have
played in some close games with Sandusky Perkins and stuff, so we have a
little bit of experience. They
seem a little more relaxed. It
was a good win for us, but I told them to enjoy it, however, we have Shelby
that is coming to our place and that is going to be a tough ballgame for us.
So, one game at a time,” said Ellis. Published 5/10/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Bellevue
Beats First Place Tiffin
Bellevue has made things more interesting in the Lake Division of the
Sandusky Bay Conference as they beat first place Tiffin Columbian (6-1) on
Monday evening in Bellevue.
The Redmen trail by two games and second place Norwalk is now only
one game back.
Bellevue coach Andy Dennings says it was an outstanding win for them.
“They are a really quality opponent.
We had a really good game with them the first time when we got beat
(1-0) at their place and just didn’t come away with the “W”, I think
we out hit them. So, it was a
good response for us. Our number
one Ethan Mohr pitched really against a really tough lineup,” said
Dennings.
Mohr threw a five hitter for the Redmen, allowing only a run in the
first inning on a single by Carson Mellott.
Tiffin (15-3,7-2), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll
in the large school division, pitchers walked 11 batters and they hit three
more and Columbian coach Curt Mellott says you are not going to win doing
that. “We struggled on the
mound (Monday) night and offensively couldn’t string much together.
Credit Ethan Mohr for a quality start,” he said.
Mohr now has five wins on the season for Bellevue (10-7,6-4) and
Dennings says he has become a consistently quality pitcher.
“He has been pretty darn good.
The opening day against Wynford, he kind of struggled a little bit.
He took a loss at Norwalk and really that was nothing that he did
wrong, we just had a bad inning defensively.
I think he has won four or five games in a row.
He has pitched outstanding,” he told Swankonsports.com after the
win, “He competes extremely well. He
has really shown a lot of growth for last year.
The back end of last year he really kind of progressed.
He has parlayed that to this year for a really outstanding senior
year for us.”
Bellevue plays Huron in a division II sectional title game on May 20th
and Dennings this team is capable of making a run in the postseason.
“I definitely think we could do some damage, absolutely.
We have been kind of farting around all year.
Win two, lose one, lose two, win one, kind of can’t string it
together, but hopefully that is about to change here.
This win ought to do nothing but make us feel pretty good about
things and try and push us in the right direction.
We have a heavy week with four in row, so we are going to have to
play well, but it’s an opportunity to get the ball rolling,” he said. Published 5/10/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Crestview
in the Hunt
Crestview beat Plymouth (6-0) on Monday evening in Plymouth to keep
themselves just a game back in the Firelands Conference race.
South Central rallied to beat New London (9-7) in eight innings to
keep the lead. Norwalk St. Paul,
an (11-0) winner of Monroeville, like the Cougars, trails by just a game.
Crestview (11-7,9-2) will host Plymouth on Tuesday.
Coach Don Keener says Jarek Ringler was tremendous on the hill on
Monday. “Our pitcher (Monday)
night Jarek Ringler was just outstanding.
He gave up maybe two hits in six and two thirds innings.
I mean he was on,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “He
was hitting the strike zone and we played good defense behind him.
I think we had maybe one error. With
high school baseball, I will take that any day.”
Keener says when the pitcher throws strikes, that makes the fielders
more on their toes and ready to make the play.
“That helps a lot for the kids to keep their attention to what is
going on. Staying focused, it
definitely helps when you have a kid throwing strikes,” he said.
It was a tight game for most of the way, but Keener says they had an
explosion late in the game, aided by the Big Red a little bit to take
command. “It was a back and
forth game. It was 1-0 going
into the sixth inning and then we strung some hits together.
They had a couple of mosques, but the bottom line was our kids were
putting the bat on the ball and putting it in play and that is what you want
to do,” said Keener. Published 5/10/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Lexington
Downs Norwalk
Lexington continues to play improved baseball as they beat Norwalk
(4-2) in a non-conference game played in Lexington on Monday evening.
Norwalk (13-6), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in
the large school division, stands in second place in the tough Sandusky Bay
Conference Lake Division.
Coach Kevin Morrow says it was a solid win over a very good program.
He says they got outstanding pitching.
“The tournament seeds and that stuff is over with, so we have some
heavy hitters where to finish out the year getting ready and who better than
Wes Douglas and the Norwalk Truckers, who are just on fire.
They just got the one seed in the district up there.
We just wanted to compete against somebody that was really good and
would prepare us for our district tournament.
Landin Goetz threw an excellent six innings and Bradley Miller came
in with a one inning close. That
was a big time win against a great program,” said Morrow.
The Minutemen (6-11) also beat Tiffin Columbian, another Lake
Division power, (3-1) last week.
Morrow says they have developed more pitching depth.
“We have three good pitchers that are going for us in Pauley, Goetz
and Murfield and they have been keeping us in games.
Our struggle has always been our ability to blow a game open or get a
clutch hit to give us a little breathing room.
(Monday) night we got just enough.
We got four runs in the first inning and we made it stand.
So, we are playing good baseball.
We are kind of hot and cold, but when our pitchers are on, they
usually throw really well and keep us in games,” he said.
Lexington drew a division II first round tournament game at Celina
later this month.
Morrow says the tournament actually sets up pretty well for them.
“It is a heck of an opportunity.
Some things fell in place that we didn’t expect being the seventh
seed. I didn’t think we would
have a first round bye and it just fell in our lap, so we jumped on it.
We get to throw our number and then turn around if we are fortunate,
and throw the number one again in the district semi.
We did play Wapakoneta really well this year,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win Monday, “We have to get a win against
Celina. We are familiar with
Wapakoneta. We played them last
year in the sectionals and won and we had a really close game this year and
had a chance to win it. So,
there are some good things lined up for us.
We just have a long road trip, a couple of hours on a bus, but we are
feeling pretty good about ourselves.” Published 5/10/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM |
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Hillsdale
Edges Fredericktown in Extra Innings
Jax
Rogers hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and Hillsdale
beat Fredericktown (6-5) in a non-conference baseball game between two of
the better small school teams in North Central Ohio on Monday evening.
Coach Jason Snow says it was a good test for the Falcons heading into
the tournament next week. “We
were looking forward to this contest. It
was a pretty good game. They
made some errors early and we made some errors late.
It came down to one swing and Jax Rogers were able to hit one over
the leftfield fence to give us the game winner,” he said.
Snow says due to injury, Rogers has been an out of the lineup, but he
stepped up big time for them on Monday.
“Jax is coming back from shoulder surgery after football season, so
he has been in and out of the lineup. He
hasn’t been able to throw until about three weeks ago, so he plays a
little first base. He came off
the bench. He didn’t start
(Monday), but he came in in the fifth inning and got a walk in his first at
bat and then came up in the eighth and became the hero for us,” said Snow.
Ethan Goodwin had three hits for the Falcons.
Jack Fickes also homered for Hillsdale and he got the win in relief
too.
Hillsdale (17-3) has won 13 straight games and is the top seed in
their division IV sectional in the Northeast District.
However, Snow says they can’t take anything for granted.
“One thing that I will remind the guys before our first round game
is all games matter. It only
takes one good outing by a pitcher to shut you down and a couple of errors
here and there. Cuyahoga Heights
and Open Door will play,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night,
“Cuyahoga Heights knocked us out last year.
If they happen to win, we have a little motivation.
They lost eight guys, so they are pretty young.
That’s our team, throw strikes and play good defense and find some
ways to scape some runs across the board.” Published 5/10/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Baseball
Matchups Determined
Brackets for the baseball postseason were determined at sectional
seed meetings held on Mother's Day.
Division I schools covered by Swankonsports.com are spread out quite
a bit with Ashland and Madison in the Northwest District, Mt. Vernon and
Marion Harding in the Central District and Wooster in the Northeast.
Ashland plays at Sylvania Northview on May 18.
Madison plays Toledo Bowser on May 16th and if they win,
they play number one seed Perrysburg.
“We ended up with the 11th seed, so our options were
limited. We knew were going to
have to travel. We have to so up
against the fourth seed in Northview, but we avoid the top three seeds until
the district finals,” said Ashland coach Rick Gough.
“When you’re going on the board where we got to there is only a
few options to choose from. We
took a spot where we have a chance to go win a game and then if we do, so we
get the number one team. It’s
tournament baseball and anything can happen on any night.
We not us?” said Madison coach Nick Melton.
Mt. Vernon was the 10th seed in Central District.
The Jackets plays host to either Dublin Jerome of Chillicothe on the
18th.
“We are excited about the tournament draw this year.
All of the hard work the kids have put into all pays off now.
Obviously, this week is huge for the conference and takes first
priority. The kids will have the
same mindset we have harped on all year when it comes to the tournament, one
game at a time, one day at a time, just be where your feet are,” said Mt.
Vernon coach Nate Hunt.
Marion Harding hosts Columbus Briggs on the 16th.
Wooster plays May 19 at home against either Strongsville or Cleveland
John Hay.
“We were fortunate enough to have a solid season, earn the number
eight seed and earn a bye into the sectional final.
There is a good possibility we will see a familiar face in
Strongsville, who knocked us out last year at their place.
So, hopefully we will be motivated and excited for the opportunity to
try and get one back. They had a
lot of other options or bracket lines to fill and jumped into the sectional
with us rather quickly. I am
fairly confident our boys understand that.
That won’t be lost in our minds,” said Wooster coach Steve Young.
In division II, there 11 schools competing in a district where the
district action is at Fremont Ross High School.
Norwalk is the top seed, followed Sandusky Perkins, Shelby and
Bellevue.
“Happy to be the number one seed and get a bye.
We have beaten Clyde one and play them again this week.
Sandusky has two wins, one versus Norwalk and one versus Clyde, so
there are no easy ways to the district.
We have five tough games this week, all on the road, and excited
about the opportunities this week offers,” said Norwalk coach Wes Douglas.
In the upper bracket, on Wednesday, May 18th Clyde hosts
Sandusky with the winner playing at Norwalk on Friday, May 20.
Also, on the 20th Bellevue is at home for Huron.
Meanwhile, in the lower bracket, Port Clinton visits Vermilion on May
18 with the winner travels to Perkins on the 20th.
Also, Clear Fork hosts Mansfield Senior on the 18th and
the winner goes to Shelby on May 20.
“The top teams in the tournament are really good.
We have to be playing our best to have a chance to shake things
up,” said Clear Fork coach Joe Staab.
“We are excited to play a former “OCC” team again.
Even though we have struggled this season, we don’t have to be the
better team, we just have to be the better team that day,” said Mansfield
Senior coach J.R. Davis.
“The draw sort of played out the way we thought it would.
Top to bottom it’s a tough district, and even getting out of the
sectional will be a challenge for all teams involved,” said Shelby coach
Jon Amicone.
There is also a division II district with finals at Bluffton
University.
Galion plays at St. Mary’s Memorial on May 18 and the winner gets
to play at Wapakoneta on the 20th.
Lexington takes the long bus ride to Celina for a sectional final on
May 20.
“There were a couple of early surprises in the brackets, but we
ended up with a good situation to play for a sectional title with our number
one pitcher available,” said Lexington coach Kevin Morrow,
In the lower bracket, Fostoria plays at Elida the 18th and
the winner plays at “SBC” Lake leader Tiffin Columbian on the 20th.
“We are humbled and excited to gain the top seed in the Bluffton
District tournament. We look
forward to preparing for either Elida or Fostoria for a sectional title,”
said Columbian coach Curt Mellott.
Upper Sandusky hosts Lima Shawnee on the May 18 and the winner
advances to play at Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference leader Ontario on May 20.
“I like where we are at, but nothing is ever guaranteed.
We still have to go out and play well,” said Ontario coach Mike
Ellis.
In the Central District, Highland is the number 6 seed in division
II, and they host Lakewood on May 19.
“The Mason District should be a fun backet as it features four
“LCL” and two “CCL” teams, two of best conferences in Central Ohio.
Lakewood is one of the most storied programs in the state.
They are a scrappy team that is much better than their record of
6-10. We will need to play a
complete game to compete with the Lancers, a team we faced last year in the
district championship won 4-3 in 11 innings.
There are no easy paths in the D2 Central District bracket and a win
in the sectional championship will get us a game with number 2 ranked
Buckeye Valley, champions of the Mid-State League.
They are one of the best hitting teams in Central Ohio and we will
definitely have our hands full trying to keep them off the scoreboard,”
said Highland coach Donnie Kline.
River Valley, also of the “MOAC”, plays at home against Columbus
East on May 16,
Division III a district final is at Norwalk High School the top seed
is Margaretta, with Edison number two, Genoa number three and Wynford four.
Willard plays at Gibsonburg on May 18 and the winner is at Margaretta
on Friday, May 20.
There are two more semis in the upper bracket, Bucyrus is at Genoa
and Colonel Crawford is at Crestview on the 18th and the winners
play each other on the 20th.
“It’s a very tough district, a pick your poison situation.
I thought about another line that would have had us playing a lower
seed, but playing Edison with a bye if we win.
Crestview will be a challenge,” said Crawford coach Dan Gorbett.
Western Reserve plays New London on May 18 and the victor advances to
Edison.
“We are excited to get the tournament started.
Our district is full of tough teams, so we will have to come ready to
play,” said Edison coach Sean Hoover.
There are also two semis in the lower bracket with Wynford hosting
Woodmore and Seneca East is at home for Oak Harbor, both on the 18th,
and the winners face off on the May 20.
“We are happy to get to host in the sectionals and play a solid
Woodmore team that plays in the tough Northern Buckeye Conference, but this
week we are focused on Buckeye Central and winning the “N10,” said
Wynford coach Tom Smith.
“We play the number nine seed Oak Harbor. A very good team with a
deceiving record due to the competition they play.
This will be a tough game and we will have to bring our “A” game
in order to move on,” said Seneca East coach Rick Bowerman.
In the Central District in division III, Liberty Union is top seeded
followed by Fredericktown, Centerburg and Amanda-Clearcreek.
“No big surprises with how the draw went.
It will be a tough road and we will have to play good baseball to get
back to the regional,” said Fredericktown coach Ryan Hathaway.
The Freddies play at home Thursday, May 19 against either Madison
Plains or Johnstown Northridge. Centerburg
hosts Columbus Academy, Marion Pleasant hosts Columbus Bishop Ready,
Northmor is at home for West Jefferson, and Mt. Gilead is at Grandview
Heights, all of those games are also May 19.
“The draw went as expected, not too many surprises,” said
Northmor coach Buck Workman.
Up in the Northeast District, a couple of Wayne County Athletic
League are the top two seeds in Norwayne and Waynedale.
In the games, Massillon Tuslaw is at Northwestern, Loudonville meets
Wellington, Chippewa visits Smithville and Cleveland Garrett Morgan is at
Orrville, all on May 16th.
Norwayne, Waynedale, and Akron Manchester all have first round byes
and will be play at home on May 18. The
Bobcats play the Chippewa/Smithville winner, the Golden Bears have either
Brooklyn or Fairview Park and Manchester will play the winner of a game
between East Canton and Lutheran West.
There is a division IV district at Galion where South Central is top
seeded, followed by Plymouth, Buckeye Central and Hardin-Northern.
“The draw was as I expected. There
is a lot of talent on both sides of the bracket, so we are looking forward
to getting things started,” said South Central coach Mike Perry.
On Tuesday, May 17, Upper Scioto Valley is at Mansfield Christian and
the winner plays at South Central on the 19th.
Mohawk plays on the road at Arlington on the 17th with the
winner playing at Hardin-Northern on May 19.
“Things went about as expected.
Being in the middle of the pack is tough because you’re going to
play a tough first round game and if you win, you are going to see
someone’s ace in the sectional final when yours is no longer available.
We have a pretty tough schedule, so hopefully that has prepared
us,” said Mohawk coach Eric Hoover.
Crestline is at Lucas on the 17th and winner advances to
play at Plymouth the 19th and also in the lower bracket Carey is
at Ridgemont May 17 and the winner gets Buckeye Central on the 19th.
“We are happy getting a bye and being able to play for a sectional
championship at home. The kids
have worked very hard this season and I am happy for our seniors that they
get the opportunity to experience this,” said Buckeye Central coach Chad
Jensen,
There is also a division IV district at Clyde High School.
In that one, Hopewell-Loudon is the number one seed, Norwalk St. Paul
is two, New Riegel three and Old Fort four.
In the matchups, Hopewell-Loudon will play either Sandusky St.
Mary’s or Arcadia on May 19. Vanlue
plays at Tiffin Calvert and Cardinal Strict at Fremont St. Joe in semis May
17.
In the lower bracket, Danbury-Lakeside plays at Toledo Christian on
the 17th and the winner plays at Norwalk St. Paul on the 19th.
“I don’t know much at this point regarding Toledo Christian.
Typically, smaller schools around big cities play much bigger
schools, so I expect them to be battle tested.
No matter who wins between Danbury and “TC” we will need to be at
our best if we want to advance to the district,” said St. Paul coach Aaron
Fries.
The other semifinal has Monroeville at Old Fort on the 17th
with the winner getting New Riegel on May 19.
In the Central District, teams covered by Swankonsports.com, play in
three games on May 18th , Danville is at Millersport, Delaware
Christian is at Cardington, and East Knox hosts Harvest Prep.
In one the division four districts in the Northeast District,
Hillsdale in the top seed and will play Open Door Christian or Cuyahoga
Heights on May 19.
“We are proud of our number one seed, but we realize that it is a
new season and you have to show up prepared each game or it could be your
last,” said Hillsdale coach Jason Snow.
Rittman, also of the Wayne County Athletic League, plays at home with
Cornerstone Christian on May 17, Mapleton
also play the 17th against Andrews Osborne and the winner of that
game plays Dalton on the 19th. Published 5/09/22 © Swankonsports.com |
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Shelby
Stays in it; Drops Clear Fork
Shelby beat Clear Fork for the second straight day, this time (12-2)
in six innings in Shelby on Thursday evening on a night weather wise seemed
more like Seattle in the winter, something we have gotten regrettably used
to in 2022.
The win keeps Shelby within two games of first place Ontario, the
Colts drop three back, with three to play.
Clear Fork (9-7,6-5) took a (2-0) lead in the top of the first on a
single by Luke Schlosser and after a sacrifice, an RBI single by Jared
Scott. Scott later scored on a
wild pitch by Landon Kennard. They
would not cross home again.
Shelby made it (2-1) in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by
Luke Shepherd. Thy took a (3-2)
lead in the bottom of the third on RBI hits by Luke Shepherd and Alex
Brushkotter off Clear Fork starter Kaden Riddle.
Shelby left two runners in scoring position in the third, but they
would score five times in the fourth to break it open a two-run hit by
Kennard, and RBI ground out by Luke Shepherd, a bases loaded walk to
Brushkotter. A Clear Fork error
and some defensive miscues led to the big inning and the beat down was on.
Shelby added four more in the sixth to finish off the win.
Shelby coach Jon Amicone liked the way his team responded to the
early deficit. “That was
really nice to see, that is kind of what we talked about after the game.
How proud we were getting in that whole 2-0 right off of the get go.
Clear Fork had the momentum. Really
proud of our guys and how they came back,” he said.
Clear Fork coach Joe Staab says he team folded when the Whippets were
making their comeback. “We
have to compete for a duration of seven innings if we are interested in
having the rest of the season be a success as well as a deep run in the
tournament. Mentally (Thursday)
we were very weak,” he told Swankonsports.com right after the game,
“When the going gets tough we have to find a way to be mentally tougher.
We have to find a way when we do make a mistake to get the next play.
When something doesn’t go well offensively, get the next at bat.
Playing entirely better as a team.”
Clear Fork’s outfield defense was not up to par and as a team they
had three errors and a number of plays that were not made that could have
been.
Luke Shepherd had three hits and three RBI for the Whippets.
As team, Shelby totaled 11 hits.
Amicone liked their approach at the plate.
“Our kids did a really nice job.
We were hitting fastballs in fastball counts and those are things
that we preach. We did a nice
job of moving runners, of bunting and stealing.
It was a really good job offensively of our guys doing what they are
supposed to do,” he said.
Other that some miscommunication that led to an infield pop dropping
between three players, the Whippets were pretty clean on defense.
“Our defense did a really nice job behind Landon.
Landon didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled for us.
Looking back at his outing, I thought he had a very competitive
outing even thought he didn’t have his best stuff.
He did a really good job of getting some soft contact here and there.
They are a good hitting team. We
knew we couldn’t make any mistakes or they would make it hurt,” said
Amicone.
Clear Fork plays second place Highland twice and “MOAC” leader
Ontario once next week.
Staab says they better be more focused.
“It has been an up and down season which is dealing with mental
toughness. The definition of
mental toughness is consistency. So,
we haven’t been very mentally tough this year, which is the reason why we
have been very inconsistent. When
we play very well, we can hang with anybody in the area.
When we don’t play very well, we can get beat by anyone in the
area,” said Staab.
Shelby (11-6,7-4) plays Ontario next Tuesday and Wednesday and
Amicone says the look forward to the challenge.
“It’s a good rivalry, just like we have a rivalry with Clear
Fork. In Richland County, it’s
good baseball, good coaches and good players.
It’s that friendly rivalry. We
need to bring our “A” game. They
are having a tremendous season. They
have some really good players and good coaches.
We need to come ready to play,” said Amicone. Published 5/06/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Edison
Claims Piece of Bay Division
Edison can do no less than share the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay
Division title after blanking Margaretta (7-0) on a rainy Thursday evening
in a game played in Milan.
Both Margaretta and Huron are game back in the loss column and the
Chargers have only one division game left to play.
Veteran coach Sean Hoover says getting this title feels especially
good after coming so close the last couple pf years.
“It definitely does make you feel good.
The kids have worked really hard.
We have been pretty close the last few years.
We have finished second to Huron last year and Vermilion a couple of
years before that. So, it is
nice to see our hard work pay off and clinch at least a share,” he said.
In a big game like this there is no surprise the Chargers (13-7,8-1),
#5 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school
division, would turn the ball over to Thomas Simon and Hoover says he was
tremendous. “Thomas (Simon)
threw really well again. Just
five innings with the rain shorten game.
He struck out 10 in five innings, only gave up two hits, really shut
their bats down. A day when it
is wet and rainy and the ball is wet and hard for guys to field it is big to
have a guy that can strike a lot of players out and make it so you don’t
have to field so many balls in bad conditions,” said Hoover.
Simon (4-1,1.58 ERA) leads the Bay Division in innings pitched
(35.33) and strikeouts (59) this season.
Hoover says he changes speeds and arm angles and can throw three
pitches for strikes. “He can
throw three pitches well. A good
curve ball, a really good change up. It
makes him look like he throws harder than a gun might show that he throws.
He throws a lot of balls by guys.
He has different arm slots. He
drops down three quarters on that left side,” he told Swankonsports.com
after the win, “It makes it harder for the batter to pick up the ball.
Between that and being able to mix his pitches very well those are
his keys to shutting down the other team.” Published 5/06/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Ontario
Beats River Valley; Stays in First
Ontario only played an inning of baseball on Thursday, but it was
worth it.
They resumed a game with River Valley and beat them (16-14) in eight
innings to keep first place to themselves in the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference. They lead Highland
by one and Shelby by two. They
play the Whippets in a big series next week.
Coach Mike Ellis says they knew what they had to do.
“It was a game that started back on April 7.
It was tied 14-14 and we had to call it quits because of darkness and
we finally got to finish it (Thursday) night,” he said.
Ellis says they got some things going right away in the top of the
eighth. “Our batter (Braxton
Hall) got up and laced one to centerfield.
The centerfielder tried to make a diving catch and the ball got past
him to the fence and he got a triple. Our
second batter (Jake Chapman) hit it to third, he booked it down to first and
they overthrew the ball and he ended up at third,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “It was one of those nights when w
just took advantage of their errors. When
they came up to bat Braxton Hall set them down 1-2-3 and the game was done.
Pretty much what we were hoping for happened.”
Ontario (12-3,8-2) also has a makeup game with Clear Fork that is
tentatively scheduled for next Friday and needs to finish a game with Marion
Harding as well.
Ellis says they must maintain their focus.
“We have been telling these guys that we take one game at a time
and be worried about who we are playing that night.
This league is, as you have seen, anybody can beat anybody.
It’s unbelievable this year the teams.
Like Shelby and Clear Fork, that 1-0, I mean that was a pitching
duel. You have to bring your
“A” game every night,” said Ellis. Published 5/06/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Crestview
Wins Another Important Game
Crestview remains just a game back in the Firelands Conference after
the Cougars smoked Mapleton (11-4) on Thursday evening in a conference game
played at Crestview.
The Cougars, along with Norwalk St. Paul, are one game behind first
place South Central and Crestview plays at South Central in a huge
conference game on Friday if the weather permits, which right now it looks
like it may not… go figure. They
also play the Trojans on Saturday, well… they might.
Coach Don Keener says Thursday night was a big win for the Cougars.
“It was a great win. The
kids are really starting to hit the baseball.
We are getting good pitching. Mapleton
is a very good team. If you go
back and look at their scores they are right in there with everybody that is
at the top of the league right now. They
may have even gotten a win. I
know they have to go back and finish something.
They have been playing pretty good too.
The guys the last couple of weeks have really started to pick it up a
notch,” said Keener.
With South Central and St. Paul and Plymouth, Crestview has almost
been forgotten this year, btu Keener says they are really in top form right
now. “We are peaking at the
right time and that’s what you want to do.
This is the time of the year when you want to play consistent.
If you are going to play consistent, you are going to have a chance
to win the ballgame,” he said.
Crestview (10-7,8-2) also must play Plymouth (11-5,8-3) next week.
With so many big games, Keener says they have to take them one game
at a time and not get ahead of themselves.
“That is the great thing about this.
We didn’t start off so hot at the beginning of the year.
The kids knew they had the potential to be successful.
We have to keep telling them, you have to take one game at a time,
that is all you can do. That is
the mentality that we are taking right now.
The only thing you have to worry about is the game you are playing
right now. You can’t worry
about what happened yesterday or what is going to happen tomorrow.
We have to take care of game at a time,” said Keener. Published 5/06/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Wooster
Blanks Ashland; Creates Logjam
Wooster needed to beat Ashland on Wednesday to have a chance to
defend its Ohio Cardinal Conference baseball title and they did exactly that
in shutting out the Arrows (5-0) in Wooster.
The Generals, the Arrows and Mt. Vernon, who beat Lexington (4-0) on
Wednesday, all have just one “OCC” loss and share first.
Coach Steve Young says they knew it was a must win.
“We talked about it coming into the week.
We knew what was ahead of us coming into this week.
Obviously, you can only get the one that is in front of you.
We had a baby faced freshman go out there and throw 84 pitches and a
complete game and in seven innings give up three hits and help himself out a
little bit. We had some quality
at bats offensively. It was a
really, really good team effort. We
played really good defense,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win,
“Pitching wise Brady Bowen, he is 4-0 in the league now.
It was a huge performance (Wednesday) night from him.
It only matters though if we go out and do it (Thursday).
If we don’t do it (Thursday) (Wednesday) means nothing.
We talked to the guys about that after the game.
Just kind of take the one that is ahead of you.
(Thursday) is the next one, so we have to go out and get that one
too.”
Wooster (13-4,8-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches in
poll in the large school division, plays at Ashland (9-4,8-1) on Thursday.
Brady Bowen also beat Mt. Vernon last month.
Young says he is just a young kid having fun.
“He is an awesome kid. I
wish everybody could see his personality too.
He is literally just a freshmen kid playing baseball with his
buddies. That is kind of the
mentality that he has. He has
fun and competes and does everything that we ask and is extremely coachable.
It has been an absolute pleasure to coach him this year.
We are excited with what he has done so far and hopefully we can keep
this thing rolling,” he said.
Brady’s older brother Blake Bowen had three hits and three RBI for
the Generals. Sam Nielsen had
two hits for Wooster.
Young says with seven hits they were able to have some success
against Ashland starter Luke Bryant. “We
kind of anticipated seeing Luke Bryant (Wednesday) night.
He is their number one. He
has been really, really good for them all year.
We anticipated seeing him. They
wanted to get that first one and we knew that coming in.
Our kids were up to the challenge.
We were able to bang out seven hits, get three earned off of him and
five runs total. I’ll tell you
what that kid threw the ball well for a sophomore.
Last year, I know he was a little banged up and didn’t get to pitch
a whole lot as a freshman. He
was impressive. We told him as a
coaching staff that he is going to be special in a couple of years.
He was throwing three or four pitches consistently for strikes.
He worked both side of the plate up and down.
We were happy with our guys execution in working counts, trying to
get in fastball counts and attacking the fastball when we got it.
That has kind of been the approach all year.
We will look to try and continue that,” said Young. Published 5/05/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Shelby
Outduels Clear Fork
Shelby scored a run in the first and made it stand up as the Whippets
beat Clear Fork (1-0) on Wednesday evening at American Legion Field in
Bellville.
Both trail first place Ontario by two games.
The Warriors game Wednesday with Marion Harding was tied and
suspended due to darkness. Shelby
plays Ontario twice next week. The
Colts have a make up with Ontario and play Highland twice next week.
The Scots trail Ontario by one.
Yes, it’s like trying to figure out a riddle.
Blaine Bowman doubled in the bottom of the first and scored on a RBI
single by Jeremy Holloway and Marshall Shepherd threw the shutout for the
Whippets.
Shelby coach Jon Amicone says it was a tremendous pitcher’s duel
between Shepherd and Clear Fork’s Jared Scott.
“We were very fortunate it was a really good baseball game.
The pitching was really good. Marshall
Shepherd has been our guy the entire year much like Jared Scott has been
Clear Fork’s guy. If you
wanted to see good pitching in North Central Ohio, you should have been at
that game because those were two guys that really battled each other and
really fought for their teams,” said Amicone.
Clear Fork coach Joe Staab says both teams played outstanding
baseball. “It was a great
competitive game. Shelby was
able to manufacture a run and made plays behind great pitching.
We played well enough to win. We
pitched a great game and our defense played well enough behind him,” he
said.
Amicone says it always a key for them to score first, especially when
Shepherd is pitching. “We were
lucky enough to get one across in the first inning.
That is really key for us. We
want to score first when we are on the road and we were able to do that and
at least give “Shep” some comfort early on in the game.
Our defense really did a nice job of getting some key outs that were
crucial allowing Marshall to go the distance,” said Amicone.
Clear Fork nearly tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, but the
Whippets threw out Luke Schlosser at the plate as he tried to score from
first on a double by Kaleb Hollar.
Amicone says it took perfect execution by the Whippets.
“Our relay system did a really nice job.
Ball in the gap and a runner on first.
If I am the third base coach, I am pushing the kid home too.
We had a good relay. The
communication was excellent and that was led by Blaine Bowman, our catcher.
He is our communicator when the ball is in play.
He saw the whole field and was communicating that with our shortstop
and then Alex Brushkotter made a really nice throw to get him at home,”
said Amicone.
Shelby (10-6,6-4) hosts Clear Fork (9-6,6-4) on Thursday.
Amicone says it’s a must win. “You
have two teams that are in that must win mode, quite frankly.
The “MOAC” is kind of a wild race this year.
It seems like anyone is beating anyone, so it is still anyone’s
game. Clear Fork is going to
come ready to play. Joe Staab is
going to have those dudes ready and we are going to have to bring our
“A” game (Thursday),” he said. Published 5/05/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Mt.
Vernon Moves into Share of First
Mt. Vernon blanked Lexington (4-0) on Wednesday evening and moved
into a share of the lead in the Ohio Cardinal Conference with three games to
play on their conference schedule.
They share the lead with Wooster and Ashland.
The Generals beat Ashland (5-0) on Wednesday.
Mt. Vernon has a two game series with the Arrows next week.
Coach Nate Hunt says they new it was going to be a tough game on
Wednesday because they were facing one of the better pitchers in the area in
Lexington’s Cole Pauley, an Ohio State recruit.
“We knew (Wednesday) was going to be a tough one, especially
knowing, one they were going to be coached up, Kevin is a good coach over
there at Lexington, he does a nice job, but also Cole Pauley is just a good
pitcher,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “He has a lot of
velocity. Knowing we were going
to have to face him and moving forward into the tournament you are going see
better pitching. We had a good
week of practice Monday and Tuesday preparing for that.
Eight hits is definitely something to be excited about when facing
Pauley.”
Hunt says their approach against Pauley was to not be too aggressive
with the bats and try to make solid contact.
“Our thing for the guys was if you try and match how fast as he is
throwing, it you try and swing as fast as he is throwing, you are just not
going to make any contact. You
are going to pop up. We had some
good non-conferences. Granville,
same situation, they had a guy that was bringing it.
Just try and make it as short as you can to the zone.
Make good contact. There
were no errors between both of us. Both
pitchers pitching well. It was a
good baseball game,” said Hunt.
Cash Finnell earned the victory for the Jackets.
Lexington coach Kevin Morrow says he was in top form.
“Finnel was on his game and pitched an outstanding game,” he
said.
Mt. Vernon (13-4,8-1), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the large school division, will be Lexington (5-10,2-6) on Thursday.
Lexington picked up its biggest win of the season on Monday when then
beat “SBC” Lake leader Tiffin Columbian (3-1) in non-conference play.
Hunt says they have to play Thursday with the same kind of focus.
“The fun part about this conference you get about 24 hours to think
about it and then you are right back into it.
We have done a nice job putting ourselves in a good situation.
You just have to focus on what is in front of you.
I heard a great one liner the other day, the reason the rearview
mirror is so small and the windshield is so big is you always have to look
forward. We are just taking it
one day at a time,” he said. Published 5/05/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Highland
Stays in Race with Shutout of River Valley
Highland is right there on the doorstep in the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference after beating River Valley (8-0) on Wednesday evening in a
conference game at River Valley.
They trail Ontario by just a game.
The Warriors game with Marion Harding on Wednesday night was
suspended with the score tied.
The Scots (12-7,9-3), #5 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the large school division, lost (5-1) to River Valley on Monday to
fall from a share of the lead.
Coach Donnie Kline says the assignment for them is clear.
“The way we have kind of treated this is we have turned the rest of
the season into a tournament, a three game tournament.
If we lose one game, we are out of the running.
Right now, we need some help, but we are still in the race and it is
a lot of fun,” he said.
Blake Jodrey earned the shutout for the Scots, allowing only four
hits.
Kline says he was very efficient against the Vikings.
“The senior Blake Jodrey threw a complete game shoutout.
He had just 107 pitches, but 12 strikeouts to one walk and four hits.
He kept a pretty solid team off the bases and did a good job and gave
our defense a chance to play. The
one thing I can say the most is he really competed out there and gave the
boys a chance to win the game,” said Kline.
Kort Sears had three hits for Highland, including a double, a two
RBI.
Kline says the team did an outstanding job of getting on the
scoreboard. “I think in league
play, especially when you get familiar with opponents, it gets harder and
harder to score and you need to find different ways to score to be
competitive and I think the boys did that,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday night, “We played some small ball and got 11 hits.
A couple multi hit games for guys and they squared some balls up.
Monday when we lost to River Valley, we tip our caps to them, they
had zero errors and played very good defense.
(Wednesday) the balls found a little grass, so we were able to get
some runners on there.” Published 5/05/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Hillsdale
Stays a Game Back
Hillsdale got another win they had to have in blanking Rittman (5-0)
on Wednesday evening behind Nick Kandle to remain a game behind Norwayne and
Waynedale in the race in the Wayne County Athletic League.
Norwayne beat Smithville (10-2) and Waynedale shut out Chippewa
(10-0) on Wednesday.
Kandle scattered four hits and struck out 15 Indians on Wednesday.
Coach Jason Snow says he likes how they are playing right now.
“That is where we have been getting better since the start of the
year. Our pitchers are throwing
more strikes and the defense we have cleaned it up quite a bit.
If you hold the other team without any runs, you have a pretty good
chance to win,” he said.
Kandle walked four over seven innings and the Falcons had no errors.
Mark Able had three of the Falcons seven hits on Wednesday.
Snow says they hit the ball well, but were a bit unlucky.
“We hit the ball really hard. In
first three or four innings we had a chance to kind of break the game open.
They made a couple of nice plays on a couple of line drives and
turned them into some double plays. Give
them a little bit of credit for taking us out of a couple of innings when we
could have really blown the game open,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday night, “We are trying to schedule some more games, we picked up
Norwalk for (Thursday). We are
just trying to find some teams and keep getting better before the tournament
run.”
Hillsdale (15-3,8-3) has won its last 11 games and Snow says they are
really playing some excellent baseball.
“It was a little frustrating early in the year.
Part of it was we played to top half of our league early.
We didn’t play really well and to their credit, they did.
We learned quite a bit and made some adjustments and moved some
people around a little bit and it seems like we have settled in a little bit
right now. It’s a good time to
start playing your best baseball. We
are just trying to keep it going right now,” he said. Published 5/05/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Northmor
Avoids Rain; Blasts Mt. Gilead
Northmor scored nine times in the first three innings on Tuesday
evening and they hammered Mt. Gilead (10-2) in a Knox Morrow Athletic
Conference game played at Northmor.
It was one of the few games in North Central Ohio to be played on
Tuesday due to a couple of lines of strong storms.
Coach Buck Workman says they were fortunate to get it in, but they,
and Mt. Gilead, really wanted to play some baseball.
“I didn’t really have high hopes.
We have been so backed up we just had to take a chance.
Fortunate for us Mt. Gilead is not that far away, so they were
willing to make that risk. We
were starting a little earlier and I think that helped.
We were able to get started. We
had one 30 minute delay, but we were clean after that,” said Workman.
This was the final “KMAC” game for the Golden Knights, who are
going to finish fourth in the final standings.
They want to fill the rest of the regular season with non-conference
games and are looking for a game on Wednesday.
They play Crestline Thursday and Galion and Colonel Crawford next
week.
Grant Bentley got the start and went six innings for the Golden
Knights. He surrendered one hit
and struck out nine.
He did walk five, but Workman says other than the wildness, he did a
good job on the hill. “Outside
of a few walks and a couple of hit batters he only have up one or two hits.
He did the job and we made some plays behind him when we had to.
We finally got the bats going, so it was a pretty good night,” he
said.
Northmor (10-7,6-6) banged out 12 hits.
Bentley, Max Lower, Andrew Armrose, Garrett Corwin and Marty Kearns
all have two hits for the Golden Knights.
Lower homered, Bentley had a triple and Corwin a double.
Workman says they finally got some balance in the lineup.
“We have been looking for some of that.
We have been top heavy. The
top of the order has been hitting well all year.
We have been up and down at the bottom.
(Tuesday) night we hit more one through nine,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “We at least had some good AB’s, walks,
or moved runners. Up until
(Tuesday) night we have been struggling with that.
Max Lower led off the bottom of the first with a home run and that
got the guys going a little bit and made it a lot easier.” Published 5/04/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Fredericktown
Gets Share of “KMAC”
Fredericktown earned a share of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference
title with a (7-3) win over Centerburg on Monday evening at Fredericktown.
They can win it outright with a win at Centerburg on Wednesday.
Brady Lester led off the bottom half of the first inning with a solo
homer over the centerfield wall, but the Trojans (14-3,9-2) tied it in the
top of the second on a hit batter, an error, and Jesse Rings scored on a
wild pitch by Kaid Carpenter.
Like good teams do, the Freddies (13-2,10-0), #2 in the
Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school division,
responded and scored four in their half of the second to take a (5-1) lead.
Korbin McGowan walked and Xavier Mullins doubled to start the inning.
McGowan scored on a ground out by Luke Bean and Mullins crossed plate
on an error. After a sacrifice
by Alex Selby, Lester was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Carpenter singed to make it (4-1) and the final run of the inning
scored when Branden Sapp walked with the bases loaded.
That chased Centerburg starter Daniel Lemaster, who took the loss.
Fredericktown made it (7-1) with two in the third.
Mullins, Teegan Ruhl, and Selby loaded the bases with singles and
Lester doubled two home.
Fredericktown coach Ryan Hathaway said they had to keep adding on.
“We knew we had to put a lot of runs together against a team like
Centerburg because they were going to come in and keep hitting the baseball
all night, so we knew we had to try and stay ahead.
It seemed like they kept getting the tying runs and getting their
kids to the plate, so we knew it was going to be a long one if we didn’t
continue to hit and try and get base runners on,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “We kind ran ourselves out of that inning
when we had four, we made an aggressive play right there, but I thought if
we could have kept the bases loaded we could have got a few more runs in
that situation, but that’s baseball.
Carpenter tried to score on a wild pitch on ball four to Sapp, but
was tagged out.
Centerburg coach Josh Moss says that second inning was the difference
maker in his option. “We knew
coming in the margin for error (Monday) was pretty thin.
One thing about Fredericktown is Ryan does a good job with those
guys. They always seem to play
good defense. They always seem
to have one guy on the mound that can go out and win a game.
Timely hitting, I don’t know how many two strike hits they had.
They did a great job moving guys over.
That one inning, Lou Piniella said best, he could look at 80 percent
of his losses and attribute them to one bad inning and that was us,” said
Moss.
Centerburg struck for two in the top of the fifth an RBI single by
Grayson Reynolds and a run on a wild pitch by Carpenter.
Kaid had some command issues during the middle innings, but he
retired eight of the last nine Trojans he faced to put the game away.
Hathaway says they he was able to settle down and start to use his
off speed stuff more the last two innings.
“His pitch count started getting up a little bit.
I thought he was throwing a lot of pitches early.
He really didn’t settle it until late.
I think he was very pumped up for the game, so a lot of fastballs
were staying up. You can’t do
that against good hitters like they have on their team.
I thought he bounced back and started throwing his off speed for a
strike and late in the game he was able to keep them off balance,” said
Hathaway.
Carpenter ended up with 12 strikeouts and no walks allowing eight
hits over seven innings.
Moss says Carpenter was able to make some adjustments.
“I tip my cap to Kaid, he is a competitor.
I like watching the way he plays the game.
He plays hard, he is gritty. We
made some adjustments, and credit our guys, we started putting the barrel on
the ball. He started mixing it
up and started going to his off speed. He
came out and showed why he is one of the best guys in our league on the
mound,” he said.
Mullins had three hits for the Freddies, Letser, Carpenter and Ruhl
had two. Dalton Hall had three
for Centerburg.
Fredericktown shared the “KMAC” title with Highland, now a member
of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, last season and Hathaway says they want
to take care of business on Wednesday. “We
want to try and go out and win it outright and not have to worry about any
other games. We are honestly
treating it like it is tournament style baseball at this point.
Going down to their place and seeing what kind of team they have
after (Monday) it is going to be a good test for us to see where we are as
far as where we stand going into the tournament with these guys,” he said. Published 5/03/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Norwalk
With Big Win over Clyde
Norwalk remained two games behind Tiffin Columbian in race for the
title in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference with a (5-4) win
over Clyde on Monday evening in Norwalk.
Veteran coach Wes Douglas says it gives them a chance to get a piece
of that title. “It keeps alive
mathematically. (Columbian) has
to go and play a good Perkins team on Wednesday.
I will be rooting for Perkins in that one,” he said.
Douglas says Norwalk (12-4,7-3), #3 in the Swankonsports.com baseball
coaches poll in the large school division, got one big inning and a gutsy
pitching performance to get the win on Monday.
“We got one in the first inning.
Our lefthander Buddy Baker, they timed him up.
They took a 3-1 lead with three runs in the third.
We bounced right back with four run inning to go up 5-3,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “They chipped away in the last inning
to get one with a couple of guys on base, but Buddy closed it out.
He went the distance and our defense was good enough and we put
together one good crooked number.”
Douglas says that four spot they got us huge for them and they got a
big hit from an unexpected source. “There
were a bunch of guys that contributed there.
Jessie Cole, who we have DH’d for most of the year came up with a
big hit in an extra inning win Saturday against Edison and he pitched seven
innings of relief in that game. He
had a two run single with two strikes and two outs (Monday) in the nine hole
and that scored our third and fourth runs of that inning,” he said.
Douglas adds that Baker gave them a tremendous performance,
especially in the later innings. He
says Baker is a kid that wants the ball.
“When Buddy is on the mound, he doesn’t think there is anybody
better in the world. That is his
attitude. He was pretty calm and
got the ball back and went to work. He
was behind in some counts and worked out of it.
We had a couple of errors in there that did not go his way.
There was no bad body language. He
just got the ball back. Some
guys are just really comfortable on the mound and he is one of them,” said
Douglas. Published 5/03/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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St.
Paul Edges Plymouth; Stays a Game Back
Luke Bloom singled home Eli Fisher in the bottom of the seventh to
give Norwalk St. Paul a (4-3) win over Plymouth on Monday evening in Norwalk
and keep the Flyers a game behind first place South Central.
South Central buried Monroeville (21-0) and Crestview, also a game
back, beat Mapleton (12-1) in five innings on Monday.
St. Paul coach Aaron Fries says the got a big hit and that was the
difference. “They are
definitely a good baseball team and we knew we had a challenge a head of us
to keep ourselves in the race and we were able to play a nice ballgame.
It was really well played high school baseball game a fortunately for
us were able to get that hit in the bottom of the seventh to drive home the
winning run,” he said.
Bloom also got the win in pitching two solid innings in relief of
Fisher.
Big hits were missing in (4-3) and (8-7) losses to South Central last
week, but Fries says they stepped up on Monday.
“We got it (Monday) night. Not
just that one, but we had another inning when we had two out base hit that
plated a run. Those are big.
Those are things we didn’t have last week where we had a lot of
opportunities and ended up dropping a couple of one runs games.
Those very opportunities we did not capitalize on last week and
(Monday) we did,” he said.
St. Paul (13-6,9-2) plays at Plymouth (11-5,8-3) on Tuesday if Mother
Nature allows. It will be a huge
game for both.
Fries says Monday was a game they had to have.
“There is no doubt about it, we had to have (Monday) night and it
was going to be a challenge, we knew that.
We were facing a kid that no-hit us last year in Carson Wentz and he
pitched a great game. We were
just fortunate to battle him enough and to pull one out.
Our backs were against the wall, we needed this one to keep ourselves
in the race,” said Fries. Published 5/03/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Bellevue
Downs Perkins
Bellevue trails “SBC” Lake leading Tiffin Columbian by three
games after the Redmen beat Perkins (8-5) on Monday evening at Perkins.
The Redmen have a outside chance to earn a share of the title.
Perkins is eliminated.
Bellevue (9-7,5-4) scored three times in the top of first inning and
never trailed in the game as Ethan Mohr won his third straight start, two of
them coming against Perkins (11-6,6-4).
Coach Andy Dennings says they really needed the win to have any
chance of a title. “It was a really big win.
Perkins is a really good team. I
think they were a game in front of us in the league.
We are just trying to get better.
We know we have an outside shot.
We need a little help. We
have Columbian coming to town on Monday and we have to take care of business
up to that point. We would love
to take care of what we can and see where the chips fall,” he said.
The Redmen added two in the fourth, one in the sixth and two in the
seventh.
Dennings says they got good at bats throughout the lineup.
“We were really competitive one through nine.
I think our bottom four guys had half of our hits if not more.
They did a nice job. They
drove some runs in there and set some tables.
We were able to do some things offensively.
The (Ben) Keller kid threw a nice ball game.
He mixed his pitches up well. We
were competitive one through nine and we were able to play a little small
ball, drive some balls and extend innings.
We had some really big two strike hits hat plated some runs.
In was a really nice game for us offensively,” said Dennings.
Bellevue plays Sandusky and Vermilion this week and then ends its
conference schedule with Columbian next Monday.
Dennings says they just want to play good baseball.
“The goal to always be playing for something in May and we have an
opportunity. It is outside.
We are going to play important games.
We are building toward the tournament and if the “SBC” Lake works
out, awesome. These kids deserve
it,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “They are a good group of
kids. They play extremely hard
and are coachable and fun to be around.
If that doesn’t work out, we want to play in competitive games.
Our goal is to get better every time we step on the field and play
really good baseball heading into the tournament, like we were able to do
last year.” Published 5/03/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Fredericktown
Rallies Past Cardington
Fredericktown scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning
to beat Cardington (6-5) and remain unbeaten in play in the Knox Morrow
Athletic Conference.
Centerburg, who beat Mt. Gilead (12-4) on Thursday, trails by a game
in the “KMAC” standings. The
two teams are scheduled to play next Monday and Wednesday.
Coach Ryan Hathaway says Thursday that got some clutch hits when they
had to have them, including the game winner from Braden Sapp.
“We found a way to get on base and just strung a couple of hits
together. We ended up getting
guys on second and third and our four hole Braden Sapp came up and got a hit
down the line that ended up sealing the game.
It was a tough win,” he said.
Hathaway says the Freddies (10-2,7-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com
baseball coaches poll in the small school division, have not been getting
the big hit and hopefully Thursday’s rally can get them on a roll.
“It is something we have been needing.
The last couple of games. We
have been in tight games and we have left a lot of runners on third base and
been looking for that hit. (Thursday)
night we finally go it,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “It is
just something that you have to keep trying to work for, especially with
tournament coming up just putting those guys in different situations.
Hopefully, they are ready to produce where their name is called.”
The Freddies had 14 hits on Thursday.
Sapp, Brady Lester, Kaid Carpenter, Trevor Jones and Daichi Yarnazaki
all had two for Fredericktown. Carpenter
had three RBI.
Hathaway says it looked like they were going to hit on Thursday and
eventually they did a get the big hit. “We
took batting practice on the field and it was probably one of the best
batting practices that was have had all season. Then we get out in the game
and we really couldn’t get hits early on.
It was one of those things where you have to have game situations and
put the pressure on them. You
try to simulate it in practice, but obviously it is not the same as a game.
It was good to see our kids step up,” said Hathaway. Published 4/29/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Tiffin
Columbian Takes Command in Lake Division
Tiffin Columbian beat Bellevue (1-0) on Thursday and took a two game
lead in the tough Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.
They lead Bellevue, Norwalk, Sandusky Perkins and Clyde by two games.
Again, it was a tremendous performance by starter Carson Mellott as
he outdueled Tyler Ray in an outstanding pitcher’s duel.
Coach Curt Mellott says the Tornadoes just battled.
“That is out team motto for the year, find a way and we definitely
did. Carson (Mellott) was
definitely great (Thursday) night. He
gets 12 strikeouts. He scattered
four hits. Tyler Ray for them
was phenomenal too. He only gave
up two hits. We put a lot of
balls in play and loaded the bases several times, we just couldn’t get
that big hit when we needed it. We
still found a way. It was a
great ballgame, a clean ballgame. Just
well played on both sides,” he said.
Mellott says the winning run came on a bases loaded walk.
He says he was prepared to try a squeeze, but he didn’t have to.
“Our run came on a walk of all things.
I was getting ready to call a squeeze potentially, we had not done
that all year, I thought maybe that was the time, had to get something on
the board to get the lead, it was one of the very few times he helped us
out. He threw ball four and we
got a free run there. Credit the
pitchers, we were just trying to get something on the board for Carson,”
he said.
Columbian (13-2,6-1), #1 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the large school division, has a little breathing room in the
standings, but Mallott says with Norwalk, Perkins and Bellevue again all
left to play, nothing is for certain. “We
have some room. We talked on
Wednesday when we played Vermilion, we felt like we were kind of coming out
of ourselves and worrying about things that was out of our control.
What our record is, what other people think about us in rankings,
what our batting average is. We
talked (Thursday) about just trying to maintain the standards, playing for
each other, finding ways to represent ourselves as quality individuals and
let the scoreboard take care of itself,” he told Swankonsports.com after
the win, “I felt (Thursday) the kids just embodied that in the way they
played. They didn’t let a
mistake here or there get to them. They
just kept grinding with great at bats. Like
I said, a lot of balls were put in play productively, we just couldn’t
find the hole. There was
phenomenal pitching and defense.” Published 4/29/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Crestview
Stays in Share of First
Crestview blasted Western Reserve (15-1) in a Firelands Conference
game on Thursday evening and that keeps them in a share of first place in
the conference standings.
South Central beat Plymouth (2-0) on Thursday to maintain its share
of the lead.
Coach Scott Durbin says they Lady Cougars (10-4,7-1) came into the
game with the right mindset. “We
have talked to our girls a lot over the last week that the only team we have
to worry about is us. We have to
go out and take care of us. He
have to be focused no matter who is on the field against us.
To Western’s credit they played us 6-4 the first time around.
The Prince girl is a solid pitcher.
So, we came out focused. We
were focused on what we had to do and it worked out well for us,” said
Durbin.
Crestview was able to light up the scoreboard on Thursday and Durbin
says they had a lot of kids get into the act.
“We did a lot of good things with the bats.
The top of the order was on base all night long.
Sophie Durbin, Mary Leeper, P.J. Endicot were just on base all night
long. We were able to steal a
lot bases,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Then towards
the end of the game the bottom of the lineup really came through for us and
moved runners and got on base for the top of lineup to drive them in.
We had a girl Kylee Owens, who sees her first action of the year due
to injury and she comes up with two hits for us.
It was good top to bottom.”
Crestview lost to South Central (9-2) back on April 19.
They are scheduled to play them again on May 6.
Durbin says it is important they take these games one game at a time
and not look ahead. “We have
to go out and focus on us every night. We
have New London on Friday and that’s our next challenge.
We have to look at the challenge that is ahead of us.
If we take care of our business we get South Central again.
We have some tough games coming up.
Anytime you can control your own destiny, it’s a good place to
be,” he said. Published 4/29/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Crawford
Gets Past Carey
Brennan Hamilton threw a one-hitter and Colonel Crawford edged Carey
(2-1) in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference baseball game played in Carey on
Thursday evening.
Coach Dan Gorbett says Hamilton was at the top of his game against
the Blue Devils. “We had great
pitching by Brennan Hamilton. He
had all four of his pitches going, kept them off balance.
He had a no hitter going until one out in the seventh inning.
The first three innings were 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, so he was
outstanding as was the Carey pitcher, their fullback (Jordan Vallejo) on
their state championship football team.
He throws pretty hard and is a very good pitcher too,” said Gorbett.
Hamilton was able to throw all four his pitches for strikes on
Thursday. Gorbett says really
good high school pitchers have a least thee pitches they can consistently
throw for strikes and get hitters out. “The
ones that are really good have at least three.
I would say for most kids it is fastball and curve.
Hamilton has a cutter and a changeup.
He was throwing them all for a strike,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Thursday night, “A lot of kids say they have a pitch, but if you
can’t throw it for a strike you don’t have that pitch.
That is why Drayton Burkhart last year was so outstanding because he
could throw all of his pitches for a strike and that is tough on a high
school hitter.”
The Eagles (6-7,4-5) found a way to get two runs on Thursday and
needed them both.
Gorbett says the first one was without a hit.
“We got on via an error, stole second, wild pitch to third and they
tied to pick him off and it was a bad throw, that was our first run.
The Feichtner and McKibben had doubles to score our other run.
So, we earned one and one we manufactured and it helped us a lot,”
he said. Published 4/29/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Clear
Fork Hammers Harding
Clear Fork stayed a game back in the race in the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference by demolishing Marion Harding (16-3) in a game played Wednesday
evening in Marion.
The Colts trail co-leaders Highland and Ontario, who both won on
Wednesday as well. The Warriors
beat Pleasant (5-2) and Highland pounded Galion (17-2).
Clear Fork had the bats rolling on Wednesday as they totaled 12 hits
off Harding pitching.
Coach Joe Staab says they broke out of a slump. “The
bats broke out and we put the ball in play quite a bit one through nine in
the lineup. We ended up having
double digit hits as a team. The
wealth was spread and the boys were having fun rallying together.
The hitting was contagious. It
was a shining moment because we had about the same amount of hits the past
few games as we had (Wednesday) night. So,
it was really good to see,” he said.
Luke Schlosser had three hits on Wednesday.
Jared Scott, Jay Jackson and Garett Hotz all had two.
Only three kids that played did not have a hit for Clear Fork and
everybody reached base at least once. Scott
and Schlosser both had home runs.
Staab says they had a good approach at plate, which has not been the
case lately. “We had a good
approach (Wednesday) night. I
think that is one thing that helped. We
really tried to focus on the approach going to the batter’s box and not
worrying about the outcome so much. Just
trust the process and try make solid contact and see what happens.
A lot of times we go out there trying to do more than we need to do.
Trying to keep it simple stupid worked,” he said.
Clear Fork (8-5,6-3) broke a four game losing streak with a (4-1) win
over Harding at home on Tuesday.
Staab says they have played some good teams and he hopes that
competition makes them a better team. “The
past two weeks we have been very humbled.
We didn’t play our best coming out against Marion Pleasant.
Then we go up and play Perrysburg and we kind of knew what we had
going into that. We weren’t
playing our best baseball at the time, but we got to go up and see what good
baseball is like. Playing the
competition and the schedule in some of those games you are not expecting to
go up there and win, but be competitive and play against competitive teams.
Hopefully, that is going to work out in our favor in the final
stretch of the year,” said Staab. Published 4/28/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Colonel
Crawford Continues to Roll
Colonel Crawford blanked Wynford (12-0) on Wednesday in a Northern 10
Athletic Conference game played at Wynford.
The win keeps the Lady Eagles (13-2,8-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com
softball coaches poll in the small school division, is a share of first
place with Carey, who beat Bucyrus (14-4) on Wednesday.
Now, Crawford had just beaten Wynford (11-1) on Tuesday, but coach
Sarah Fraser says they came into the game with good focus.
“We were pretty focused. We
talked about how the same situation happened when they played Mohawk.
They lost to Mohawk the first game and came back and beat them the
second game. We really tried to
focus in and make sure that wasn’t our fate this week, so we did well,”
she said.
Crawford has relied on its pitching and defense.
Other than losses to Lexington of the Ohio Cardinal Conference, the
Lady Eagles have only allowed more than one run twice, and that was in two
wins over Wayne County Athletic Conference leader Hillsdale.
Fraser says against Wynford they were solid.
“(Tuesday) Lauren (Frietchen) had one strikeout, which is very
uncharacteristic for her. She
averages eight, nine, 10 strikeouts a game.
So, our defense was impactable (Tuesday) with no errors.
We go it done,” she told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night,
“Then again (Wednesday) I think she did have eight or nine strikeouts, but
defensively we also had to make plays. When
those things are hitting on all cylinders, we got another shutout so that
was great.”
Colonel Crawford began to build its lead a little more in the later
innings Wednesday. Fraser says
they started to loosen up. “It
was 4-0 going into the fourth inning. Our
team has a bad habit of pressing and trying to be perfect and going into
that inning we talked about lighting up a little bit and have fun.
I don’t care if you have to cheer like you are an 8-U team.
Just lighten up and have fun and that’s when we broke it all
open,” said Fraser. Published 4/28/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Columbian
Maintains Division Lead
Tiffin Columbian retained a one game lead over Clyde and Bellevue in
the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division by outscoring Vermilion (13-6)
Tuesday night in Tiffin.
Columbian (12-2,5-1),#1 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the large school division, plays Bellevue on Thursday in an
important game for both.
Coach Curt Mellott says Wednesday they swung the bats pretty well.
“Our bats did a nice job all game collectively.
We had some good swings and even the outs were pretty hard.
I am really happy with where we are trending offensively.
We just made a lot of good contact.
We took advantage of some situations as well, from some defensive
mistakes, to score some extra runs,” said Mellott.
Mellott says fundamentally they talk about going to the plate with a
plan in mind and that is especially important with two strikes.
“For us we continually talk about having quality at bats.
Wanting to really drive the baseball bare minimum with two strikes
and put it in play, so they have to do something with it,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We understand strikeouts occur, but
we really value on base percentage over about anything besides runs scored.
Those two are kind of our big parameters for us offensively.”
It is a very close race, as predicted in the Lake Division, Norwalk
beat Perkins (5-0) on Wednesday, and they both trail by two games.
Mellott says they have to keep their noses to the grindstone.
“This week we have three very tough league games.
We have Bellevue coming up (Thursday), we have Sandusky on Friday and
we are going to flip right around and play Sandusky again early next week.
It just keeps coming and coming and everybody is gunning for you for
those obvious reasons. You have
to be ready to play each and every day,” he said. Published 4/28/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Shelby
Edges River Valley
Shelby got past River Valley (9-8) in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference
game on Tuesday evening to stay in touch with the conference leaders.
The win kept the Whippets in striking distance in the league as they
trail co-leaders Highland and Ontario by two games.
Highland destroyed Galion (17-2) and Ontario beat Marion Pleasant
(5-2) on Wednesday.
The mercury didn’t get above 45 degrees and it was windy again
Wednesday, but coach Jon Amicone says you have to deal with it.
“It was another cold day out there for both teams.
You just have to battle through the weather.
Every team is dealing with it in North Central Ohio.
You don’t want to use it anytime as an excuse, any type of reason
why you don’t preform. At the
end of the day, it is all about throwing and catching.
When you simplify the game that way good things will happen.
I thought our guys did a good job (Wednesday) night dealing with the
atmosphere,” said Amicone.
Shelby lost (1-0) to River Valley on Tuesday and they have played a
lot of close games this year. The
beat Highland (7-6) last week.
Amicone says the way they approach the game leads to those kinds of
results. “We are very
comfortable playing in those types of games.
The things that we preach and we really work on in practice will lead
to close games. We try to put a
lot of pressure on our guys in practice with situational type baseball,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “That way when we get into
games and these pressure packed situations the game can slow down for our
guys. They are very comfortable
playing in those situations. We
have a lot of seniors that play for us.
It doesn’t bother our guys at all.
We understand there are 21 outs in a game.”
A longtime sports axiom is you can’t think, you must react.
Amicone says that is true and he believe the Whippets (9-5,5-4), #4
in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division,
do a good job with that concept. “We
spend a lot of time, as I mentioned earlier, with situational baseball.
That is the way we work in practice.
With different situations, I think the more times you see those plays
defensively and offensively the game can slow down for you.
I think the way you prepare to play the game can help you be more
reactionary, instead of thinking about what is going on.
I think as long as you prepare for those types of situations it can
really help your guys when it comes to game time,” he said. Published 4/28/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Lexington
Blanks West Holmes
Lexington downed West Holmes (3-0) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference
game played outside of Millersburg on Wednesday evening.
Again, it was an outstanding performance by senior pitcher Cole
Pauley.
Coach Kevin Morrow says Pauley says dominate against the Knights.
“Cole has been on his game here.
He did an excellent job (Wednesday) night.
He was really dominate and went all seven.
He had 14 strikeouts and only gave up a couple of hits.
The defense was decent. I
think we had three errors, but our shortstop Basolone made several nice
plays,” he told Swankonpsports.com after the win, “We just scratched
enough across there late in the game to get the win for Cole.
He was really dominate for sure.”
Morrow says they got some hits and got on base quite a bit against
West Holmes, but he says they did not get many clutch hits.
“We had 10 hits. Most
of those came in the back half of the game.
We left the bases loaded quite a few times.
With 10 hits and only three runs, we just couldn’t get the right
hit. You just have to find a way
to win and their relief pitcher came in and he walked a couple of guys and
we pushed across just enough runs to win.
We will take it,” said Morrow.
Lexington (4-8,2-5) lost to West Holmes at home (11-0) on Tuesday,
but Morrow says the way the “OCC” schedule is set up it gives you a
second chance and they were able to take advantage of that.
“In baseball playing back to back, you always get that second
chance. If you don’t win that
first one you get another day and play that same team and kind of redeem
yourself from the night before and that is exactly what the kids did,” he
said. Published 4/28/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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South
Central Takes Lead
South Central took sole possession of the first place in the
Firelands Conference with a (4-3) win over Norwalk St. Paul in a game played
Tuesday evening in Norwalk.
Coach Mike Perry says it was a nice win, but they have to keep
playing well. “I mean St. Paul
has eight wins in the conference and we have four, so you do not count your
chickens before they are hatched. We
still have a lot of work to do if we want to think about winning the
conference. I told them after
the game, St. Paul has won things thing five years in a row and they are not
going to lay down for anybody. They
are going to give us their best shot (Wednesday), so we better come ready to
play some ball,” said Perry.
St. Paul (12-3,8-1) coach Aaron Fires says they didn’t get the
clutch hits they needed. “South
Central did a better job than us with runners in scoring position.
Both teams had several opportunities and they just cashed in a few
more than we did. It was a good
high baseball game, unfortunately we just came up a little bit short.
Hopefully, (Wednesday) we can turn the tables,” said Fries.
South Central starter Karl Ferber took a shutout into the sixth
inning and Perry says again he was efficient.
“He does what he does. The
eight strikeouts were great, but the zero walks we will take that.
If you don’t throw baserunners out there all of the time with free
passes you are usually going to be successful.
He was very efficient,” he said.
South Central (8-1,4-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the small school division, scored three times in the first inning
and Perry says they stung the ball pretty good.
“I told the kids after the game that big hits can come anytime of
the game. We had a two run
double by our freshman Aaron Haluer in the first inning.
We put three on them in first inning and I’ll take that when you
can jump on a team early,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We
were squaring a lot balls up, but we had six or seven lineouts to
outfielders that we hit right on the nose, but right at people.
Sam (Seidel) has a big hit in the top of the sixth to give us a 4-0
lead. We came back and scored
three in the bottom on the sixth, but Sammy was able to come in and shut
them down in the bottom of the seventh.”
Seidel, headed to Bowling Green two play division I college baseball
next year, is an outstanding fielder as well as hitter.
He closed the game for the Trojans in the seventh.
Perry says he is a dynamite player.
“He is a fantastic player, a great kid and joy to coach.
You really get excited about that kid’s future at Bowling Green,
but I’m not going to worry about that.
I’m happy to have him while I have him.
I am not in a hurry to get rid of him yet,” he said. Published 4/27/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Wooster
Downs Madison
Wooster scored six runs in the fifth and sixth innings combined and
they downed Madison (6-2) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference baseball game in
Wooster on Tuesday evening.
Brady Bowen had 11 strikeouts in going all seven for the Generals
(10-3,5-1) on Tuesday.
Wooster coach Steve Young says it was not their best performance, but
they found a way to get it done. “We
have had better days, but it was one of those when you kind of grind through
it, but in the end worry about the outcome.
Their kids did a great job, their pitcher did a great job and filled
it up with three different pitches. We
have kind of seen their box scores all season and they have been in a lot of
tight games. We told our guys to
stick with and grind through and it the end we were able to make some plays
and get some clutch, hard hit balls. We
will take it and hopefully learn from it and try and do it again
(Wednesday),” he said.
Madison (1-9,1-6) played pretty well again.
Coach Nick Melton says it was a couple of plays that sunk them.
“Once again, we got a solid outing on the mound for our starting
pitcher Gavin Cates. He was able
to throw all of his pitches for strikes and keep us in the ballgame.
We made a couple of mistakes in the field and they absolutely cost
us. We played really well
defensively outside of two plays and those two plays ended up being the
difference in the game,” he said.
As balanced as the “OCC” has been, Young says you have to be at
the top of your game to be successful. “That
is what we have been emphasizing with our guys.
We need to make sure that every single game is an individual
challenge and we try and get each and every one of them.
There are no days off. There
are a lot of good arms in this league and there are a lot of good players.
We want to make sure we give ourselves the best opportunity to come
out on top after seven innings, and so far we have done a decent job of
that,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Honestly, we still feel
like we haven’t played our best baseball and we are hoping that is coming
soon. We have a pretty young
group and we are just competing and grinding out as needed.
I will say our guys compete. It
doesn’t matter if we are up seven or down seven, our guys just compete
every single pitch. That is what
we ask them to do. Fortunately,
for us this year it has worked out more times than it hasn’t.”
Ashland, who beat Mansfield Senior (11-0) on Wednesday, still leads
Wooster and Mt. Vernon by a game in the “OCC” standings.
Young says they understand their task is to keep winning.
“We told our guys we have a zero margin for error, so it was good
to get this one. We have to
bounce back (Wednesday) and we are going to see their best pitcher.
Ashland keeps winning and that is great ballclub they have over there
and Mt. Vernon keeps winning. At
the end of this season, it is going to be interesting to see who comes out
on top because there are a lot of good teams fighting it out right now.
We are just trying to give ourselves the best chance to win in the
end and that comes with checking them off one game at a time.
You can’t win two or three, you can only win the one in front of
you. That is what our focus has
been and will continue to be,” said Young. Published 4/27/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Seneca
East With Big Win over Buckeye
Seneca East kept themselves in the race in the Northern 10 Athletic
Conference with a big (4-2) win over Buckeye Central at home outside of
Attica on Tuesday evening.
They are now tied with Buckeye and Upper Sandusky and trail Wynford
by a game in the conference standings. Wynford
beat Colonel Crawford (12-2) on Tuesday.
Coach Rick Bowerman says it was a big win for the Tigers.
“That keeps right in the hunt.
We knew Buckeye was going to be tough.
There were at the top of the league with Wynford and we had to come
in an plays well. It was a great
game for both teams,” he said.
Starter Brandon Hines allowed a run in the first inning, but Seneca
East (8-5,5-2) battled back with two in the bottom half on an RBI single by
Mason Foos.
Bowerman says that was key for them.
“We gave up a run in the top of the first.
We come back and get two guys on, second and third, and I thought
here we go, we got a strikeout and a pop out, so now there are two outs, but
the number five hitter comes up huge with a base hit up the middle and we
scored two runs,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “I think
that gave us a lot of confidence. From
there our pitching we great, our defense was great, and we were able to hold
them.”
Hines helped himself with a two run hit in the fifth for the Tigers.
Seneca East has no errors in a close game against the Bucks and
Bowerman says that was important, plus he says Hines gave up only one free
pass. “Our defense made all of
the plays we needed to make. Our
pitcher only allowed one walk. That
has been a problem the first few weeks of the season.
Our pitcher would give up too many walks and hit batters and gave
them too many baserunners. (Tuesday)
night our pitcher Brandon Hines threw exceptionally well,” said Bowerman. Published 4/27/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Norwalk
Keeps Playing Well
Norwalk demolished Sandusky (10-0) in six innings on Tuesday evening
in Sandusky to stay in the race in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay
Conference.
The win avenged an upset loss to the Blue Streaks (6-0) back on April
7.
Coach Wes Douglas says it was pretty sweet.
“It was supposed to home, but we had to move it over there.
The first time we went over there was the first time we had lost to
them in eight or nine years and it didn’t go our way,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “So, to go over there (Tuesday) night
and win 10-0 in six innings and keep the ship righted here going into a big
game with Perkins (Wednesday). We
went over there and got the job done. We
used three pitchers and hit three home runs and took care of business.”
It this era of high school baseball teams don’t hit three home runs
in a game very often, but Douglas says they were able to puts some good
swings on the ball. “The wind
was going out, but these balls were all squared up and were legit.
Ian Minor in the first inning, Kelton Chapin in the nine hole, not
sure the last time we had a home run in the nine hole, and Eli Oblinger in
the top of our order, who has been hitting the ball well lately, all squared
one up and left the park,” said Douglas.
Keep in mind it was only 37 degrees at gametime in Sandusky and the
ball doesn’t travel well when it is that cold.
Norwalk (8-4,4-3) has a big game with Perkins on Wednesday, one they
will need to win.
Douglas says he has been impressed with how they have been playing.
“Our other losses are to Defiance, number one in the state, Tiffin
and Perkins, who are also in the top 13 or 14 in the state.
I have a nice group of kids that come to play every day.
We love their attitude and their effort.
Some days baseball doesn’t always go your way.
We have lost to three quality teams and we had the one hiccup.
Other than that, we are pretty satisfied,” he said. Published 4/27/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Crestview
Thrashes New London
Crestview hammered New London (10-0) in a Firelands Conference
baseball game played at Crestview on Tuesday evening.
Coach Don Keener says it was a solid performance for the Cougars
(6-7,4-2) on Tuesday. “It was
an all around great effort by everybody.
It is one of those things when you need pitching, defense and
hitting, clutch hitting, and we had all of those things (Tuesday) night.
I think the guys came ready to play,” he told Swankonsports.com
after the win, “The last week or so, we have been playing some pretty good
baseball. We have lost some
games to some really good teams. I
think we are starting to find some consistency we hope.”
Crestview plays at New London Wednesday in the rematch.
Kenner says they have been playing with a little more comfortable
lately. “I just think the kids
need to get more comfortable. Unfortunately,
sometime is the spring it takes you a little bit longer to get going and
with how the weather has been and all of that stuff.
Everybody is in the same situation.
When you adjust from basketball or wrestling to baseball, I think
sometimes it takes a little bit to get your timing and that stuff going,”
said Keener.
Consistency is something that comes a little slower sometimes with
baseball, according to Keener because you can’t practice outside as much
as you may wnt to. “Especially
the hitting side of things and defensively you don’t get those fly balls.
You can only do so much in the gym with outfielders.
You can work your fundamentals with infielders, but it is still not
the same as being on the real field,” he said. Published 4/27/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Ontario
Shares “MOAC” Lead
Ontario avoided the rain and beat Galion (10-0) in five innings
Monday and remained in a share of first place in the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference.
They share that lead with Highland, a game in front of Marion
Pleasant, Shelby, Marion Harding and Clear Fork.
Coach Mike Ellis says they were able to take command early in the
game. “It was really rough out
there with the wind and the rain belting you in the face, but the kids were
up to it and took advantage of Galion’s pitching.
They walked eight of our guys and we took advantage of that and
jumped on them early in the first inning 6-zip and added three in the second
and one in the third and was able to close it out,” he said.
Ontario got another pretty good pitching performance from Peyton
Dzugan. Ellis says he got outs
when he needed them, but he was wild, and that was expected.
“Peyton Dzugan worked the whole game.
He struck out five and walked six.
He hasn’t pitched very much for us this year.
It has been hard with all the rain outs.
Then here lately a couple of our guys pitched complete games.
So, its is hard to get guys in when guys are pitching compete games.
He went the distance for us and thew a no hitter.
I was pleased with that, but as I told him, we need to cut down on
those walks,” said Ellis.
Ontario (6-3,4-2) has won six of its last seven games, losing (7-6)
to Wooster Triway in a non-league game on Saturday.
They play at home against Pleasant on Tuesday in “MOAC play.
Ellis says they want to continue to try and get better as they look
to defend their “MOAC” co-title.
“You have to realize our first two games were against Highland.
We had to kind of step back and say alright, what kind of team are
we? I think now we are starting
to figure it out,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We played
Wooster Triway here on Saturday. If
it wasn’t for mental mistakes we could have easily won, but it was a good
lesson. I told them that when
you are playing good teams like that, you have to play clean baseball.
We will see how it works out here in the next few weeks.” Published 4/26/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Tygers
Get First Win
Mansfield Senior earned its first win of the season Monday evening by
edging cross town rival Mansfield Christian (9-8) in a non-conference game.
Coach J.R. Davis says it was important to get that first win.
“The biggest thing is with how hard we work and the conference that
we play in, just being able to get a win and some confidence in our guys.
The way they came back and just didn’t give up with any of the
situations that happened (Monday) night.
Overall, just getting the win was the biggest factor,” he said.
Monday night marked the first time the Tygers have scored a run this
season. Davis says they did a
good job of putting the ball in play and forcing Mansfield Christian to make
a play. “The craziest thing is
before this game we didn’t score at all.
We hadn’t scored a run all year and that is the toughest thing to
try and get some confidence,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win,
“We ended up with 16 hits by just putting the ball in play.
That is one of the biggest issues I bring up everyday for us hitting
wise. I tell them just put the
ball in play and make them make a play, especially in games like (Monday)
night.”
Tygers will play Ohio Cardinal Conference leader Ashland on Tuesday
in a conference game.
Davis says he has emphasized to the kids the importance of plate
discipline and not striking out. “I
was lucky enough to play legion baseball for Ray Peterson growing up.
Ray was a big proponent of mentioning that if you put the ball in
play the defense has to do three things.
They have to field the ball, throw the ball and catch the ball.
That is one of the biggest things that he brought up and I have
always kept that with me,” said Davis. Published 4/26/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Shelby
Beats Highland in Nine Innings
Luke Shepherd singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth
inning and Shelby beat Highland (7-6) in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action
on Thursday evening in Shelby.
Highland drops back into a share of first place in the “MOAC”
with Clear Fork and Ontario, who also have two league losses.
Shelby, Pleasant and Marion Harding are all one back.
After losing (6-0) to Highland (7-4,4-2), #4 in the Swankonsports.com
baseball coaches poll in the large school division, on Wednesday, Shelby
coach Jon Amicone says they knew it was a must win.
“Our players knew that going into the game.
Our leaders, Blaine Bowman and Marshall Shepherd, they wore it.
They told the guys this is a must win game and they put that pressure
on themselves. That is what big
time players do, they understand circumstance.
We made our bed as far as the league goes, so we knew it was a must
win. I really apricate them
understanding the situation and playing hard for us,” he said.
Amicone says Luke Shepherd delivered a big hit for them in a clutch
situation. “With two outs and
a runner on third Luke Shepherd did a great job for us.
He got a lot of big hits for us (Thursday) night.
It was the ninth inning and both of us were running low on pitching
and we needed that hit. It was a
great baseball game. It was one
of the best I have ever been part of,” he told Swankonsports.com after the
win, “We were fortunate to get that win against a first class team like
Highland. It was just huge for
our program. I can’t say
enough good things about the Highland program.
I am just extremely impressed with how they good about their
business. Getting Highland in
the “MOAC” is a huge win for the league as a whole.”
Highland coach Donnie Kline says it was a tough loss, but they still
control their own destiny. “What
a fun game to be involved with. We
are obviously disappointed to lose, but Shelby had a really good ball team.
They are disciplined and well coached.
They made a few more plays and that is why they won.
We told the boys they needed to keep their heads up, they played
well. Going nine innings with a
team like Shelby is going to make us better in the long run.
From a league standpoint, we still control our own destiny.
From a season standpoint, these types of games make a team stronger
and we hope that is where it will help us in the long run,” said Kline.
Shelby threw their ace Marshall Shepherd on Wednesday, but Amicone
says they had some other kids step up big.
“Landon Kennard, who has kind of stepped up to be our two, did a
really nice job for us. He got
us through six innings and Jeremy Holloway and Alex Bruskotter went the
final three. All of our pitchers
did a really good job. It seemed
like Highland had a lot of traffic on the bases throughout the game and our
guys were able to get the big out when we needed it,” he said.
Shelby (7-3,4-3), #5 in our poll, is scheduled to play host to
Lexington on Friday and travel to Edison, the “SBC” Bay leader, on
Saturday in non-conference games and Amicone says they just want to get on
the field. “Everybody wants to
play and all of the coaches I talk to say the same thing.
Let’s just get out on the field and play the game.
We were very fortunate to be able to pick up a game on Saturday.
It is nice to be able to play (Friday) and Saturday.
We just want our kids to play. Enough
with the practice and hitting the ball inside.
These kids have really worked hard, as have all the kids in North
Central Ohio, and they deserve to play, so hopefully we will get the weather
to do that,” said Amicone. Published 4/22/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Crestview
Moves into First Place
Crestview edged Monroeville (4-2) on the road Thursday evening and
they moved into a share of first place in the Firelands Conference with
South Central and Plymouth.
Monroeville is now a game back. Plymouth
beat New London (9-4) on Thursday. South
Central’s game with Western Reserve was cancelled due to wet field
conditions.
First year coach Scott Durbin says it was a huge win for his team at
Monroeville. “When you go up
to play Monroeville at their place. They
have a strong softball tradition and to go up there and get a (4-2) hard
fought win it was huge for our young team,” said Durbin.
It was likely the Lady Cougars (7-4,4-1) biggest win of the year.
Durbin believes that is going to boost their confidence.
“There were a lot of smiles after that game and something like
this, a quality win against a quality team there is no doubt the girls start
buying in and believing a little bit more,” he said.
This year, Crestview has a pretty young team and Durbin says key wins
like Thursday night are going to make especially those kids believers.
“We threw Kalee Hamman (Thursday) night, a freshman.
She goes out and throws a complete game against a tremendous lineup
and only gives up two runs. Sophie
Durbin is a sophomore goes four for four and leads off the game with a home
run. P.J. Endicot goes four for
four, another freshman,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “It is
a big deal for these young kids to have that success in what is still early
in the season. It is going to
make them better every night they go out.” Published 4/22/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Bellevue
Blanks Perkins
Bellevue picked up a big win in play in the Sandusky Bay Conference
Lake Division on Thursday evening by shutting out Sandusky Perkins (9-0) in
a division game.
They remain a game back in the division standings.
Coach Andy Dennings says they got an outstanding effort on the mound
from Ethan Moore. “Perkins had
been playing extremely well. We
knew they had a lot of arms and they had scored a lot of runs.
We were going to have to play a good ballgame.
We ran a kid out there (Thursday) in Ethan Moore that threw the heck
out of the ball. He had 13
strikeouts and really commanded pitches in all situations in all at bats.
Threw any pitch at any time and all three we were working.
He did a great job, so it was really a nice win,” said Dennings.
Dennings says a guy that can throw three pitches for strikes can be
very hard to hit for a high school player.
“A lot of guys can throw two. You
can win with a guy who throws two, but if you have a guy throwing three
pitches for strikes at any given time they are hard to handle.
You have to hit a mistake sometimes with guys like that,” he said.
At the plate Thursday, Dennings says they were able to take advantage
of some opportunities given to them by Perkins.
“They walked in two runs in early, so we were up 2-0 early and then
we were able to manufacture a couple. We
had some better at bats as the game went.
We saw a righty and a lefty and they threw the ball well.
We have had good at bats all year.
We have swung the bat really well and it was nice to see us to put it
together,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I felt like we
have let some games slip. This
was a game where we got it done on the mound, we played good defense and we
were able to swing the bats enough, get a break here and there, and take
advantage of some things and pull off a really good win.”
Dennings says they didn’t swing at a lot of balls out of the zone.
“We ran some pitch counts up. We
didn’t chase a whole lot of balls out of the zone.
I am thinking one or two. We
did a nice job sitting off off speed here and there.
Really for us that was a big thing.
We hit pitches we wanted to hit for the most part.
It worked out in our favor,” he said. Published 4/22/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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St.
Paul Hammers Mapleton; Keeps Share
Norwalk St. Paul kept their share of the lead in the Firelands
Conference with a (14-1) five inning destruction of Mapleton on Thursday
evening.
They share first with South Central.
Coach Aaron Fries says they were really good in all aspects of the
game. “I would say it was our
most complete game of the year. We
have been getting pretty good pitching all year, defense has been pretty
steady, (Thursday) night we hit the ball pretty well.
We just had a lot of confidence in the box from the kids.
It looked like they were seeing it well as opposed to the other night
we just didn’t seem to see the ball very well.
So, it was good to see our kids get back on it here hitting the
ball,” said Fries.
Fries hopes they can continue to hit the ball like they did on
Thursday. “In warmer weather
the ball travels a little better. It
helps just getting some games back to back and not having big gaps in your
schedule and consistently seeing live pitching.
I just think the more often they see it the more confidence they get
and the more line drives we start seeing the more base hits we see.
So, those two factors are a big part of hitting and getting some
consistency going,” he said.
St. Paul (10-2,6-0) plays Mapleton again on Friday and Western
Reserve, who they beat (4-2) on Wednesday, on Saturday and then they have
South Central next week.
Fries says first place is where they want to be, but they know they
will have a challenge ahead. “We
are right where we want to be. We
have a tough stretch here. We
have four conference games in four days.
We have to go back to Mapleton (Friday) and probably see their best
pitcher. Western Reserve we have
to see them again Saturday, we played them Wednesday.
We have stretch here that is going to test the depth in our
pitching,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We feel pretty
good about our pitching, but we are going to find our here these next couple
of days and then into next week where we see South Central early in the
week. All big tests for us.
All things I think we are ready for.
We are excited, but it is certainly going to be a challenge in front
of us.” Published 4/22/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Hillsdale
Blasts Chippewa
Hillsdale remains in contention in the race in the Wayne County
Athletic League after a (9-1) win over Chippewa in league play on Thursday
evening.
Nick Kandel, Max Vesper, Mark Able and Daniel Painter all had two
hits for the Falcons. Kandel had
four RBI.
They scored eight runs in the first three innings and coach Jason
Snow says that allowed them to relax a little bit.
“We got four in the first with two outs.
You always like to get on top early and we got that little cushion.
We could relax a little bit. They
came back and got one, but we added one in the second.
We got some extra kids in to get them some swings.
Our pitchers threw strikes and we made plays,” he said.
Caden Fickes went seven innings, allowing six hits and striking out
12.
Snow says he settled down after kind a rough start against the Chips.
“He has pitched some big games for us.
He is more of an off speed pitcher.
He throws a lot of curve balls. He
has the one win against Norwayne where we gave them one of their league
losses. He shut them down and
came out (Thursday) and had a little struggle in the first inning.
He had quite few guys on and gave ups some hits and then he settled
down and got in the strike zone,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
night, “He battled, he threw 100 pitches, which was a pretty good amount
for him. He threw a lot of
strikes and struck out 12 guys and had a good night for us.”
Hillsdale (9-3,5-3) plays Lucas in a non-league game on Friday.
Their league series next week is against Smithville.
They trail Norwayne and Waynedale, who they have already played, by a
game in the conference standings.
Snow says all they can do is keep winning.
“We got to 1-3 early and we said let’s not focus on that.
All we can do is go out and win our games and we will see what
happens. (Wednesday)
Northwestern upset Norwayne to give them their second league loss.
Waynedale has two losses and we have three.
Again, we just want to go out and win our games.
All we can do is try and get better.
We can’t control anything in front of us except winning our games
and we will see what happens,” said Snow. Published 4/22/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Highland
Takes “MOAC” Lead
Highland took sole possession of first place in the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference after a (6-0) win over defending champion Shelby on Wednesday
evening in Morrow County.
Clear Fork fell a game back after a (7-3) loss to Marion Pleasant on
Wednesday. Shelby is now two
back.
Highland coach Donnie Kline says they got a strong effort on the
mound from Blake Jodrey. “The
boys played really well. Shelby
is a very balanced and very compete team.
They are well coached and hove athletes everywhere.
It looked like it might be a game where we struggled early on,” he
told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Blake Jodrey, the senior, was on
the mound. He had the bases
loaded in the first inning, worked out of it, and went the distance and only
allowed two hits the entire game. He
pitched very well and the defense did well behind him.
Just found a way to score some runs.”
Shelby coach Jon Amicone says they couldn’t get anything going
against Jodrey. “I thought
Jodrey was sensational. He had a
good two pitch mix that kept us off balance the whole game.
He was in control from start to finish.
You have to tip your cap,” he said.
It was the first loss of the season for Shelby starter Marshall
Shepherd.
Kline says they were able to get in some good counts.
“That kid is a stud. The
boys have a lot of respect for Marshall Shepherd.
He does a fantastic job. They
were really impressed with his pitches and how he threw them.
We just got some plus counts where we could get on base a little bit
and we barreled some baseballs up. Overall,
Marshall Shepherd is the best pitcher we have seen all year and we have seen
some good ones,” said Kline.
If it doesn’t rain too much on Thursday, the two teams are supposed
to play again this time in Shelby.
Kline says you have to be ready every time you take the field in this
league. “This league is a lot
of fun and anybody can beat anybody, which we have seen already.
After every game we have parents and players running to their cell
phones to check out scores and see who is doing what.
It is a league where you can’t take a night off and if you do you
will probably pay the price for it,” he said. Published 4/21/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Columbian
Beats Vermilion; Stays in First
Bryce Roggow allowed only one unearned run on three hits in going all
seven innings in leading Tiffin Columbian to a (6-1) victory over Vermilion
in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game played Wednesday evening at
Sports Force Park in Sandusky.
That keeps the Tornadoes in a share of first place in the Lake
Division with Perkins, who beat Norwalk (6-0) on Wednesday.
Coach Curt Mellott called it an important win for his team.
“It was important for us. This
was a red letter game for us in a couple of ways.
These guys all lost to Vermilion three times last year.
It has been a long wait to get them again.
We were proud of our efforts (Wednesday) night in some pretty tough
conditions up on the bay at Sports Force Park, but in the end the bats came
alive,” he said.
The game was tied (1-1) after three, but the Tornadoes put singe runs
on the board in the fourth and fifth and then hung up three in the seventh.
Braden Roggow, Bryce’s twin brother, went three for four at the
plate with a triple and three RBI. David
Auble added three hits for Tiffin.
Mellott says it was a game where they had to show some patience.
“We talked to the kids after the game about how baseball came be
one of the most humbling sports you can be a part of.
Even what you are doing everything right, it doesn’t look right in
the box score and about the value of being persistent and believing in the
process,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We had a hitter
(Wednesday) night in David Auble, who has really done everything right all
year and he goes three for four finally and the work starts to pay off.
It’s important for us to understand that the game is humbling,
number one, it’s hard, number two, and sometimes we just have to go with
what is given to us and just go with it.”
Bryce had eight strikeouts on the evening.
Mellott says he had all of his pitches working.
“Bryce Roggow had a phenomenal game (Wednesday) night.
The conditions to start with weren’t the best.
It started the hail in the second inning just a little bit and that
cold breeze, but he threw multiple pitches for strikes.
He had his change up going and found his slider late, both his
fastballs, the two and four seamer, were working pretty well.
He was pretty dominate for most of the game and just really proud of
his efforts,” said Mellott. Published 4/21/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Ashland
Still in Front
Ashland won its fifth Ohio Cardinal Conference game in as many tries
as they blanked Madison (5-0) on Wednesday evening at Ram Field.
They continue to lead Mt. Vernon and Wooster by a game in the
conference standings. The
Jackets beat West Holmes (2-0) and Wooster drilled Mansfield Senior (18-0)
in five innings on Wednesday.
Coach Rick Gough says they must continue to maintain their focus.
“The league is very competitive.
We haven’t seen Wooster, we haven’t seen Mt. Vernon and they keep
winning. We have to try and keep
pace. 5-0 is great, but we still
have seven league games to play. I
like where we are sitting right now,” he said.
Ashland (5-3,4-0) and Madison are supposed to play again Thursday,
weather permitting.
Gough says they got tremendous pitching on Wednesday and that was the
difference. “Luke Bryant did
an outstanding job going six innings. We
had it as a no hitter (Wednesday) night.
Madison gave a hit to one of their kids, one hit, no hit, if was
still an outstanding performance,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
night, “Then Alex Grissinger came in and sealed the deal.
I think it was huge that we were able to put up and four spot in the
top of the seventh to take some of the pressure off of our relief
pitcher.”
Madison coach Nick Melton says that seventh inning just killed them.
He says they are not doing to job consistently on defense and they
must score more runs. “Seth
Ohl threw another great game or us (Wednesday) night and absolutely gave a
chance to win. There continues
to be just one inning defensively where the train falls of track.
We need to do a better job providing run support for our pitchers and
just continuing to improve our plate approach and consistency,” said
Melton.
Gough says Madison (1-6,1-5) has been a hard luck loser this year and
they are not a bad team. “We
knew going in that Madison had lost a number of tough games, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3.
So, we knew it was going to be a battle.
Ohl pitched a good game, I just think he got a little tired in the
seventh inning. We found a way
to get it done,” he said. Published 4/21/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Wynford
Keeps a Share of First Place
Wynford scored nine times in the first three innings and went on to
beat Mohawk (10-3) in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game Wednesday
evening and maintain a share of first place in the conference with Buckeye
Central.
The Bucks shutout Carey (6-0) on Wednesday.
Seneca East knocked Colonel Crawford out of a share by beat edging
the Eagles (1-0). Upper Sandusky
destroyed Bucyrus (30-0) in their game.
Seneca East, Colonel Crawford and Upper all trail by a game.
Wynford coach Tom Smith says it is going to be a tough league to win.
“I think Colonel Crawford came back to the pack this year and
it’s anybody’s league to win right now,” he said.
Wynford had a lot of traffic on the bases Wednesday and Smith says
they are starting to score more runs. “They
aided us with some walks. I
think we walked six times (Wednesday) night, but we outhit the 8-4.
We are scoring runs now, starting the get there, and so far, and I
think we ware only giving up four runs a game too, so not too bad,” he
said.
Mohawk coach Eric Hoover says they were their only worse enemy in
this one. “We continue to
shoot ourselves in the foot with walks and errors,” he said.
The Warriors issued six walks and had five errors.
Kaiden Blair and Same Collene for Wynford both had wo RBI, so Smith
says they were able to come up with some big hits too.
“That is one thing that we have struggled a little bit with early
in the year is pushing runs across, we have been stranding a lot of guys,
but (Wednesday) we were able to push nine runs across the first three
innings,” he told Swanknsports.com after the win on Wednesday, “We kind
let off the gas after that. We
had a great start the game and drive those runs in.” Published 4/21/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Seneca
East Edges Colonel Crawford
Aiden Hines outdueled Brennan Hamilton and Seneca East got past
Colonel Crawford (1-0) in Northern 10 Athletic Conference action on
Wednesday evening in North Robinson.
They both now trail Wynford and Buckeye Central by a game in the
conference standings.
Coach Rick Bowerman says they did what they had to do to win.
“It was a fun game. As
a baseball guy those are always fun to watch and be a part of.
We did what we needed to do to win,” he said.
Hines and Hamilton both went the distance for their teams.
Bowerman says it was a close play at the plate that made the
difference in the game. “Both
teams had great pitching. Each
of us only had three hits. We
were able to scratch out a run there in the third with a base hit and a
stolen base. We had a guy on
first and they tried to turn two and the foot was a little bit off the
bag,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We were aggressive
trying to score from second as they were trying to turn two and a bang, bang
play at the plate and we are safe and that was all of the scoring.”
It was Tigers catcher Jake Bowerman that scored the deciding run.
Crawford coach Dan Gorbett says it was really a tremendous game.
“Both pitchers were outstanding (Wednesday) night.
Hines pitched out of some jams. We
had some chances, but fell short. We
will come back (Thursday) a better team,” said Gorbett.
Crawford is supposed to play at Bucyrus on Thursday.
Then Crawford and Seneca East are scheduled to meet again Friday
outside of Attica. Well, that is
if Mother Nature allows.
Seneca East did make three errors, but Bowerman says their infield of
Caden Fritz, Cooper Skeel and Keegan Shoup were up to the challenge more
times than not on Wednesday. “Our
defense came through. I looked
through our book and we had 13 assists by our infielders, so there were a
lot of ground balls and we made the plays we needed to make,” said
Bowerman.
Bowerman says the league is going to be a meatgrinder.
“We talked in the preseason as coaches the league winner could have
three or four losses and it is starting play our just like that,” he said. Published 4/21/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Northmor
Downs East Knox
Northmor moved into a share of second place in the Knox Morrow
Athletic Conference with East Knox by beating the Bulldogs (10-5) on
Wednesday evening in Howard.
Both teams trail Fredericktown by two games.
Coach Buck Workman says it was a solid win for the Golden Knights.
“It was definitely a quality win considering we were facing their
number one. We have been bit by
the injury bug, so we are kind of short handed.
Everybody stepped up (Wednesday) night,” Workman.
They played without senior Max Lower on Wednesday.
Catcher Gavin Whited and shortstop Grant Bentley both had three hits
for the Golden Knights, Bentley had three RBI.
Workman says they had a good approach at the plate.
“We were just talking about that as a staff.
Several balls we hit straight up the middle.
We had a nice approach, we didn’t try to do too much.
Just getting bunts down. Everybody
contributed is some way shape or form. It
was just a nice team win,” said Workman.
Nine different guys had hits in Northmor’s 15 hit attack.
Workman says they had a lot of guys do good things.
“Even is a guy that didn’t get a hit, they got a walk, the pitch
ran, or pitch hit, we just had guys doing things.
We run 14, 15 guys out there on different nights in different roles.
That is kind of the make up of our team and (Wednesday) night
everything worked out for us,” he said.
Drew Hammond went all seven innings for Northmor, giving up six hits
and striking out six to get the win.
Northmor (6-2,4-2) plays host to East Knox (6-2,5-2) on Thursday,
barring more rain, which is in the forecast.
Workman says one of the keys to their success this year has been the
depth they have and what their bench can do.
“We kind of mix and match. We
have some guys that play some pretty good defense, but we have some guys
that can hit it a little bit too and maybe they don’t have a full time
position, but we use those guys in a pinch hitter role,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We have a couple of guys that can
run pretty good and we use them. It
is nice to have a deep bench that helps us out when they can.” Published 4/21/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Jackets
Keep Pace
Mt. Vernon went on the road and drilled West Holmes (10-3) on Tuesday
evening in a game in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.
They remain a game behind Ashland and tied with Wooster in the
“OCC” standings.
Coach Nate Hunt says they want to be tough and play whenever possible
during what has been a horrible spring weather wise.
“At this point you can’t look ahead, you can’t look at the
weather. You just have to go day
by day. We were fortune enough
that West Holmes’ field was in really good shape.
I don’t know if many teams did play.
There were a few innings what we did get some snow.
Earlier in the year we played Newark Catholic on a Friday and it was
a snow game. Unfortunately, the
weather we are getting for this spring if you don’t adapt and go with the
flow, you aren’t going to get any games in.
So, that was kind of our mindset, if they field is playable, the
conditions during the game are just going to have to be it,” said Hunt.
The Jackets scored six times in the first two innings.
Hunt says they got some good swings and the other aspects of the game
were solid too. “We were able
to jump on them early. We got
two in the first and four in the second.
I tell our guys constantly that good thigs will happen what you swing
the bats and I think they are starting to buy into that,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We say this week in and week out, if
your staring pitcher is going to be around the zone and you are going to
field it behind him and you swing the bats, good things will happen and you
are going to be in it in the seventh. At
the end of the day in high school baseball, that is where you want to be and
that’s where we were (Tuesday).”
Mt. Vernon (8-1,4-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the large school division, plays West Holmes again on Wednesday.
Hunt says they must concentrate on what the goal is that day.
“You can look down the road and see you is playing who, but at the
end of the day you have to concentrate on what you can control.
That is not the weather, (Tuesday) its’ West Holmes, (Wednesday)
it’s West Holmes, the weekend is our Central District team.
You can’t get ahead of yourself, you have to be where your feet
are, that’s kind of our mindset right now.
It is a mindset the guys have bought into,” he said. Published 4/20/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Area
Athletes Excel in Mehocks
The 89th running of the Mansfield Mehock Relays was more
of a local showcase than it has been in many years with 19 area athletes or
teams winning events, but still the team champion was from 300 miles away.
East Kentwood High School in Kentwood, Michigan, won both the boys’
and girls’ team titles Saturday at Mehock Field at Malabar Intermediate
School. They won four relays,
which is always the key.
Crestview was a close second in the boys’ competition with Shelby
third, Mansfield Senior fourth and Madison fifth.
It was an outstanding individual performance for the Tygers Keontz
Bradley, as he won the 100 meter dash (11.23), the 200 meters (22.44) and
the 400 meters (51.92).
He says the quarter mile is a difficult race, but he believes he has
found some keys, “It is real tough. Once
you learn the ins and outs of the 400, you find you can go out of the blocks
at about 80 percent, but once you get to the last 150 meters, you have to
give everything that you have got in you,” said Bradley.
Madison’s Isaac Brooks was the runner up in the 110 meter high
hurdles, but he took the first place medal in the 300 hurdles (39.24).
“I think I am someone that just pushes the extra step.
I feel like if it is one on one coming into that last stretch I feel
like I can speed it up,” said Brooks.
It was also a double for Tommy O’Neil of Crestview in winning the
800 meters (2:04.45) and the 1600 meters, or metric mile, (4:33.11) on
Saturday.
O’Neil says he had a plan going into the 1600.
“I wanted to pace out a good race and everything.
I wanted to go in the 66, 67 range, just on that pace the entire
time. It came a little faster
the first lap, but it really didn’t take too much out of me.
I kind of got caught behind it because I was fighting the wind the
entire time. Overall, I am
pretty happy with it. It is a
good time right now,” said O’Neil.
In the two mile, 3200 meters, Huck Finnegan of Shelby was the winner
(9:54.75) in tough, very windy conditions.
“It was tough for me. I
had Mason (Hendrickson) with me for the first three laps, but I am glad I
raced that kind of time in this weather,” he said.
Shelby also won the two mile relay and Madison took the 4x100 meter
relay.
In field events, two Mansfield Senior athletes shared the high jump
title, clearing 6’2”. Amil
Upchurch says that he and Maurice Ware really push each other in practice.
“Every day in practice we work with each other.
We look for our flaws and things we can get better at.
We just push each other every single day and that translates in the
meets,” said Upchurch.
Wade Bolin of Crestview won the discuss (165’10”), Jaylen Dorsey
of Sandusky the long jump (20’11 ˝”) and Zaidin Fry of Mohawk the pole
vault (14’).
In the girls’ events, Morgan Welch of Crestview doubled in the 800
meters (2:28.03) and the 1600 (5:29.11).
She says was pleased with her efforts.
“I am really happy with (Saturday).
I have been in, not a rut, but just a little bit challenging.
My times haven’t exactly been what I want them to be.
I felt like was getting back down there,” said Welch.
Alexsia Davis of Madison took the 100 meter dash (12.77) and the 200
(26.62) on Saturday.
Clear Fork’s Bekah Conrad was at the top of the podium in the
discuss throw (122’10”) and she feels a meet like this is going to make
her better. “I love coming
here because I get to go against more girls that are at a higher level than
you would see at other meets around here,” said Conrad.
She also finished third in the shot put.
She is headed to the University of Dayton to compete at the division
one level next year.
Dana Frazier of Ashland won the pole vault (9’6”) and Myasia
Matthews of Sandusky the 100 meter hurdles (16.30).
Shelby was the runner-up in the girls’ team standings and Ashland
was third. Published 4/16/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Ashland
Hammers West Holmes
Ashland kept first place to itself Thursday as they beat up on West
Holmes (12-3) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference baseball game.
The Arrows scored eight runs in the second inning and coach Rick
Gough says they their offense was in high gear.
“Early in the year we had trouble hitting the ball, (Thursday)
night we had seven or eight hits and we moved it pretty good,” he said.
They finished the night with 11 hits. Jon
Metzger, Kamden Mowry, Parker Grissinger and Aidan Chandler all had two hits
for the Arrows. Chandler had a
double and three RBI.
Gough says this week they did a lot of good things with the bats.
“We had a two game series with West Holmes and we put 20 runs up on
the board and you have to be pleased with that.
Early in the year we struggled to score runs, so our offense is
rounding into form,” said Gough.
Logan Fulk walked five guys in four innings, but he only gave up four
hits and Gough says he battled. “Our
starter Logan Fulk didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled and kept us
in the game for four innings and got a good win.
West Holmes isn’t a bad club. I
think there were 6-2 coming into the series.
I am very happy with the way we pitched,” he said.
Ashland (4-3,4-0) leads Mt. Vernon and Wooster by a game in the
“OCC” standings.
They play Madison in their “OCC” series next week and Gough says
there is a long way to go. “I
told the kids (Thursday) night we are 4-0 in the league, which is a good
start, but don’t get too excited because I think it is going to take nine
of 10 wins to get a share of the league,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday night, “So, we are getting close to getting halfway there.
There is a long way to go and some good teams to face.” Published 4/15/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Colonel
Crawford Softball Wins Again
Colonel Crawford remained unbeaten and in a share of first place in
the Northern 10 Athletic Conference after a (7-0) win over Bucyrus on
Thursday evening.
They share first place with Mohawk and Carey.
Coach Sarah Fraser says it has been the same formula.
“Defense did great (Thursday) night.
We got timely hits when we needed them.
Lauren Frietchen came out on her birthday and pitched us another
shutout. So, everything we could
ask for,” said Fraser.
Frietchen has been nearly untouchable this year.
Fraser says her confidence is through the roof.
“She has been very, very consistent.
She is kind of a new girl this year.
She is digging in and she is going to work.
I think she really believes now that the defense has her back.
It’s a totally different team this year, which is great,” she
said.
Offensively, Fraser says sometimes it takes them a while to get the
engine started, but once they do, they have been able to score some runs.
“It always takes us a couple of innings to get going.
We will get a run here and there.
Once we string those hits together and get it going, we are pretty
good. We are alright, so that is
great,” she said.
The Lady Eagles (8-0,3-0) play Ohio Cardinal Conference powerhouse
Lexington on Saturday and have “N10” games with Carey, Seneca East, and
Bucyrus next week. Hopefully,
they are able to play all of those.
That has not been the case so far due to the weather, but Fraser says
they have been focused. “We
had to cancel a game to get a league game in (Thursday).
We had to reschedule with Northmor in non-conference to get a game in
this week. Even (Wednesday) we
didn’t cancel until right at 2:45 I think it was.
So, we had to really quicky revert to from game mentality to practice
mentality,” she told Swankonsports.com after the win on Thursday, “In a
perfect world they should be the same, but we all know how kids are and
unfortunately it doesn’t translate all of the time.
We have been going on the fly and they have been pretty good at
adapting so far.” Published 4/15/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Mt.
Vernon Hits Four Homers; Beats Madison
Mt. Vernon went deep four times at Ram Field and they smoked Madison
(12-2) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference baseball game on Thursday evening.
They remain a game behind Ashland in the conference race.
Coach Nate Hunt says they weren’t sure they were going to be able
to play, but when they got the green light, they were ready.
“We did a nice job (Thursday) with the conditions.
With the rain we didn’t know when we were going to get it in.
We got lucky and got some good weather,” he said.
Mt. Vernon beat Madison (4-3) on Tuesday in “OCC” play.
Hunt says they made better swings on Thursday.
“We showed up (Thursday) at Madison.
We had four home runs. Konner
Daughriety had two in one inning. Then
we had some guys I think might have gotten their first high school home run
of their career in Owynn Gleason and Cash Finnell.
We did a nice job swinging it. The
first game with Madison, we didn’t swing it as well as I would like.
We only had one hit in four innings.
Again, luckily just like the Wooster week, we had that Wednesday to
get into the cages and fix some things.
It definitely benefited us on Thursday,” said Hunt.
Caden Rowland got his 12th straight varsity win for the
Jackets.
Mt. Vernon plays West Holmes in their “OCC” series next week.
Hunt says this is not a team that is going to live on the home run.
He says their goal to make a good swing and make solid contact.
“I was talking to the coaches before the season.
This is my fourth year and I think we have had two in my four years
and now we are kind of piecing it together.
Obviously, our guys are not home run hitters.
We tell them we are just trying to get good swings on it and
hopefully good things will happen,” he told Swankonsports.com after the
win Thursday, “I am not going to take anything way from the home runs, but
the wind was helping them a little bit, which is an element part of
baseball. The kids did a good
job of two strike hitting. There
is a lot of good things offensively that we saw (Thursday).” Published 4/15/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Crawford
Outscores Bucyrus
Colonel Crawford is in a tie for the lead in the Northern 10 Athletic
Conference after beating Bucyrus (14-8) on Thursday night in North Robinson.
The Eagles, Wynford and Buckeye Central all have one loss in league
play so far.
Coach Dan Gorbett says they got some key hits from the bottom part of
their lineup against the Redmen. “We
had some guys in the bottom of the order really come through with
outstanding games. It was Caleb
Christman’s first start and he went two for three and had four RBI at the
bottom of the order and that was huge. Anthony
Hill is hitting over .400 now and he has really been a pleasant surprise for
us,” said Gorbett.
Crawford (4-3,2-1) has won four its last five games and Gorbett says
they are starting to find their footing a little bit.
“We had a big win against Mt. Gilead on Tuesday, beat them 6-0.
We were really good in that game against a quality opponent.
(Thursday) night our pitching was not as sharp as they have been in
other games, but they got out of some jams.
They left the bases loaded and we were able to get 14 runs and pull
the game out,” said Gorbett.
They are supposed to play Carey and Seneca East twice in conference
games next week.
They have already had five games cancelled this year and Gorbett says
you have to maintain your mental focus if you are going to be successful.
“We talked about that when the forecast was bad because I have had
teams that have come out of that lull and just take off and play well and I
have had teams where everything just goes south,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win Thursday, “It is all about mental
toughness and handling all of the stuff that happens.
You can’t let it bother you. If
the weather is good, you play and you have to be focused and be ready to get
the job done.” Published 4/15/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Edison
Downs Oak Harbor
Edison played its first Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game of
the season on Thursday and they won at Oak Harbor (5-2) over the Rockets.
Lefty Thomas Simon went the first six, allowing no runs on four hits
while striking out 11.
Coach Sean Hoover says it was a solid win.
“We played a good game. We
got a good lead part way through the game.
Thomas (Simon) threw very well for us again.
We got a couple of insurance runs there in the fifth inning and were
able to hold on,” he said.
Edison (5-2,1-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll
in the small school division, had nine hits on the day.
The Chargers have played only three times in the last 10 days.
Hoover says it has been a struggle, but the players have done a good
job of counting to be ready to play. “It
has definitely been a struggle getting games in.
A couple of the nice days we didn’t have anything scheduled and
couldn’t get anything picked up on those days.
You are used to it. I
think this has been worse than other years.
We had cancelled every other league game so far and rescheduled them
for other times. We went to Port
Clinton (Wednesday) and came back without playing.
We are going to play them on Saturday.
It makes it tough. Your
are trying to find innings for your pitchers and get them in rhythm.
You want to get bats for your hitters and get them in a rhythm.
We only played twice last week and we had to play Saturday in the
snow to get the second game in. (Thursday)
night was our first game this week,” said Hoover.
Edison is scheduled to host Vermilion on Friday night in a cross over
game in the “SBC.”
Hoover says pushing games back to later in the season, obviously, has
its drawbacks. “You are saving
your ones and twos for your league games, so you can win your league.
You are kind of pushing them back to make sure they can throw those
league games. When they get
pushed back all of the sudden your better guys aren’t throwing as much as
they normally would at this time of the year and then you are going to hit a
logjam of five games in six days, which makes it tougher because your other
pitchers don’t get a lot of work either because of the rain,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “It is a situation where you have to
throw in the bullpen live and lucky we have our fieldhouse for that.
We try and do the best we can with those guys, so their arms are
ready. There is no substitute
for game innings, but we try and make the most we can out of our situation.
Hopefully, when we are at that stretch when we are playing five or
six games in seven or eight days we are ready to go.” Published 4/15/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Mehock
Relays on Saturday
The 89th running of the Mansfield Mehock Relays returns to
Malabar School in Mansfield on Saturday.
The early season meet is loaded with tradition, including the
participation of Jesse Owens back in the 1930’s and Ohio State and NFL
great Ted Ginn, Jr. in 2003. Former
Buckeye defensive back the late Todd Bell still holds the record in the long
jump dating back to the late 1970’s.
Weather, including snow, has sometimes been a factor for the relays,
but director Shannon Sprang, in her second year, says things look pretty
good for Saturday. “I don’t
want to jinx myself, fingers crossed, it looks like we are going to be
mid-50’s and some sunshine peeking through and honestly for track and
field that is pretty much perfect weather,” she said.
Again, there promises to be outstanding competition among some solid
teams and Sprang very talented individuals too.
“We are probably looking at about the same.
I have been checking our registration and entries fairly closely and
have been in contact with coaches throughout the last six months,” she
told Swankonsports.com, “As far as full teams, the difficult part for the
Mehocks is people come for the competition, so as far as everybody bringing
a full slate, a full roster of teams will still have around 22, 23, but I
have been contacted by individual coaches who are bringing, for example two
young men in the pole vault, one was the division III state champion from
last year and the other was an All-Ohioan in division II.
So, they are coming exclusively from their teams because they want to
compete, they want the best competition.”
There will be teams from out of state again.
Sprang says there will be teams from Michigan.
“We have a lot of teams that I’m not aware of that have entered
online recently and they are bringing some athletes.
We are going to have a very large smattering of competition.
I am excited to says we have some of our Michigan teams back with
East Kentwood, South Lyons East and potentially Detroit Public Academy.
We are hoping to start drawing some of those back,” said Sprang.
Sprang says it is difficult to field a team that can be competitive
for the team titles, especially locally, just due to numbers.
“The thing that is hard to realize about track is you have 17
events for both men and women. You
figure most schools in our area probably carry only 30 kids on their roster
and that is asking kids to do a lot of different events.
You get a couple of injuries in there.
Anymore you try to put your athletes where they are going to preform
best, get you the best results and get themselves their best performances
rather that filling every slot,” said Sprang.
Sprang reiterates something this reporter has said for many years,
the Mehock Relays are excellent spot for high school fans to just witness
pure athleticism. “That is
kind of the fun part of being the meet director is I get a sneak peak at all
of the entries prior to the spectators.
Like I said, we are going to have some good pole vaulters there, some
good throwers, of course, we have some of the Columbus and Cleveland area
schools that are always strong in the sprinting events.
So, it is going to be a good test of athleticism and competition this
year,” she said. Published 4/14/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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St.
Paul Blasts New London
Norwalk St. maintained a share of first place in the Firelands
Conference as they outscored New London (18-8) on Wednesday evening.
It was not an easy day to play with rain during the game and wet
field conditions at New London, but coach Aaron Fries says they did a
fantastic job of focusing on the task at hand.
“I told the kids after (Wednesday) night’s game, we have nine
games in and there aren’t too many people to this point that have gotten
nine games in. We have played in
a lot of different conditions. We
are just trying to get them in. If
there is any possibility for us to get a game in, we are going to get it in.
(Wednesday) night were definitely some tough field conditions.
It was raining quite a bit for a good portion of our game, but the
kids did a great job of just staying focused on the task at hand.
We were able to get the game in and get a win,” said Fries.
The Flyers (7-2,4-0) had a lot of guys on base with hits and walks
and Fries says eventually they were able to take advantage of their chances
to score. “Obviously, there
were stretches when it was really tough on the pitchers.
There were a lot of walks in the game.
We were able to take advantage of that with some pretty good hitting.
We were struggling a little bit early.
We had some opportunities, but later in the game were really able to
take advantage when we had guys in scoring position and extend our lead,
then kind of gave it back a little bit, and then were able to extend there
the last two, three innings of the game,” he said.
St. Paul has a doubleheader with Fremont St. Joe on Saturday and then
plays Western Reserve and Mapleton in back to back conference series next
week.
They are the defending conference champions and share first place in
the conference with South Central.
They lost their top two pitchers from last year and Fries says so far
they have been able to fill those shoes.
“I think it has been a pleasant surprise.
I don’t want to say it is a surprise, I had confidence in the kids
coming into the season as far as our pitching goes based on the work they
had put in in the off season. We
are actually ahead of our pace from last year at this time as far as
pitching goes, which is kind of hard to believe, but it’s true with a lot
of good quality starts,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night,
“So, we feel really good about that part of our game.
Obviously, there were some question marks coming into this year, not
because of a lack of talent, but a lack of experience because the kids that
didn’t come back for us pitched a ton of innings last year.” Published 4/14/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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South
Central Out Duels Plymouth
South Central outscored Plymouth (6-0) over the last three innings
and rallied to beat the Big Red (8-5) Tuesday evening in a Firelands
Conference game played in Plymouth.
The win keeps the Trojans (5-0,2-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com
baseball coaches poll in the small school division, in share of first place
with defending champion Norwalk St. Paul, an (8-2) winner over New London on
Tuesday, in the conference standings.
South Central scored twice in the top of the first inning when Karl
Ferber and Eric Sanders scored when Kayden Hauler reached on an error.
That remained the score until the bottom of the fourth when Plymouth
erupted for five runs. A double
by Cole Wentz, a single by Shae Sparks and a walk to Carson Tucker loaded
the bases. All three scored when
an infield grounder by Clayton Miller resulted in two errors.
Two more crossed on an RBI double by Zeth Goth.
However, South Central battled back to score four times in the top of
the fifth. Ferber singled and
with one out Cole Wuifrum walked. Kayden
Hauler delivered an RBI and single Brandon Mitchell tied the game on a two
run single. A fourth run would
score on a wild pitch to give the Trojans a (6-5) lead.
They added a run in the sixth on a Plymouth error and another in the
top of the seventh on wild pitch.
South Central coach Mike Perry says he believed his kids would rally
when they were down. “When we
met in the huddle after that inning. I
told them to listen, they are being loud and excited and we are being quiet
and we have our heads down. We
are a team, and I have always preached this from day one here, and other
places I have coached, you make a mistake, you leave it behind you, next
pitch, next play, and they a battled, I can’t say how proud I am of this
group,” said Perry.
Mitchell was a star and both the Trojan football and basketball
teams, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to play baseball.
Perry is glad he did. “It’s
pretty funny a kid that didn’t know if he was going to play baseball this
year has had big hit after big hit because he is smart.
He goes out there and he doesn’t try and work anything.
He will look for a pitch and if he gets it, he bangs it,” he said.
Plymouth gave the ball to three pitchers in Wentz, who started the
game and went the first four and third.
He was followed by Goth and Miller.
They walked a total of nine Trojans.
Plymouth made two errors and coach Jake Strayer says they made a lot
of mental mistakes and that cost them the game.
“We didn’t play very well defensively.
There were a lot of routine plays.
We were down mentally (Tuesday) night.
The guys on the bump battled and battled and battled and we didn’t
necessarily play the best defense behind them,” he told Swankonsports.com
after the game, “They should have scored two or three runs and we gave
them the other five or six. That
is a good team and they are going to make you make plays.
That’s what they did and we unfortunately didn’t make those
plays.”
Ferber went distance for South Central.
He allowed seven hits, walked two and fanned five.
He retried the last eight Plymouth batters he faced.
Bowling Green recruit senior shortstop Sam Seidel made a fabulous
diving play in the hole with a runner on in the sixth.
Perry says it was a gutsy performance by Ferber.
“That kid is a warrior. There
is no off switch for him. He is
always in attack mode. He is
always going to go after someone. He
was getting some pitches up. He
was hanging some curveballs, so we talked about it and he reset and went
back out there and did the job. The
four pitch inning in the sixth really, really helped us. Sam Seidel making a
fantastic play. All of the
adjectives in the world can’t describe how great that kid is,” said
Perry.
South Central hosts Plymouth (4-2,1-1) on Wednesday if it doesn’t
rain too much and Strayer says that is a game they must win.
“It’s a big one in the league (Wednesday).
We have to essentially get that one.
We don’t want to get down wo in the league race against a team that
is that good. It is a big one
and we really have to try and get that one,” he said. Published 4/13/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Tiffin
Moves into First
Tiffin Columbian moved into a share of first place with Sandusky
Perkins in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference by shutting out
the Pirates (3-0) Tuesday night behind senior Carson Mellott.
After a (5-3) loss to Clyde on Friday, the Tornadoes (6-1,2-1), #4 in
the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division,
handed Perkins (6-1,3-1), #1 in our poll, their first loss of the season.
Coach Curt Mellott they were solid in all aspects of the game.
“It was a huge win for us. We
played very well top to bottom. We
pitched it very well. We were
clean on defense, had no errors, and had timely hitting for maybe the first
time all year. It was really
good for us to get this one at home,” he said.
Carson Mellott is now (3-0, 1.47 ERA) on the year.
Coach Mellott says he was on point and they played some outstanding
defense behind him. “Carson
went seven strong and only gave up four hits, and of those hits, only one
left the infield, the others were just some bleeders here and there, no
walks. Defensively, we were
clean (Tuesday) night and played exceptionally well.
We turned a double play on Luke Walton, which I didn’t know was
humanly possible. That was
really good on our part. Just
really proud of our kids effort, just how they dug in and found a way,”
said Mellott.
Columbian also got some things going on offense.
Mellott says they made some adjustments to their lineup and that
seemed to work. “We shook the
lineup up a little bit. We have
kind of been going with a pretty stagnant lineup, even going back to what
they did last year. We moved
some guys around a little bit and that kind of brought some life to the
lineup and it just really showed through,” he told Swankonsports.com after
the win, “Brayden Tucker has a big night.
He had a couple of hits. He
was in the two hole and we moved him down to the six hole.
He looked really good. Taleb
Al-Zakwani has kind of been all over the place for us as a sophomore.
He hit out of the eight hole and helped us score our first run on an
error, but hit the ball hard and then got a big hit latter.
All in all, our kids did a really nice job at the plate and made some
adjustments. I think we are
really close offensively.” Published 4/13/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Ontario
Hammers Clear Fork
Ontario belted Clear Fork (13-1) in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference
game played Tuesday evening at Legion Park in Bellville.
It marked Ontario’s second straight conference win and coach Mike
Ellis says a lot of things went their way.
“(Clear Fork is) a very good team.
You can’t take anything away from them and what Joe (Staab) has
done with them at Clear Fork. (Tuesday)
night was our night. Now, we
move on to the next night,” he said.
Clear Fork (5-1,4-1), #2 in the first Swankonsports.com baseball
coaches poll in the large school division, suffered its first loss of the
season and fell into a share of the “MOAC” lead with Highland, who also
lost Tuesday, (4-0) to Marion Harding, and Shelby, who beat Galion (2-0) in
their game.
Coach Joe Staab says they definitely didn’t have their “A”
game. “(Tuesday) night we
didn’t play our best or play to win. Too
many mistakes that led to runs. We
hopefully will bounce back and learn from it,” he said.
If Mother Nature permits, the schools are to play again Wednesday at
Ontario in the rematch. There is
rain in the forecast.
Ellis, the Ontario pitching coach before taking the head coaching job
when Jeff Fisher retired, says Ryan Chapman was outstanding against the
Colts on Tuesday. “Our senior
Ryan Chapman was on the mound. He
threw 103 pitches. He did an
excellent job of keeping them off balance,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday, “There were a couple of times when he was in a tough spot, but he
got out of it. As a senior, he
rose to the occasion and pitched really well.”
Ellis says they forced Clear Fork to make some plays on Tuesday night
and that’s what good high school teams do.
“We got guys on and got guys running.
When you can get the defense moving it is always a good thing.
Clear Fork had seven errors and I have been on that side, so I know
what it is like in a ballgame like that.
So, like I said say (Tuesday) night was our night and we move on to
the next,” said Ellis. Published 4/13/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Pauley
No Hits Tygers
Cole Pauley threw a no hitter and struck out 18 and Lexington downed
Mansfield Senior (10-0) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Tuesday
evening.
It was the first win this season for the Minutemen (1-5,1-4) and
coach Kevin Morrow says it was a big boost for them.
“It was a huge win. We
just had to get in the win column to feel good about ourselves.
We just haven’t been able to practice outside hardly at all.
We have had some games so far that we did play that we kind of hung
around with teams and faded away in the end.
We just need to feel good. Cole
threw really well (Tuesday) night. A
freshmen Chance Basolone, we let him start, we have been really high on him,
and he had three hits,” said Morrow.
It was (0-0) after four, but the Minutemen put up a five spot in the
fifth.
Mansfield Senior coach J.R. Davis says it was a big mistake they made
that opened the flood gates. “The
score doesn’t show the great pitching battle we had between Pauley and
“Q”. If we catch a line
drive, we are 0-0 going to the bottom of the fifth, instead it snowballs
into a five run inning and the way Cole was pitching it was a hug hole to
try and come out of,” he said.
Ashland beat West Holmes (8-2) Tuesday to take sole possession of
first place in the “OCC”. They
lead the Knights, Wooster, and Mt. Vernon, who beat Madison (4-3), by a
game.
Pauley, headed to Ohio State to play for the Buckeyes was
overpowering. Morrow says was
more efficient that he was in his first couple of starts against Wooster and
Ashland. “We are really
counting on him to kind of lead the team and be that guy that can win a game
in the “OCC”. He has had a
couple of good outings where he has struck out quite a few, but he wasn’t
as efficient as he needed to be and he knows that,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “(Tuesday) night he was really efficient.
We needed him because Mansfield’s number one (Quintin) Little was
pretty good as well. He was
really carving us up there for a while.
Obviously, with 18 strikeouts and kind of leading the way for us and
gave us that veteran leadership.”
The Minutemen as are to host Mansfield Senior (0-6,0-4) on Wednesday,
weather permitting.
Morrow hopes they can get in a rhythm.
“Especially, the practice end of it, that is the biggest thing.
We just need to go out there and take legitimate fly balls,
legitimate ground balls and throw it a full distance.
Problem is now that kind of stuff has to be done during a real game.
We are hoping the weather starts improving and we get a streak of
days where we just get some consistency and momentum built where we are just
playing baseball on a routine basis,” said Morrow. Published 4/13/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Fredericktown
Blanks Northmor
Kaid Carpenter threw a three hit shutout as Fredericktown downed
Northmor (2-0) in action Tuesday evening in the Knox Morrow Athletic
Conference.
The Freddies share first in conference with East Knox, who beat
Cardington (8-2) on Tuesday.
Carpenter walked none and struck out 15 Golden Knights.
Coach Ryan Hathaway says he was in command.
“He was on it (Tuesday) night and threw a lot of strikes and really
kept is pitch count down throughout the game.
I thought he looked as sharp as he has all season.
He really is a great competitor,” said Carpenter.
Northmor coach Buck Workman says Carpenter was tough and they really
didn’t have many chances. “We
just tip our caps to Carpenter and the Freddies.
They are well coached and don’t make many mistakes.
Carpenter was dealing and the couple of chances we did have, we just
couldn’t get that big hit,” he said.
Fredericktown (4-0,3-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches
poll in the small school division, got RBI from Trevor Jobes and Luke Bean
to score runs single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
The Freddies got four hits and Northmor (3-2,1-2) walked six, so
Fredericktown had some traffic on the bases.
Hathaway says they need more clutch hits.
“There were a very solid team.
We got two across, which was great, but when we kind of regrouped
after the game and looked at what we left on base, which was about 13.
We just have to do a better job of getting some more timely hits and
not making it such a tight game when you are getting such a great pitching
outing. We found a way to get it
done,” he said.
Hathaway adds that Northmor pitchers Grant Bentley, Jack Sears and
Drew Hammond did an outstanding job of changing speeds and they couldn’t
barrel very many balls. “I
seemed like their guys did a good job keeping us off balance. It
wasn’t that we were having bad at bats it was just when we needed that one
timely hit or needed somebody to put it in play.
We just couldn’t get a SAC fly when we needed it,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “I think we had the bases loaded two
or three times. It’s just
baseball and hopefully we get a chance to get out there (Wednesday) and our
guys are getting put in these positions now.
Hopefully, down the road it is going to pay off.” Published 4/13/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Kanney
Ties Buckeye Central Record
Buckeye Central starting pitcher Alex Kanney threw a two hit shutout,
striking out a school record 16 batters, and Buckeye Central got past Mohawk
(5-0) in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game in New Washington on Tuesday
evening.
The win moved the Bucks (5-2,4-1) into a share of first place in the
“N10” with Upper Sandusky and Wynford.
Upper beat Wynford (6-2) on Tuesday.
Longtime Buckeye coach Chad Jensen says Kanney was just really
terrific on Tuesday. “He was
pretty dominate. He was really
locked in. Anytime he got in
trouble, he would battle back. We
had to remind our defense to not get lost.
Make sure you are ready to field if needed,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “He tied a school record that was set by
Sam Shafer in 2011, Sam did it twice. I
told my assistant Tyler Pope that has been with me all of this time, it was
like watching Sam pitch. It was
great, he was dominate. We got
some runs early in the first and second inning and that was really all we
needed.”
Kanney only walked three batters.
Mohawk coach Eric Hoover says they couldn’t touch him.
“Kanney was absolutely dominant.
There is not much else to say,” he said.
Buckeye got some early offense off Mohawk starter Liam Shellhouse,
scoring five times in the first two innings.
Jensen says they needed to keep adding on, which they didn’t.
“Isaac Hiler had a huge two out single in the first for us to go
ahead 2-0 and then we were able to tack on three in the second and go up
5-0. There is one thing that I
did talk to our kids about. It
was a great game, a positive, a league win, but as a negative we kind of
didn’t have that drive. We
still had good at bats, but we didn’t really have that focus as much
because Alex was so good. We
talked about we have to keep the pedal down as we get into more league
games,” said Jensen.
If the weather allows, which it may not with rain in the forecast
beginning in the early afternoon, Buckeye Central is at Seneca East, a (9-3)
winner over Carey on Tuesday, for a Wednesday afternoon contest.
Jensen says they must be ready. “The
“N10” is tough as heck and we know that.
We played a really good game (Tuesday) night and we talked about
every league win our league is a good win and our league is a meat grinder
for years now. Our kids took
care of business. To beat a
quality team like Mohawk, we are happy, but (Wednesday) we have to go to
Seneca East and that is never easy. We
have to do the best we can to continue on,” he said. Published 4/13/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Clear
Fork Downs Galion
Clear Fork remains in a tie for first place in the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference after beating Galion (6-4) at Legion Field in Bellville on
Thursday evening.
They share first with Highland, who beat Marion Pleasant (9-6) in a
suspended game and (9-1) in a regularly scheduled game on Thursday.
The Colts scored twice in the bottom of the first on a RBI double by
Jared Scott and a sacrifice fly by Ty Sellers and never trailed in the game,
but the Tigers (1-5,1-4) kept it close.
Coach Joe Staab says they were resilient.
“Credit to Galion, the scrapped the whole game and they brought the
game to us. Luckily, we kept a
couple insurance run lead. They
were scrapping away an playing with confidence and played really well
(Thursday) night and it was a good test for us.
Luckily, our guys were resilient and got the job done,” he said.
Kasey Swank drilled a two-run homer for the Colts in the fourth and
Luke Schlosser smoked a solo homer in the fifth.
Schlosser also went an inning in two thirds of scoreless relief,
striking out four, to earn a save.
The Colts beat Galion (7-5) on Tuesday and Staab says both games were
hotly contested. “Their team
plays with a lot of energy, our team plays with a lot of energy, so it was
competitive baseball. It felt
like a tournament like atmosphere with both teams competing in the
conference in a meaningful game. They
came to play both nights. Our
boys played well enough to win both games and keep the lead in the
conference,” he said.
Scott picked up his second win of the season going five and third
innings allowing three earned runs on eight hits, striking out five.
He was not lights out like he was last week in shutting out River
Valley, but was still pretty good.
Staab feels confident in his pitching rotation.
“We like what Kaden Riddle brings on the mound and the defense that
we are able to put being him. We
have confidence in our pitchers and we are going to rely on our defense this
year, which in the past has been one of the most successful parts of our
game. So, we are going to rely
on that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Jared Scott can
bring it in game two. We like
the pitching staff that we have. We
know what he brings to the table and how competitive he is for us.
It has worked out both times.” Published 4/07/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Jackets
Outlast Wooster
Mt. Vernon got a huge win on Thursday evening as they got past
Wooster (9-7) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference baseball game.
The Jackets (5-1,3-1) and the Generals (3-2,3-1) both trail “OCC”
co-leaders Ashland and West Holmes by a game in the conference standings.
Coach Nate Hunt says it was a battle, but they were able to get it
done. “Wooster is always a
good baseball team, fundamentally sound. They
are always in the hunt for the “OCC”.
One through four can absolutely swing it for them.
They always seem to have not one or two, but three or four guys that
could pitch for them. It was a
battle all of the way to the end. I
knew that being up 9-4 at one time we were still going to be in a dogfight.
We found a way to get it done,” he said.
Konner Daughriety, Mt. Vernon’s super sophomore, got things started
with tape measure home run in the bottom of the first.
Hunt says that gave them some momentum.
“High school sports, especially baseball, momentum is key.
To have a guy that is electric as Konner Daughriety is as a
sophomore. He has had some
struggles because he is a good bat and we put him in the four hole.
We played Hilliard Darby and he got intentionally walked twice there,
we went to Wooster and he got intentionally walked there and then he got
intentionally walked (Thursday) night. I
knew I had to make some kind of change there, so I moved to the three spot
and let him do what he does and he hit a shot for the guys,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “It was kind of the start that we
needed, especially when we went to their place and didn’t get the start
that we wanted. We knew we were
going to be in a dogfight and they guys just battled.
Konner Daughriety with his solo home run and just top to bottom the
guys found a way to barrel the ball. It
was a lot of fun.”
After losing (10-0) at Wooster on Tuesday, Hunt knew this was a big
game for them and he says Caden Rowland gave them a bulldog like performance
on the mound. “That is kind of
the fun part about this conference. In
order to compete, one you have to have a short term memory, you have to be
able to bounce back. We had an
extra day to get some more swings in. Going
back to game one, I can’t take anything away from the Bowen kid.
He absolutely dealt and I told him that (Thursday) being a freshmen
and coming in and absolutely dealing. For
our guys to come back and swing it the way we did.
To top in all off Caden Rowland as a sophomore last year he finished
the season 9-0. We know we are
going to have a chance is the seventh with Caden because he is always around
the zone. To be able to throw as
many pitches as he did. There
were many times I wanted to him out, but as a junior who was 10-0 lifetime
coming in, but he said, coach I’m good, my arm feels good.
It’s hard to take a kid like that out.
For Caden to be 2-0 on the year, and 11-0 for his career, what a
start for the year,” said Hunt. Published 4/07/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Crestview
Drills St. Paul
Crestview completed a series sweep of Norwalk St. Paul as the Lady
Cougars belted St. Paul (12-2) on Thursday evening.
They had beaten (17-4) on Tuesday.
Coach Scott Durbin says their goal is another Firelands Conference
title. “Obviously that has
been a big focus for us. We have
won four league championships in a row and our goals are the same this year
to go and take another league title and keep that streak going.
You have to get off on the right foot, so it was a big week for
us,” said Durbin.
Kalee Hamman struck of six Lady Flyers in route to a complete game
victory on Thursday.
Plus, Durbin says they got hits one through ten in the lineup.
“There is a big smile on my face.
The last two nights we have hit up and down the lineup top to bottom.
We have a freshman Chesnie Patton, who hits her first home run
(Thursday) night and several girls up and down the order had multiple hits.
So, it’s a lot of fun when you can hit top to bottom,” he said.
Sophie Durbin, Tary Eagle, Mary Leeper, Patton and Hamman all had
multiple hits in the game. Patton
had her varsity home run for the Lady Cougars.
Crestview as enjoyed enormous success in the conference in recent
years, but Durbin says they have a number of freshmen, who are just learning
about varsity softball. “Right
now, we have got nine freshmen in the program.
We have got four freshmen playing every day.
So, they hear a lot about it, they know the expectations, but now
they are getting a taste of it,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win
on Thursday, “When they go out there and they put the ball in play it
builds on that confidence and the expectations.
So, they are settling in very nicely with our senior leadership from
Mary Leeper and Holly Collett and Autumn Martin.
They are doing a nice job of working with those younger girls and
kind of laying the expectations out with them.” Published 4/08/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Shelby
Earns Win Over Harding
Shelby got an important win in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play on
Thursday evening when they downed Marion Harding (9-3) in a game that
started on Tuesday.
The Whippets lead (5-0) in fourth inning going to play on Thursday.
They couldn’t finish the game Tuesday or play at all on Wednesday
due to the weather.
Coach Jon Amicone says you must have to be focused mentally.
“That is the battle you have with Ohio high school baseball.
It is what it is. To get
back and get a good league win after dropping the previous one was really
key for us to get back on track,” he said.
Mario Pleasant had beaten the defending “MOAC” co-champs (5-2)
last Wednesday.
Amicone says they had guys in the batter’s box doing what they were
supposed to be doing. “A lot
of them did a really nice job of being productive.
Whether it is the top of the order getting the big hit or the bottom
of the order moving runners. We
did a nice job bunting and moving runners and putting as much pressure on
their defense as we could,” said Amicone.
Starting pitcher Marshall Shepherd came back to finish what has
started on Tuesday and gave up no eared runs.
However, Amicone says they must do a better job fielding the
baseball. “Marshall is our
guy. He is going to go the
distance for us and finish what he started on Tuesday.
He gave up three runs and all of those runs were unearned,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “You can’t do that against teams and
expect to be successful all year long. So,
we know we have to clean that up that defense for us to be successful over
the long haul.” Published 4/08/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Fredericktown
Pounds Mt. Gilead
Fredericktown overwhelmed Mt. Gilead (16-0) in a Knox Morrow Athletic
Conference game on Thursday evening.
They had not played since a (19-1) destruction of Danville on
Saturday in Conference play.
Coach Ryan Hathaway says first it was just good to get back out
there. “We are just excited to
get back outside after being in the gym the last couple of nights.
When we finally got the opportunity, it seemed like the kids took
advantage of it (Thursday) night and played hard.
Things went really well for us,” he said.
Kaid Carpenter got the start Thursday for the Freddies and Hathaway
says he was efficient and dominating. “Kaid
Carpenter, who has been our number one guy, I think he came out and threw 65
pitches in six innings and that is going to win you a lot of games when you
have that sort of outing. He
just did a great job of throwing a lot of strikes.
It wasn’t a great night to be a hitter, but when you throw that
many strikes and make them put it in play.
He kind of dominated the game,” said Hathaway.
Fredericktown (3-0,2-0) plays Mt. Gilead (1-1,0-1) again on Friday,
weather permitting.
They have averaged more than 16 runs a game, one of the highest
scoring teams in the area.
Hathaway says their approach is to get the bat on the ball and put it
in play. “Our guys have done a
good job so far of just putting it in play early on.
The pitching is always going to be better early on.
If you can just put it in play, I don’t think the defense is always
caught up early in the season,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win,
“Just putting the pressure on the defense by trying in find a way on base
with a walk or hit by pitch, whatever we can do just trying to keep as much
pressure on the defense as we can.” Published 4/08/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Madison
Gets Past Mansfield Senior
Madison won their first game of the season on Tuesday night as they
downed arch rival Mansfield Senior (2-0) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game
at Ram Field.
Coach Nick Melton says they got outstanding pitching from Seth Ohl.
“It was a really nice job by Seth (Tuesday) night.
He was hitting his spots. His
off speed stuff was working pretty good.
I think 10 strikeouts is a career high for Seth.
So, he is throwing the ball really well for us right now,” he said.
Madison (1-3,1-2) has had issues scoring runs this year, they lost to
West Holmes (4-2) and (4-1) in “OCC” games last week, but Melton says
they got just enough done on Tuesday. “It
wasn’t pretty, I’ll tell you that. Zac
Huff came up to me in the fourth inning, my assistant coach, and said, coach
we just have to get one run, we only need one because Seth is going to nail
it down for us, just get us one this inning.
It wasn’t pretty, but we scratched two across and sure enough that
held up for us,” said Melton.
Mansfield Senior (0-3,0-3) has not scored a run this season, but
coach J.R. Davis says they are getting closer to their goal of winning an
“OCC” game. “We’re back
to competing in conference games again.
Now, we just need to start hitting the ball and avoid the one bad
inning that change the whole game for us.
All three games we have lost this season, we have been in close games
and one inning ends up deciding the game,” said Davis.
Defending “OCC” champ Wooster blasted Mt. Vernon (10-0) on
Tuesday. A game between
Lexington and Ashland was suspended with the Minuteman holding a (2-0) lead
in the fourth.
Melton hopes the win can get the Rams headed in the right direction.
“I hope it takes the monkey off our back.
Getting that first one, your hear it a lot.
Other coaches say the first one is the hardest and now that we have
that one out of the way it would be nice that we could get on a little
roll,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Certainly, the schedule
doesn’t lend us any favors, but that first one is there.
Hopefully, we can start realling some off and putting something
together.”
The Rams are scheduled to play at Arlin Field against the Tygers on
Wednesday and Melton hopes Mother Nature allows.
“We looked at the weather this week and thought we may not get to
play baseball again. It hasn’t
been great, but we have been fortunate, we have been able to get outside.
I really didn’t know what are chances were of playing (Tuesday),
but our maintenance crew did a nice job and got our field ready to play.
It looked beautiful. We
just hope for the same luck (Wednesday) that the rain just misses us enough
in order to play,” said Melton. Published 4/06/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Columbian
With Big Win at Norwalk
Carson Mellott held Norwalk scoreless over the last six innings and
Bryce Roggow had three RBI and Tiffin Columbian edged Norwalk (4-2) in a big
early season matchup in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division on Tuesday
evening at Norwalk.
Coach Curt Mellott says it was a quality win over a very good team
for them. “We had two highly
talented, highly competitive teams out there (Tuesday) night.
Veteran teams that battled all of the way to the end.
Really happy to earn a victory over a great Norwalk team,” said
Mellott.
Carson Mellott gave up one earned run on five hits while striking out
eight and walking nobody. He is
dad he got into a grove. “We
had really good pitching. That
really solidified the game for us. We
felt really good coming in. We
started the game with a couple of hiccups so to speak.
Once we locked in, we felt good where Carson (Mellott) was at and
were he was going,” said Mellott.
Coach Mellott says anytime they give the ball to Carson they feel
they have a chance to win. “It
is something that we feel really good about.
We feel every time he has the ball, we have a great chance to do
well. He keeps showing it time
and time again. We are really
proud of his efforts,” he said.
Norwalk (2-1,0-1) got on the board twice in the first inning as Sam
Battles go on base via an error, Eli Obringer singled him home and he scored
on an RBI double by Ian Minor. But,
that was it for the Truckers.
Coach Wes Douglas says they gave up too many free passes.
“I thought both teams competed hard.
After we scored two in the first Mellott settled in, got stronger and
didn’t walk a batter. We
walked nine and I think it caught up with us,” he said.
Columbian (4-0,1-0) scored two in fourth and added the deciding two
runs in the sixth.
Mellott says got some clutch hits.
“That’s our motto this year, just find a way.
We had some key at bats. We
had a lot of traffic early on. Finally,
Bryce Roggow got a big hit to bring in a couple of runs and an even bigger
hit to break the tie at 3-2. A
key hit and run at the end that might have went 25 feet in a first an third
situation gave us that fourth run,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
night, “Those little things and just finding ways to get a hit and get
things done against a really good opponent makes us feel good, but we have
to be ready for the next day now.” Published 4/06/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Ontario
Gets “MOAC” Win
Ontario, the defending co-champion of the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference, won its first conference game Tuesday evening as they downed
River Valley (3-1) at Ontario.
Coach Mike Ellis says Ryan Chapman was masterful on the mound.
“Ryan Chapman went the distance.
He only threw 83 pitches. He
was in total control. He only
gave up two hits and two walks, so he was the dude for us,” said Ellis.
Ellis says they got solid defensive play and that helped Chapman as
well. “It keeps the pitch
count down. Our defense played
well. We only had one error.
In our previous game we had six errors, so it makes a big difference,
especially with the pitch count,” he said.
Ontario (1-3,1-2) plays at River Valley (1-3,0-3) on Wednesday,
weather permitting, in the second game of their “MOAC” series.
Ellis says they didn’t hit the ball very well on Tuesday night, but
he believes that will come. “I
was just telling the kids, I don’t care if we win by one, we just have to
keep clawing and just keep working,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
night, “The bats our going to wake up here sooner or later, but right now
they are not, so we are just going to have to do whatever we can to
manufacture runs and just get the “W”. Published 4/06/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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St.
Paul Takes Down Crestview
Norwalk St. Paul began defense of its Firelands Conference title with
a (7-1) win over Crestview in the Maple City on Tuesday evening.
Eli Fisher and Luke Bloom combined on a three hitter for the Flyers.
St. Paul coach Aaron Fries says they challenged Crestview hitters and
their defense was sound too. “We
started out with Eli Fisher and he has really started the season well.
In his two starts he has done exactly what we have asked him to do.
That is throw strikes and challenge hitters, mix his pitches a little
bit and rely on his defense and he has done a very good job of that in his
first couple of starts. He was
really efficient (Tuesday) night,” he told Swankonsports.com after the
win,
Crestview coach Don Keener says they hit some balls hard, but they
couldn’t get any breaks. “I
thought we got a strong pitching effort from Jarek (Ringler), good enough
for us to get the win. Unfortunately,
we struggled at times. We only
had three hits, but I thought we hit the ball really hard, it was just at
someone and they made the plays,” he said.
Seven runs was a good number for the Flyers, but Fries says they can
be more productive. “For us it
has been a little bit of a slow start offensively.
With each passing game I have seen more confidence in the box.
We do have a lot of young players.
I think the confidence we there (Tuesday) night more than it was
Saturday, so it led to a lot more line drives and I hope we can continue to
see that as far as the confidence in the box one through nine.
Really, I think we need to do a bit better job.
We are leaving some guys on base, leaving some opportunities out
there. I think as the season
progresses, we are going to get better at that,” said Fries.
St. Paul (4-1,1-0) is at Crestview (2-4,0-1) on Wednesday, weather
permitting in another Firelands Conference game.
Fries hopes they can take some momentum into that one.
“Crestview is a good baseball team.
Their starter (Tuesday) night Ringler is a good pitcher, so we knew
we were going to have our hands full and to win 7-1 I really liked the kids
focus. They were really focused
the first inning and really did a nice job and staying focused.
So, I was really impressed by that.
These kids have goals and they know what it takes to reach those
goals. The main thing is to
focus each and every game. Hopefully,
we can build upon this. If we
get the opportunity to play (Wednesday) we can take this momentum into this
game,” said Fries. Published 4/06/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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South
Central Blanks Mapleton
South Central scored twice in the fifth and Karl Ferber shutout
Mapleton as the Trojans beat the Mounties (2-0) Tuesday evening in a
Firelands Conference game outside of Greenwich.
They two teams are scheduled to play again at Mapleton on Wednesday
if they can avoid the rain.
South Central coach Mike Perry says Ferber was outstanding.
“That has been a theme with us, not getting many, but giving up
even less. Karl Ferber started
(Tuesday) night and he was fantastic. Mapleton’s
kid the Benner kid was fantastic as well,” he told Swankonsports.com after
the win, “We pitched and we played defense and we got a couple of timely
runs. That is what we have been
doing lately.”
South Central (4-0,1-0) played well on defense against Mapleton and
Perry says that was a big key for them.
“That’s what we do. We
don’t throw it around. We make
the easy plays and we make some of the tough plays.
Eric Sanders has been fantastic is centerfield.
He is a sophomore and he ran down two (Tuesday) night that were in
the gap. He makes those plays
look really easy. He catches
everything that is routine,” said Perry.
The Trojans didn’t get many hits, two in fact, but Perry says they
got what they needed in the fifth. “We
had two hits. We scored in the
bottom of the fifth. Sam Seidel
had an RBI single and Karl Ferber had and RBI groundout and that’s all we
needed,” he said. Published 4/06/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Late
Rally Gives Crawford Win Over Buckeye
Colonel Crawford scored twice in the top of the seventh inning and
they rallied to beat Buckeye Central (5-3) in the Northern 10 Athletic
Conference opener for both schools on Monday evening in New Washington.
The Eagles scored when Carson Feichtner doubled and Cyler Hoepf
delivered an RBI single. Another
run scored when Brennan Hamilton crossed home on a force play.
Colonel Crawford (2-2,1-0) tied at (3-3) in the fifth on RBI by Mason
Studer and Feichtner.
Coach Dan Gorbett says they got very good performances from a lot of
guys. “We were up and then we
were down, we tied it and then we were able to score two runs in the top of
the seventh and pulled it out. We
got great pitching from Parker Ketterman.
He went the distance on like 82 pitches.
He only struck out two, but he kept them off balance and got the job
done,” said Gorbett.
Ketterman gave up only five hits, walked three and struck out two to
get the win.
The Eagles made only one error and Gorbett says that was a big
improvement from the opening week. “We
did a really good job defensively. Much
better than last week. Hopefully,
this is a game where we turned the corner and start playing better.
We have been a little sloppy at the beginning here.
We played really well (Monday),” he said.
Buckeye (2-2,0-1) had built a (3-1) lead through four on RBI hits by
Graham Geissman with two and Alex Kanney with another.
The two teams are scheduled to play again on Wednesday, this time in
North Robinson, in an “N10” rematch.
Gorbett says they didn’t play well last week, but Monday night you
could see a difference in their approach to the game.
“The confidence, you could just see it on their faces.
We were mentally ready (Monday),” he told Swankonsports.com after
the win, “You could just see a difference in their eyes, their whole
attitude. Really proud of how
our leaders stepped up, we are better let’s get it done.” Published 4/05/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Northmor
Scores Late to Beat Cardington
Northmor scored 12 runs in the last two innings to break it open and
beat Cardington (14-7) in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on Monday
evening at Northmor.
Coach Buck Workman says they got some clutch hits.
“In the sixth inning we scored seven and six of those seven were
with two outs. That was nice to
see because we have been lacking that two out punch, getting that big, two
out hit when we needed it. A
shout out this week to Brody Workman for a big hit with two outs that kind
of ignited us and we kind of exploded from there with a bases clearing
double,” said Workman. Max Lower and
Andrew Armrose both had three hits for the Golden Knights.
Armrose and Grant Bentley both had four 4 RBI in the win.
Northmor got at least one hit from seven players and Workman says
that has to keep happening if there are going to have a good year.
“That we key if we are going to be successful and put up some big
numbers, we have to have one through nine helping out and (Monday) night we
got that even if it was a couple of walks here, a hit by pitch, a couple of
hits from guys at the bottom of the order.
We had some pinch hitters come in and give us some quality at bats.
We have to do that if we are going to be successful,” he said.
Northmor (3-1,1-1) plays at Danville on Wednesday in a conference
game.
Workman says if they were going to stay in the race, they had to get
the win on Monday. “We
couldn’t start out the league 0-2. They
are a solid ballclub, they are scrappy.
Their top five are pretty darn good.
The game Saturday, the ball just didn’t bounce our way.
We had a couple of close calls that didn’t go our way that could
have changed the outcome. We had
a couple of errors that put us in a bind.
At the end of the day, it was our own undoing,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “It was nice to see our kids show a
little resiliency. We could have
buried our heads in the sand when we were down 2-1, but in the fourth inning
we tied it up.” Published 4/05/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Mohawk
Edges Bucyrus
Mohawk pushed across a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to
down Bucyrus (4-3) in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game played on
Monday evening.
Kahne Hayman drew a one out walk in the seventh.
He stole second base and went to third on a single by Travis Geary.
After a strikeout, he scored the winning run on passed ball.
The Warriors were down (3-1) going to be the bottom of the sixth, but
coach Eric Hoover says they got two crucial runs in their half.
“They put two on the board in the sixth and took the lead (3-1).
We bounced back right away and got two and were able to tie it up
going into the seventh. It was
good see us get some good at bats and find ways to get runners on and plate
a couple to steal the momentum back,” he said.
Hoover said they found a way in the seventh to get that winning run
across the plate. “We had a
little base runner error that they took advantage of.
Our first guy got on and tried to get to second on an error, but got
thrown out,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We drew a walk
and got a steal to get to second and base hit to move him to third and were
able to score on passed ball. So,
we were fortunate and did what we had to do.
It wasn’t pretty, but we were able to get it done in the end.”
Mohawk (3-3,1-0) plays at Bucyrus (0-3,0-1) on Wednesday in the
second game of the series.
The Warriors had a chance to win due to the tremendous performance by
pitcher Nathan Geary, who allowed only one hit and one earned run while
striking out 13 in going the distance.
Hoover says he had great command.
“Nathan threw a keck of a game.
He did a lot better job of staying around the zone.
He just a had a few walks, but even when he was missing, they were
really close. He had pretty good
command (Monday) night. He had
13 strikeouts and only gave up one hit.
We are going to need that from him to stay in games.
He had a great one (Monday) night,” said Hoover. Published 4/05/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Crestview
Rips Lucas
After a frustrating loss on Wednesday night, the Crestview Lady
Cougars smoked Lucas (14-1) in a non-conference game on Thursday evening.
Coach Scott Durbin says it was a big win for them from a confidence
standpoint. “That was exactly
what we wanted to see. (Wednesday)
night was obviously disappointing and to be able to get back on the field
(Thursday) I was thrilled with the girls.
They looked intense and ready to go in warmups and they brought the
fight. They got back up and went
to work and just played good softball,” said Durbin.
The Lady Cougars lost (19-3) to Loudonville on Wednesday.
Crestview is scheduled to play a doubleheader against Fredericktown
on Saturday. They begin defense
of their Firelands Conference title next Monday and Tuesday against Norwalk
St. Paul.
Durbin says they got an outstanding effort in the circle from a young
lady in her first year of varsity action on Thursday.
“We started a freshman in Kaylee Hamman and she comes away with her
first win. She was fantastic.
She had nine strikeouts and zero walks and only gave up two hits.
We made a lot of plays behind her.
She was in control and really hit spots and just got the job done and
looked really good,” he said.
It was a total team effort for Crestview as Durbin says they hit the
ball well though the lineup against Lucas.
“Sophie Durbin came out and led us off with a home run and I think
that just kind of started things,” he told Swankonsports.com after the
win, “We had multiple girls and that had multiple hits in Mary Leeper and
Taryn Eagle and Chelsea Patton. We
just made good contact and got pitches we wanted and drove them into the
outfield. It was good to see
after a disappointing night to watch the girls bounce back and compete.” Published 4/01/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Bellevue
Belts Madison
Bellevue cruised to a (10-0) five inning win over Mansfield Madison
on Thursday evening to pick up its first win of the season.
They lost (7-2) to Wynford in a non-conference game on Tuesday.
Coach Andy Dennings says they got a great pitching performance from
Tyler Ray and just executed better against Madison (0-3) on Thursday.
“We beat a quality team (Thursday).
We rebounded after a disappointing opening day loss where we just
didn’t play clean and we kind of wasted some good pitching performances.
(Thursday) Tyler Ray threw the ball extremely well in his first
varsity outing. He threw a one
hitter,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We really had
some pretty good at bats all year in our scrimmages and these first two
games. I thought we hit the ball
extremely well (Thursday). We
didn’t chase a lot of pitches and we were pretty disciplined at the plate.
It was a really good game all around.”
Dennings says as a hitter you have to be disciplined.
“If you know what balls you hit well and not expand the zone for
pitchers and try and get in plus counts for yourself it really gives you the
opportunity to control the at bat. Sometimes
you are going to get beat, but your have to be okay with that as long as you
are not expanding the zone and hitting strikes and I thought we did a lot of
that,” he said.
Bellevue (1-1) is scheduled to host Fremont Ross in a non-conference
game on Friday. They open play
in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference against Vermilion on
Monday.
It is April in Ohio, so you know the weather is going to be nasty and
it was on Thursday.
Dennings says he was pleased with how they handled it.
“You have to battle the elements.
Without question it is tough for pitchers to go out there and throw
in these elements and that is not easy for them to do.
Honestly, we didn’t hit a lot of balls in the air.
We had a couple of balls we struck really well in the air and take
the wind away they are probably down for doubles or triples.
We were able to square a lot of balls up and hit some hard ground
balls and line drives. We
didn’t get overly affected. Our
pitcher threw outstanding in cold weather and the wind was whipping pretty
good. I was really pleased with
how they played,” said Dennings. Published 4/01/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Mohawk
Downs McComb
Mohawk scored three times in the first inning and went on the beat
McComb (4-1) in a non-conference baseball game on Thursday evening.
They added another run in the second and Nathan Geary and Jake
Coldiron made it stand up allowing only six hits.
Geary went the first five, striking out seven to get the win.
Coach Eric Hoover says that fast start offensively was key.
“It is early in the season and we have a lot of young guys.
I think it boosts our confidence to get an early lead.
We are still trying to peace things together and move some kids
around and play different positions. Any
kind of lead you can get to build confidence at this point is a really good
thing,” he said.
Mohawk lost (10-4) to Cardington in their opener on Tuesday.
Hoover says they learned from the loss and get better.
“We talked about some mistakes we made in the first game that we
have to correct. The general
demeaner of the team is something that needs to be improved and it was much
better (Thursday),” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We had
a lot more focus on what was going on, more communication and getting the
older guys to get the young guys comfortable and involved and feeling like
they belong. I think we did a
great job of that.”
Mohawk has six freshmen on its varsity roster this season and Hoover
says that chemistry is going to be important.
“That is as important in baseball as it is in anything.
So much of what we do you need to be confident in what you are doing
whether you are at the plate or making a play and helping each other along
throughout that is very important. I
think the older guys did a much better job of that (Thursday) and the young
guys are just ready to help and be there.
It worked in our favor,” said Hoover. Published 4/01/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Colts
Demolish River Valley
Jared Scott allowed just one hit over six innings and struck out
eight as Clear Fork beat River Valley (9-0) in a Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference game on Wednesday evening at American Legion Field in Bellville.
The Colts (2-0,2-0) also beat the Vikings (9-2) on Tuesday.
They are the only “MOAC” team with two conference wins this year.
Highland (1-0,1-0) leads Ontario (13-5) in game that was suspended in
the seventh inning due to darkness.
Coach Joe Staab says Scott kept throwing strikes.
“We had really good pitching behind Jared Scott, who we have turned
to be one of our conference guys, our best guy.
(Wednesday) night he had some of his best stuff.
He was lighting up the zone. He
only had two walks over six innings, so our defense was getting a lot of
action. He threw strikes and we
played defense behind him and manufactured runs.
It was a good, clean game to watch,” said Staab.
Clear Fork scored five times in the bottom of the first and put it
away with a three spot in the fifth. Braylon
McCoy had 2 RBI for the Colts. Clear
fork also had three steals.
Defense was a major issue for the Colts last spring, but they only
had one error on Wednesday. Staab
says it is still a work in progress. “As
the schedule goes the competition of just going to get tougher and the
pressure is going to be on, so we have to just keep getting better each day.
It is one game at a time. There
is no game that is more important than the one we are playing.
Whichever day we are playing, that is what we are trying to preach to
the kids having a good focus when it is time to play.
If we do make a mistake, make the next play before making multiple
errors and letting the wheels fall off,” said Staab.
Clear Fork only had four hits on Wednesday, but they had a lot of
baserunners. They worked seven
walks from Viking pitchers and River Valley also made seven errors.
Staab says he doesn’t care how they get on base as long as they do.
“(Tuesday) we had 11 hits as team and (Wednesday) we only had four
hits as a team, but we were on base drawing walks, getting hit by pitch and
we were finding ways to get on base and put pressure on the other team.
So, anyway we are able to score a lot of runs, get on base, and keep
the pressure on, we are trying to run as an offensive unit,” he said. Published 3/31/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Hillsdale
Rallies to Beat Norwayne
Hillsdale scored three times in the top of the seventh to rally past
Norwayne (4-2) in a Wayne County Athletic League game on Wednesday evening.
Mike Steingass gave Norwayne a (2-1) lead in the bottom of the sixth
with a two run homer, but Hillsdale centerfielder Nick Kandel ripped a three
run double in the top of the seventh and that proved to be the difference.
Caden Fickes was tremendous on the hill for the Falcons going all
seven, striking out eight and allowing only two hits.
Coach Jason Snow says it was a huge win for them.
“It was a huge game for us in playing a league team like Norwayne
and losing to them (Tuesday) night 6-3.
We took the lead in the sixth 1-0 and they hit a two out, two run
homer in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead.
Our kids kept battling. We
had some kids have great at bats and worked a key walk and got our three
hitter up to the plate in Nick Kandel and he cleared the bases with a double
to give us three runs and put us up 4-2,” he told Swankonsports.com after
the win, “Caden Fickes, my god, pitched a complete game for us, probably
one of the best games I have seen him pitch, he had them off balance all
night. He held them to two hits
and two runs. I couldn’t be
more proud of my kids.”
In terms of the league, Snow says Wednesday they needed to bounce
back and they were able to do that. “Norwayne
has been a thorn in our side. Last
year, we had two 3-2 games and they beat us with walk offs in both of them.
So, it was kind of nice to get that off our back.
We didn’t want to go down 0-2 in league with Norwayne and having
Waynedale coming up. It was a
great response by our kids. Well
played game by both sides, coach (Blake) Bellman does a heck of a job over
there at Norwayne,” he said.
It has been a baseball rivalry and Norwayne was had their number and
Snow says it was very important for them to get a split in the first league
series of the season. “We
haven’t been able to get out on our field, not a lot of swings outside.
Not a lot of opportunities on our new field with flyballs and see how
the ball reacts. I thought both
teams handled it pretty well. We
are just more on the mental side of our game.
We had some poor communication at times (Tuesday).
We cleaned it up (Wednesday) the kids did a great job.
It is very important to come out strong with the great teams we are
playing early in the year,” said Snow. Published 3/31/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Madison
Blanks West Holmes
Madison got a three hit shutout from Bailey Lyons and beat West
Holmes (4-0) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference softball game on Wednesday
evening outside of Millersburg.
After being rained out Monday and Tuesday, coach Tim Niswander says
it was good to get out on the field and get a win.
“We have been rained out a couple of days, so it was nice to get
that first game in under our belts. It
was West Holmes first game as well. You
could tell there some kids that hadn’t played a lot of varsity and had
some jitters. Now that those are
out of the way hopefully, we can settle in and play some good softball from
here on out,” he said.
Lyons, a key to Madison’s run to the regional final last season,
was not overpowering on Wednesday, but Niswander says she was precise and
they played solid defense around her. “Bailey
Lyons had a complete game three hitter and didn’t walk anyone.
She didn’t have a lot of strikeouts, but she didn’t give up and
hard hit balls either. She moved
the ball around and changed speeds. She
did a really nice job and we made some plays behind her.
Hope Barrett at shortstop and Kiley Rider at third base both played
really well defensively. It was
a good team effort all of the way around in the pitching and defense
department,” said Niswander.
Lyons is maturing in the circle, according to Niswander, she is
becoming more of a pitcher. “Bailey
is starting to learn how to pitch as opposed to just throw.
She understands what we are trying to do.
She throws effectively off the plate and then she pounds the strike
zone as well. The key when I’m
calling pitches is I’m not all that concerned about strikeouts as I am
about putting the hitter in a bad spot and keeping them off balance and I
don’t really care if we get strikeouts,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday night, “A lot of kids will rack up a ton of strikeouts, but we
are going to pitch and move it around and play defense behind her.
Hopefully we hit enough and don’t have the 25 MPH win our face like
we did (Wednesday). That was a
little bit of a challenge sometimes in the outfield, but the kids did a
great job and make it work.” Published 3/31/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Crawford
Tops Riverdale
Colonel Crawford downed Riverdale (6-1) in a non-conference softball
game on Wednesday evening.
Coach Sarah Fraser says they got an outstanding performance in the
circle from Lauren Frieychen and the defense was pretty good too.
“We were struggling with our timing in our hitting and that is just
something that is going to come with the more games that we play,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Once again Lauren (Frietchen) was
phenomenal. She had 11
strikeouts and no walks and on defense we had no errors.
So, on that side of things you can’t ask for anything more.”
In many ways Wednesday’s win was a carbon copy of Tuesday’s (9-1)
win over Plymouth, according to Fraser.
“That is two games in a row that she has had 11 strikeouts and no
walks and we have had no errors. So,
when that happens that makes a huge difference in what could have been a
loss and it made it a win,” she said.
Colonel Crawford returns to action on Thursday against a solid
Northmor team. They play a
doubleheader against another traditional power like them in Hillsdale on
Saturday. Then begin Northern 10
Athletic Conference play against Buckeye Central next week.
Fraser says they have to focus on getting better.
“There is always room to improve and no matter how good your start
is there are always things we want to focus on and concentrate on and get
better. That’s what we are
doing, still working and grinding,” said Fraser. Published 3/31/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Edison
Hammers Seneca East
Edison starter Thomas Simon allowed only one hit and the Chargers
smoked Seneca East (13-0) in five innings in a non-conference baseball game
on Wednesday evening outside of Attica.
Dominic Dymind was the offensive star for the Chargers with a homer,
a double and three RBI. Simon
helped himself with a couple of hits and two RBI.
Bradley Barker and Hyden Fry both doubled for Edison.
Coach Sean Hoover says they got a lot of a players on the field and
it was a solid opener for them. “You
really couldn’t ask for a better start to the season.
We got a lot of players in, got them some at bats and get rid of some
of those first game jitters. We
played well defensively and Thomas (Simon) pitched very well too,” said
Hoover.
Simon struck out eight on the day.
Hoover says he had good control.
“He threw a lot of strikes and we played really good defense behind
him too. We made a couple of
nice plays. We turned a double
play. So, it was a good
start,” he said.
Defense has always been important in high school baseball, but Hoover
says never more than now with the restrictions put in place by the OHSAA a
few years back. “Especially
now with pitch counts versus so many innings over three days like we used to
do. If you can play good defense
and limit the errors your pitchers can go deeper in games.
It might stop you from using an extra pitcher in a day and depending
on his pitch count a guy might be able to come back maybe a day or two
earlier than he would have,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night,
“So, defense has always been important, but now with pitch counts and
everything too being able to play good defense and not making your pitchers
throw extra pitches is really important to being really successful.” Published 3/31/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Shelby
Blanks Pleasant
Shelby got an outstanding performance from Marshall Shepherd Tuesday
and the Whippets shutout Marion Pleasant (5-0) in the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference opener for both schools at Shelby.
The Whippets shared the “MOAC” title last season with Ontario.
Highland beat the Warriors (4-1) and Clear Fork belted River Valley
(9-2) while Marion Harding downed Galion (5-2) in other conference games
played on Tuesday.
Shelby coach Jon Amicone says Shephard is a leader who wants the
ball. “Marshall Shephard was
our pitcher and he is our guy, he’s our ace.
He is an awesome kid, wonderful teammate.
He is the quarterback, stud basketball player, and he is the same for
us. He threw a complete game, 77
pitches, eight strikeouts, he is everything you want in an ace.
He wants the ball and he wants to go the distance.
It’s comforting as a coach when you have that kind of guy that
wants to be the leader of team,” said Amicone.
They didn’t get a lot of hits on Tuesday, but Amicone says the
Whippets found a way to get some runs on the board.
“Our guys did a nice job throughout the lineup manufacturing runs.
The big hit eluded us there were sometimes when we could have had
some more runs. It was one of
those games when we kept leaving runners on base,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Near the end of the game we started
to bunt a little more and started to have more protection at bat in the
bottom of our lineup and we were able to push a few across.
That is just the way it goes early in the season.
The bats are kind of playing catchup to the pitching and you just
have to find ways to manufacture runs and I thought our lineup did a nice
job of that.”
Shelby plays at Pleasant on Wednesday.
Amicone says they know they are going to have to be ready to play
again. “You don’t really
want to start your first couple of games with league games, but that is the
way the weather unfolded for us like many teams in the “MOAC” it was the
cards we were delt. We
understand that Marion Pleasant is a really good team.
It was a really clean game for game one for both teams.
Both teams pitched well, I thought both teams played defense really
well. It was really clean.
We know we are going there and have a battle on our hands,” he
said. Published 3/30/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Wooster
Downs Lexington in “OCC” Opener
Drew Becker struck out 10 over five plus innings and Wooster beat
Lexington (6-3) on opening day Tuesday evening in the Ohio Cardinal
Conference.
Blake Bowen had three doubles and three RBI and Drew Rader scored
twice and two hits for the Generals.
Coach Steve Young says it wasn’t their best overall effort, but
they did enough good things to win. “Like
most of Ohio we were snowed out on Saturday, so to start your season with a
league game and a big one. We
knew Lexington would be much improved from last year.
Obviously, it was very, very cold.
The field wasn’t perfect, but it was playable.
We were able to come out on top and not play our best.
I talked to our boys after the game and told them it is a lot more
fun to learn from a win and not from a loss.
We will take it and go back to work (Wednesday) and hopefully make
some improvements and see where everything lands,” said Young.
Tuesday was an improvement weather wise from the first two days of
the season, but it was still in the lower 40’s.
Young says they did well in battling the adversity.
“We made sure we hit inside so we could stay warm as long as
possible then go out to our field and the guys were having to grab some
rakes and turn the field over a little bit and smooth it out.
For us the big key is this year we have 15 guys on varsity and eight
are either freshmen or sophomores, so some of these guys are taking live
bullets for the first time and getting their first varsity experience,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “The cold, the conditions and a
good opponent like Lexington it was good for our guys to work through a
little adversity and it was good for the coaches to see how they responded
to that. We are talking to them
every single day and coach them up and hopefully don’t make the same
mistake twice.”
Now, the two teams will play again on Wednesday, again at Wooster,
and Young says they know they are going to see Lexington’s best.
“We are actually going to be playing this game at our field again
because Lexington’s isn’t ready. So,
Lexington will be the home team, but it’s going to be at our home field.
We know we are going to get Cole Pauley on the mound and he is an
Ohio State commit. He can run it
up there in the low 90’s with some good off speed stuff.
We talked to them after the game (Tuesday) that in this league there
are no breaks, you have to bounce right back and make sure we come back
focused and ready to go. Enjoy
this one, but when they wake up, hit that reset button,” he said. Published 3/30/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Northmor
Blasts Bucyrus in Home Opener
Grant Bentley tossed four innings of shutout ball and added three
hits as Northmor belted Bucyrus (10-0) in five innings in their first game
at their renovated baseball field, which now includes a turf infield.
Griffin Workman added three hits on the day.
Andrew Armrose had a hit and two RBI for the Golden Knights.
Coach Buck Workman says it was a solid opener.
“It was good to see. It
was just nice to get out there and get to play finally.
It was a little chilly, but it was better than it has been,” he
said.
Cooper Thomas broke open a close game with a clutch hit in the third
and the Golden Knights went on to score five runs in the inning.
“We did everything right (Tuesday) night.
I want to give a shout out to Copper Thomas.
He came up with a big pinch hit to knock in two in the third inning
that kind of opened it up with two outs.
That was huge and we just kind of rolled after that,” said Workman.
Northmor also had no errors in the game, but Workman says they have
things that still need refined. “We
still made plenty of mistakes situational wise in our hitting.
There are definitely some things we can get better at.
I don’t think we are going to be satisfied.
We have to keep growing and getting better game by game,” he said.
Northmor returns to the diamond Thursday as the host Colonel Crawford
(0-1) in a non-conference game. The
Eagles lost (11-3) to Plymouth on Tuesday.
They play Cardington in their Knox Morrow Athletic Conference opener
on Friday.
Workman says the fans turned out for the home opener and that was
great. “It was a great
atmosphere. The girls were
playing, we were playing, there were a lot of people out for the first
game,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “I’ll tell you since
that COVID year last year our fans were incredible.
Just the general public out watching games because they were allowed
to do things and I think it has just carried over.” Published 3/30/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Baker
No Hits Crestview
Buddy Baker threw a no hitter and Norwalk downed Crestview (1-0) in a
non-conference baseball game on Tuesday evening.
Veteran coach Wes Douglas says it was the first time in all his years
at Norwalk that a pitcher has thrown a no hitter on opening day.
“It is the first one I have had in my 26 years.
Buddy had it working (Tuesday) night.
He had six strikeouts. The
left side of our infield was perfect over there.
Ian Minor had nine assists from third base.
Caleb Sommers three or four at short.
Our catcher Sammy Battles did a great job behind the plate and found
a way to scratch out a 1-0 win,” he said.
Douglas says they were able to manufacture a run to get the win.
“We got a pinch hit single from Ryan Fox.
He fought his way to second on a missed bunt attempt.
We bunted him to third and he scored on a sac fly.
So, we manufactured one. They
threw two good, young arms at us (Tuesday).
I think we only had four or five hits, but we found a way to push one
across and the defense held up,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
night, “Buddy Baker was 5-1 last year as a junior.
Kind of came out of no where for us.
I was excited for him and his teammates were.
He has come a long way for us as a senior this year.
5-1 last year with a 1.60 ERA. He
starts off the season probably our number three pitcher and throws a no
no.”
Baker was outstanding and Douglas says their defense was just as
good. “With our pitching coach
Wes Miller, we throw a lot of off speed.
He tells our pitchers to trust the left side of our infield.
Ian Minor made every play, backhand down the line, line drives, glove
side, slow rollers. Caleb
Sommers made the same kind of plays at short.
Our first baseman Kelton Chapin picked a couple of balls out of the
dirt. They helped their pitcher
out a lot. Our field was a muddy
mess at one o’clock, but by game time it came around and was about
perfect,” said Douglas. Published 3/30/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Fredericktown
to be Good Again
Fredericktown shared the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference title with
Highland last season and advanced to the regional tournament too.
This year the Freddies should be very competitive again.
They are due to open the season with a doubleheader against Wynford
on Saturday, weather permitting. Their
first “KMAC” game is against Danville on April 1.
Coach Ryan Hathaway says they graduated a lot, but they still have a
number of pretty good players. “We
are reloading again. We have
seven guys back from last year’s team.
We have to replace a good senior class that we had, three or four
guys that were four year lettermen and one three year guy.
We had a good senior class last year, but I think a lot of young guys
we had up with us learned a lot and came back ready to contribute this
year,” said Hathaway.
Pitching is the key to baseball success and Hathaway says they have
some depth when it comes to good arms. “Right
now, I think our pitching depth is a strength.
It is probably the must arms that we have had.
Guys that can throw quality innings,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday night, “Overall, from top to bottom it is probably one of the
better teams as far as being able to plug guys in different positions.
It is really going to come down to who is swinging the bats as far as
getting guys in the lineup.”
Highland has moved to the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference and Hathaway
says that does make the race a little different.
“We have had our battles with Highland the last six years that I
have been here. Every year that
was one that we had always circled at least making sure that we had the
right rotation going into those games. We
still have them on the schedule, but it just changes things as far as league
wise. It will be different, but
I think it will still be a good race this season,” said Hathaway. Published 3/25/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Wooster
Looking to Defend “OCC”
Wooster, the defending champion in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, will
be gunning for a second straight title this spring.
If they get it, it would tie them with Lexington for the most in
“OCC” history.
Coach Steve Young says they have some younger players who are excited
to prove themselves. “This is
one of those years when we did lose quite a bit from last year, but we do
have at least a few lettermen returning.
Overall, we are definitely very young this year.
We have 14 or 15 guys depending on the day on varsity and seven or
eight of those are freshmen and sophomores.
It just kind of depends on the day.
We might have some growing pains, but we do have a nice top half of
some experience,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “So,
comparing the two years would be hard. We
are excited, we have a lot of young guys that are showing some promise and a
good mix of those vets as well. We
are excited to see how it kind of unfolds.
Just grind through the season and see where everything lands.”
Young says they have a couple of guys at the top of their rotation
that should be pretty good in league games.
“Top end pitching is a strength.
We return Drew Becker, who last year pitched a lot of big non-league
games, especially St. Ignatius, Wadsworth, Avon, Jackson.
So, he is back, he is a senior this year and he is ready to go on the
mound. We also return Elijah
Steiner, who is a junior this year. Last
year, he was “OCC” pitcher of the year as a sophomore.
He has been pretty steady for us.
That is probably our greatest strength I would say.
We have pretty good team chemistry so far.
It’s early and we need to develop that,” said Young.
Young believes they can be competitive this year in the “OCC” as
will most of the other schools. “We
hope to compete for it every year obviously.
We are very aware of the balance of the league this year.
We lost a lot. I know a
lot of teams were playing a lot of young guys last year in the league.
It should be competitive. It
should be a fun league. Hopefully,
we come out on top in the end, but we will have to earn that,” he said. Published 3/25/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Highland
Back in “MOAC”
Highland, who has been one of the best baseball schools in the Knox
Morrow Athletic Conference, has moved back to the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference.
Coach Donnie Kline says it is a different challenge.
“We are headed back to the “MOAC”.
We have been members before. It
has been a few years. There are
some new faces, so new schools in the league.
Just a lot of good baseball played in the “MOAC”,” he said.
Clear Fork, Ontario and Shelby are now part of the “MOAC”.
Kline says they have been able to get a good look at their kids.
“I think every coach has question marks as to where they are at.
Getting a chance to play some different jerseys this past week was
fun. We got a chance to play
Gahanna and Buckeye Valley and Cardington.
It was good to see some different jerseys.
The boys handled themselves pretty well,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Thursday night, “We are a senior laden team.
We have a lot of experience and high baseball I.Q.’s.
Some guys have moved positions and you always worry about team
chemistry.”
Kline says their goal is to develop players with versatility.
“We try not to make position players, we try to develop baseball
players. Not necessarily a third
baseman or a shortstop or second baseman.
We have a lot of Swiss army knives.
A lot of guys with versatility. I
think one of the challenges for us this year will be can we get the right
guys in position in time. A lot
of the guys can play infield or they can catch or play in the outfield.
A lot of guys have arms that can throw.
It is just a matter of the staff finding the right guy for the right
spot,” he said.
Highland does have some depth on the pitching mound and Kline says
that will be key for them. “Well,
pitching is the life blood of any program.
We have some senior pitchers back.
We have Blake Jodrey, who had a fantastic year last year.
He was 8-1 with a 1.10 ERA, all-district kind of guy.
We have Rider Minnick back, Zach Pinkerton, Copper Merckling and
juniors like Brock Church and Zach Schmidt will throw as well.
You never think you have enough arms, but I will say he have a lot
guys that can fill up the zone. If
they do, we hope the gloves can play defense behind them,” said Kline. Published 3/25/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Mohawk
Very Young This Year
Mohawk, with a solid baseball reputation, will be team that will
likely have some growing pains early in this season.
The start the year against McComb, weather permitting, on Saturday.
They open play in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference on April 4
against Bucyrus.
Coach Eric Hoover says they are going to be pretty green at the
beginning of the season. “We
had our second scrimmage (Thursday) night.
We had some different issues in each one.
We just have a young, inexperienced group.
I graduated seven seniors. I
have two guys that had football and basketball injuries who would be
starters that are out and are going to be out all year.
So, we lost a bunch. I
only have three returning lettermen,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday night, “We have great numbers, we have 28 out, which is the most
we have had, but 21 of them are freshmen and sophomores.
So, we are young and inexperienced.
There is a lot of potential there for sure.
We have seen a lot of good things.
We just have to get those game at bats.
We just haven’t seen enough varsity pitching and those types of
game situations that you run into. So,
we are struggling through that. It’s
a learning experience. They are
athletic and have some baseball skills, so hopefully we can put that
together.”
Hoover says they have to get some experience on the diamond to see
who belongs where. “We were
able to get out quite a bit last week and that was good to get on the field
and get some good practice in. With
all of these young guys I don’t even know who is capable of what and where
they should be playing and everything else.
We have been using that time for that where people might fit best and
what all they can do,” he said.
Weather is always an issue with spring sports, it can be cold as late
as early May, and Hoover says they have to show some maturity when it comes
to dealing with those issues. “You
have to play games when it is really cold, so you have to get used to that
as well. (Thursday) night it was
really cold out and windy and hopefully some of them learned what it is
going to be like because they were not prepared for the weather.
I tried to tell them, but I guess they have to learn on their own.
You have to be ready to play games like that.
You can’t let the weather affect your play in the game,” said
Hoover. Published 3/25/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Madison
Loaded This Season
Madison caught fire at the end of last season and marched all of the
way to the division II regional title game.
They hope they can warm up a little quicker this spring.
Coach Tim Niswander says so far, so good, because they have looked
pretty good in the preseason. “We
are a lot further ahead then we were a year ago because we only graduated
two kids and one of them was a part time player, so essentially, we have
everybody back. We are going to
start a couple of freshmen who are very, very talented.
The other eight kids around them are all returning starters for a
team that played in the regional final a year ago.
The expectation is very, very high.
The experience we have coming back has put us further ahead than
where we were a year ago, which at times was very frustrating with the slow
pace on how they were picking things up,” he said.
Niswander says talent is one thing and they have that, but good teams
are ones that are focused for every practice and every game.
“I think the biggest thing now is we have to stay focused and
understand that we have to come and play everyday because teams are going to
be gunning for us after what happened at the end of last year.
So, we have to be ready to play and at the top of our game every day
with the schedule that we play. We
are in the tournament up at Keystone, we are in the Wendy’s.
We play a very strong non-conference schedule.
Our league has rebounded to get really good again at the top with
Ashland, Lex, and Mt. Vernon and ourselves,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday night, “We have to bring it every day and the kids have to stay
focused every day and not take days off.
When you are in and out of the gym and hopefully get on the field
this week for a day or two sometimes that focus is tough to corral and tough
to get kids moving in the right direction.
I think the way things have gone this year we have done a petty good
job of focusing on up every day and hopefully when we start Monday at
Bucyrus our kids are ready to go.”
Madison plays West Holmes in their first Ohio Cardinal Conference
games of the season next Tuesday and Wednesday.
A strength the Lady Rams have this year, is they are going to have
hitters throughout the lineup, according to Niswander.
“The two freshmen will probably hit eight and nine for us.
I am sure there are going to be some days when people are going to
see that and think why on earth are those two kids down at the bottom of the
order. They both pass the look
test. They are both about six
feet tall and are workout warriors in the weight room and they both hit the
ball extremely hard. We are
probably not going to be as fast as we were last year, but the power at the
bottom of our order is really going to put some pressure on some pitchers
and they are not going to be able to take a break with the nine that we
throw out there. We have depth
off of the bench as well. The
good news is we have got some depth. The
bad news is we have already lost a couple of kids to injury, although not
fulltime varsity players. They
are kids that can impact that depth coming off the bench as well.
I think one through nine when we have our best nine out there, we can
really swing it with just about anybody.
That being the case, we better pitch and play defense because those
are the two things we have really been focused on,” said Niswander. Published 3/24/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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St.
Paul Ready to Defend
Norwalk St. Paul won the Firelands Conference baseball title last
season and they may have players to do it again.
Coach Aaron Fries says he has been happy with the way the team has
developed during high school spring training.
“I feel pretty good about where we are at.
It has been a little hit and miss with the scrimmages just because of
the weather this time of year as it is every year.
I am pretty happy with what I have seen.
It is still early yet and quite a bit to see and the picture isn’t
quite clear yet. I feel we are
ready for the season and ready to go for Saturday,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “The big thing is the effort has
been there, the attitude has been there.
When you have those two things going for you.
When your kids are showing up with great attitudes and giving 100
percent each and every drill in practice as a coach you feel like you are in
pretty good shape even if you haven’t had a lot of good looks with live
baseball just because of the weather.”
The Flyers play Port Clinton in their opener on Saturday in
non-conference action. They
begin defense of that Firelands Conference title April 4 and 5 against
Crestview.
Fries says they can compete for a conference title with improved
hitting and fielding expected this spring.
“We have to replace some pitching.
We have 130 to 140 innings to replace, but we had some kids really
working hard in the off season. We
really feel good about them as far as replacing those innings.
I think we will be a bit better of a hitting team this year.
Defensively, I think we are going to be better as well.
We always pride ourselves on our defense.
This year we have almost our entire infield back.
Our outfield is just extremely athletic.
I have added a couple of kids in the corners that are just really
athletic and can track down the baseball to go along with our centerfielder,
who got a lot of experience last year in the outfield and is primed to have
a really good year out there,” said Fries.
The most important part, according to Fries, will be the development
of their pitching. “Overall, I
feel pretty good about our team. Our
pitching we are kind of in a show me situation.
I have a lot of confidence in the kids.
I have seen a lot of good things in the preseason and leading up to
our first game, but until you go between the lines and you do some good work
it is still kind of a show me thing,” he said. Published 3/24/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Ashland
Counting on Veterans
Ashland hopes to be near the top of the Ohio Cardinal Conference
standings this year as they will feature a lineup with more varsity
experience this spring.
They are slated to start the season with Tiffin Columbian on Saturday
in non-league action. They open
the Ohio Cardinal Conference schedule April 5 and 6 against Lexington.
Coach Rick Gough says they have a lot of kids with time on the
varsity diamond at their disposal. “We
have got a lot of work in. We
have managed to get two scrimmages in. This
year’s team is a little different. Last
year’s team was young and unproven. This
year we have got 10 returning lettermen that are going to see some
significant action and I hope they able to take the next step,” he said.
Gough believes this is an Arrow team that will get more hits.
“Being away from varsity baseball for a year they do forget a
little bit. We have had a good
spring so far. We are just
working on some of the things we need to improve from last year,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “I think if we hit the ball for
a little better average and be a little more aggressive at the plate that is
one of our goals. I think this
year too with the returning kids we are going to be better defensively than
we were last year.”
Defense is a key for high school baseball teams and Gough wants to
see improvement there. “Our
goal every year is to average two errors or less per game.
I think if we do that it gives us a good chance to win.
You want to limit the freebees that you give to the other team.
That is one of our priorities to improve defensively,” he said. Published 3/24/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Bellevue
Counting on Pitching
Bellevue had a very good postseason last year and they hope to carry
that into this spring.
Their season starts on Saturday at home against Upper Sandusky in
non-conference play. Their first
action in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference comes at
Vermilion on April 4.
Coach Andy Dennings says they have been preparing well.
“We have got some really good looks here so far.
Some really good practices. We
got in a partial scrimmage and one full.
I thought our guys really made sone good strides within the scrimmage
and going from the first to the second one.
We have things to clean up, but we have a really nice group of kids
that enjoy playing the game of baseball together.
They are a lot of fun to coach. We
are excited about this year,” he said.
Dennings believes they will have good pitching and solid defense,
especially up the middle. “We
have a lot of arms. We can
probably run nine or 10 guys out there.
With that being said we have to have some guys start to develop into
elite guys and to our primary relievers and our non-league starters.
So, we have to get some roles figured out within our pitching, but we
have a lot of options, but I think we can run a lot of kids out there and
compete on the bump,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We
return our middle defensively, our short, our second, catcher and
centerfielder. We have all
starters back there so that is a real positive for us.
With corner stuff, we have some returning time there, but as a whole
they are a little more inexperienced. If
you are going to return stuff, your want to return stuff up the middle.”
Bellevue battled some adversity last season and Dennings says being
able to handle that will help them this season.
“We have comradery, like I said, this is a good group of kids and a
lot of them know each other and have been buddies for years now.
A lot of these kids were on this team last year when we didn’t have
the start we wanted to, but we really started to play really good baseball
at the back end of the year. So,
they tasted a little bit of the that adversity and grew from it and got a
lot closer together. I think
last year’s trials and tribulations are really affecting how they are
approaching this year,” said Dennings. Published 3/24/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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Colonel
Crawford Looking For Answers
Colonel Crawford won the outright Northern 10 Athletic Conference
title last season and advanced to the district final, this year, however, is
going to be more of a process.
Coach Dan Gorbett says with injuries and they are still trying to put
together what their opening day lineup could be like.
“We have had a lot of ups and downs.
We have had the injury bug and our starting, freshmen, third baseman
and shortstop blew out his knee in football.
There have been holdups in getting the brace so he can rehab and he
finally got it (Tuesday), three weeks late.
We were hoping to have him April 1 but is just now going to start
rehab and that will take several weeks.
Our catcher has a bad elbow, so it is looking like he is not going to
be able to catch this year, so we are trying to figure out how we are going
to plug those holes and rotate people,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday night, “So, it is really a process.
Usually by this time you have a pretty good idea what you want to do
and we are not quite there yet. We
are going to be moving pieces around here probably though the first two
weeks of the season.”
What might help the Eagles is Mason Studer, the division III district
player of the year in basketball, is out for baseball for the first time at
the high school level. It’s
hoped he can be a difference in terms of making things happen and his
leadership.
The Eagles start the season at Lucasville Valley, in southern Ohio,
on Saturday. On April 4 and 6,
they open “N10” play against Buckeye Central.
Gorbett says scrimmages and early season games are going to be
important to try and determine who gets on the field.
“We have gotten our first three scrimmages in.
I know they are calling for bad weather this weekend.
We will see if that actually happens.
Next week we have some tough non-league games.
We are going to need all of those to figure out who plays where.
We may be moving people around all year long.
When this person pitches, we have to move another person to cover
that position. Rotating a lot
more than I have in the past,” said Gorbett.
Gorbett believes this team can hit, but they haven’t developed that
consistency yet. “In
scrimmages, we have really been up and down.
There are times when we have looked good, make good swings and times
when we have just had bad at bats. I
told the team after the scrimmage (Tuesday), I believe we can be a solid
hitting team and the talent is there. A
lot of them I think are pressing, trying too hard.
I think once we get a couple of hits and it falls together, I think
that is an area where we could be a pretty solid team,” he said. Published 3/23/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
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