Amanda-Clearcreek comes up short in district final loss to Fredericktown
LEWIS CENTER — Adjusting to an umpire’s strike zone can be a challenge for a pitcher at times, and that was certainly the case for Amanda-Clearcreek starter Trenton Hedges on Tuesday against Fredericktown.
Hedges seemed to be throwing quality pitches, and if they were missing, they weren’t missing by much, and Fredericktown’s batters caught on quick and began taking pitch after pitch, which resulted in a lot of walks.
It wasn’t the end-all in the Aces’ 5-1 Division III district final loss to the Freddies at Olentangy High School, but it still played a huge part in the outcome. It marked the second year in a row Fredericktown defeated the Aces in the district championship game. A year ago, the Freddies won 4-3.
“It was a different game, and you never know, umpires can change things,” Amanda-Clearcreek coach Travis Stone said. “The zone was so small, and we tried to make adjustments, but (Fredericktown) took until they got two strikes. You hate to get to a district championship that has external factors. I thought Trenton did well trying to adjust to it, but it completely changes your game plan as a pitcher. He had a lot of issues trying to find figure out where the strike zone was.”
On the other side, Fredericktown coach Ryan Hathaway said patience was key for his team.
“Coming in, we knew were facing a tough pitcher in Hedges, but I thought if we could put the ball in play and keep it out of the air that would be key for us,” Hathaway said. “It was a tight zone and I think we did a good job of adjusting to that and making him hit his spots. I just thought our guys did a really good job of being patient and getting a good pitch to hit was important for us.”
On the flip side, Fredericktown pitcher Luke Beam almost didn’t make it out of the first inning. The Aces had him on the ropes and sent seven batters to the plate in the first inning but were only able to score one run.
“After the first inning, we had guys in the bullpen getting ready to come in because we weren’t sure he was going to make it through because he threw more than 30 pitches in the first inning,” Hathaway said. “But he was able to settle in and I think getting some runs for him was big for him and us.”
After a doubled play in the first inning, Amanda-Clearcreek kept the inning alive when Peyton Cassley, who had two of the Aces’ four hits in the game, singled. Cade Young was then hit by a pitch, and Kansas Rhymer, who had the Aces’ other two hits, singled home a run. Beam walked the next batter to load the bases, but he quickly ended the threat by striking the next batter out.
As it turned out, the Aces would only get one runner in scoring position the rest of the way.
Fredericktown was able to answer in the bottom half of the first inning by plating three runs. They scored on a sacrifice fly and Hedges walked in two batters with the bases loaded. Two errors and a walk led to another run in the second inning to give the Freddies a 4-1 lead, and they would add one more run in the fourth inning.
Cassley relieved Hedges in the fifth inning and the two pitchers combined to walk 10 batters, with Hedges walking six.
For the second year in a row, it was a tough way for the Aces to bow out, but their nine seniors finish their careers with a lot of accomplishments.
“I am proud of the way the seniors competed from the beginning to the end,” Stone said. “These seniors definitely set a new standard as far as baseball goes. Making it to the district championship game two years in a row, finishing second in the league this year and winning sectional titles two years in row. There were a lot of good things that they did, and you would be hard-pressed to go back to the beginning of Amanda-Clearcreek baseball and say there has been a better team than this year’s team.”
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Amanda-Clearcreek comes up short in district final loss to Fredericktown
