High School Roundup (Apr. 10): Cloverleaf baseball rallies past undefeated Field
BRIMFIELD TWP. — Few sports change directions as quickly as baseball.
For four innings, Cloverleaf couldn't get anything going against a Field team that hadn't lost a game all season. Entering the fifth, the Colts had amassed just 14 plate appearances, recording a single hit and getting just two runners on base.
But everything changed in the fifth, when Cloverleaf sent 12 batters to the plate, scoring six runs on five walks, three singles and an error. Thanks to their fifth-inning explosion, the Colts snagged an 8-6 victory over the host Falcons, taking over first place in the Metro Athletic Conference.
"We always talk to our guys about making adjustments, whether that's between games or in-game," Cloverleaf coach Erik Pinkerman said. "I thought today we did a really good job making in-game adjustments."
Colts shortstop Griffin Petrocci began the top of the fifth by roping the first pitch of the inning, a low offering, into left for a leadoff single. Cloverleaf (4-3, 3-0) followed by drawing three straight walks, which led to Field pulling starting pitcher Caleb Gartner, who had been masterful through four innings.
After the third walk plated the Colts' first run, a bases-loaded error brought the visitors within 3-2.
Field finally recorded the first out on an infield fly, but Cloverleaf centerfielder Connor Hitchcock worked his way back from a 1-2 count to draw a bases-loaded and game-tying walk.
Left fielder Branson Harding then chopped the go-ahead single between third and short, and designated hitter Jacob Meckley tacked on a liner to left to push Cloverleaf's lead to 5-3. One last bases-loaded walk made it 6-3, and the Colts added two more runs in the seventh, with Petrocci again sparking a rally with a single and Mark Stewart delivering the key blow, lining an 0-2 pitch over the third baseman for an RBI single.
'We always just talk about pass it on to the next guy," Pinkerman said. "You've heard it before, but that's our philosophy. Have competitive at-bats, get a good pitch to hit, hit it hard and let the next guy do the rest of the work, so I'm really proud of our guys for executing."
All of those insurance runs came in handy when the Falcons sent nine batters to the plate in the seventh on three walks, two singles and an error. Freshman Caden Kolesar lined an outside pitch up the middle to make it 8-4 and back-to-back bases-loaded walks brought Field within 8-6 before Hitchcock rebounded with a full count heater up and in to draw a swing and a miss to end the game.
Kolesar was a highlight for the Falcons, notching singles in each of his final three at-bats, as was sophomore Grady Eader, who blasted his first career homer over the left-field fence to give his team a 3-0 lead in the second.
From there, Cloverleaf pitchers Rhett McMullen, who tossed the first five innings, and Hitchcock kept Field off the board, combining to record four scoreless innings in a row until the seventh.
"It would be really easy to kind of throw in the towel on today after you give up a two-run home run in the second inning and you're down 3-0 to the home team, but we play seven innings here," Pinkerman said. "Our boys, not once did they ever let up, did they lose focus. They just kept making adjustments and executing."
Roosevelt 2, Highland 1
Logan Poole (5 IP, 4 H, ER, 9 K, 3 BB) delivered a strong performance on the mound to lift the Rough Riders to 6-1 (2-1 Suburban American). Ryan Sanders followed Poole with two scoreless innings for the save.
Teddy Maccarone went 2-for-2 at the plate, knocking in both Roosevelt runs in the second.
Mikey Haney III had the only other hit for the Rough Riders against Ohio State commit Hunter Winston (6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 8 K, 3 BB), who delivered a gem of his own for the Hornets.
Garfield 6, Champion 2
Eric Geddes earned a complete-game victory for the G-Men, who won despite notching just four hits. Geddes struck out 11 over seven innings, scattering two runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk.
The top four spots in the lineup did most of the damage for Garfield offensively as Brandyn Bogucki, Jackson Sommer, Eric Geddes and Vinnie Grandizio combined for three of the team's four hits and five of its six runs.
Aurora 3, Tallmadge 2
The Greenmen captured a pitchers' duel with a run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Ben Schecterman allowed a single run and struck out eight in six innings for Aurora, while Zach Williams surrendered one run and recorded six strikeouts in four innings.
Streetsboro 13, Ravenna 0
Noah Newman tossed another gem (5 IP, H, 11 K, 2 BB) and the Rockets gave him plenty of support with a 10-run bottom of the second.
Streetsboro's Scott Wilson went 2-for-2 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs.
Lake Center 10, Southeast 1
The Pirates ran into a red-hot hurler in Tigers ace Dylan Maninga, who allowed a single run over six innings of work. Maninga also tripled and knocked in two runs for LCC.
Logan West, Ian Carter, Nate Muncy, Evan Riffle and Logan Lavigna had a hit apiece for Southeast, with Riffle's going for two bases.
Pymatuning Valley 8, Windham 7
Up three runs, the Bombers dropped a heartbreaker when the Lakers scored a run in the fifth and three in the sixth.
Windham fell despite Dylan McCune racking up three hits and two stolen bases.
Lucas Churchill, Chase Eye and Brian King also recorded multiple hits for the Bombers.
Springfield 4, Waterloo 3
The Vikings' late rally from a three-run deficit came up just short.
Aric May (3-for-4) and Trevor Simons (2-for-3) each had multiple hits for Waterloo.
Other area scores:
Rootstown 12 - Aquinas 5
Box scores:
STREETSBORO 13, RAVENNA 0
Ravenna - 000 - 00 — 0 - 1 - 4
Streetsboro - 1(10)2 - 0X — 13 - 8 - 1
Josyln, Brazelton (2) and Fuller; Newman and Craft, Setters (5). W: Newman. L: Josyln. Notes: Streetsboro: Newman double, 3 RBI; Wilson 2 doubles, 2 runs, 2 RBI.
KENT ROOSEVELT 2, HIGHLAND 1
Kent Roosevelt - 020 - 000 - 0 — 2 - 3 - 0
Highland - 001 - 000 - 0 — 1 - 6 - 0
Poole, Sanders (6) and Schromm; Winston, Cope (7) and Ganda. W: Poole, 2-1. L: Winston. Sv: Sanders (3). Records: Kent Roosevelt 6-1, 2-1. Notes: Kent Roosevelt: Poole 9 strikeouts. Highland: Winston 8 strikeouts.
CLOVERLEAF 8, FIELD 6
Cloverleaf - 000 - 060 - 2 — 8 - 10 - 1
Field - 120 - 000 - 3 — 6 - 9 - 1
Batteries: McMullen, Hitchcock (6) and Biskup. Gartner, Smith (5), Kolesar (6) and Little. W: McMullen. L: Gartner. Records: Cloverleaf 4-3 (3-0), Field 6-1 (3-1).
Softball
Mogadore 5, Southeast 0
Katie Gardner tossed a one-hit shutout for the Wildcats, striking out 10.
Olivia Kidd, Lily Hotchkiss and Gardner led Mogadore with two hits apiece.
Field 11, Coventry 2
After the Comets scored twice in the bottom of the first, Falcons ace Maddie Burge shut out their dangerous lineup the rest of the way for a key Metro Athletic Conference victory.
Olivia Dyer doubled twice for Field (3-2, 2-1), which also got a single and a double apiece from Delilah Rahe, Lilli Sutkowy and Averi Weis.
Springfield 19, Ravenna 6
Down 5-0 entering the bottom of the second, the Ravens showed plenty of fight, scoring three in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth to get within one (7-6) before the Spartans pulled away with 12 unanswered runs.
Madison Artz, Shyanna Dillbeck and Mallory Sterba had two hits apiece to lead Ravenna.
Rootstown 17, Lake Center 1
Shelbie Krieger tossed a two-hitter, allowing one unearned run while striking out 16.
Jessica Hahn doubled twice, singled and walked twice for the Rovers. Krieger also had three hits, and Kaitlyn Hammerschmidt and Abby White each added multiple hits for the Rovers.
Other area scores:
Woodridge 6 - Streetsboro 5
Champion 11 - Garfield 0
Springfield 13 - Waterloo 0
Pymatuning Valley 10 - Windham 0
Tallmadge 32 - Roosevelt 7
Box scores:
MOGADORE 5, SOUTHEAST 0
Southeast - 000 - 000 - 0 — 0 - 1 - 1
Mogadore - 130 - 010 - X — 5 - 10 - 1
Bragg and Stephens; Gardner and Kidd. W: Gardner. L: Bragg. Notes: Mogadore: Hotchkiss 2-for-4, run, 2 RBI; Kidd single, double, RBI; Gardner 2-for-4, run, 10 strikeouts.
FIELD 11, COVENTRY 2
Field - 003 - 210 - 4 — 11 - 14 - 0
Coventry - 200 - 000 - 0 — 2 - 4 - 2
Burge and Evans; Jackson, Burkhart (5) and Monroe. W: Burge. L: Jackson. HR: Coventry: Jackson. Records: Field 3-2, 2-1; Coventry 6-3, 2-1.
SPRINGFIELD 19, RAVENNA 6
Springfield - 142 - 062 - 4 — 19 - 19 - 7
Ravenna - 031 - 200 - 0 — 6 - 9 - 7
Klein and Jones; Artz, Holmes (6) and Decker. W: Klein. L: Artz. HR: Springfield: D.Ruggiero 2. Records: Ravenna 1-5, 0-4. Notes: Springfield: Crytzer 4-for-5, 5 runs; B.Ruggiero 3 singles, 3 runs; Hochstetler 3-for-5, RBI, 3 runs; Stokes 2 singles, 3 RBI. Ravenna: Artz 2-for-4, run.
WOODRIDGE 6, STREETSBORO 5
Woodridge - 100 - 102 - 2 — 6 - 13 - 5
Streetsboro - 111 - 020 - 0 — 5 - 6 - 4
No other details were provided.
TALLMADGE 32, KENT ROOSEVELT 7
Tallmadge - 842 - 8(10) — 32 - 20 - 3
Kent Roosevelt - 300 - 40 — 7 - 6 - 14
No other details were provided.
Boys Tennis
Coventry 3, Field 2
Singles — 1. Vasich (Cov) def. Bedont 6-1, 6-0; 2. Naugle (Cov) def. Simmons 6-0, 6-0; 3. Schrader (F) def. Xie 6-2, 7-5. Doubles — 1. Tosenberger/Koch (F) def. Morrison/Lamp 6-1, 6-2. 2. Traro/Wei (Cov) def. Carpenter/Hudson 6-1, 6-2.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: High School Roundup (Apr. 10): Cloverleaf baseball tops Field
