'I just breathe,' Caleb Gartner can breathe easy after tossing gem for Field baseball

STREETSBORO — The last time he pitched prior to Tuesday, Caleb Gartner's start began with dominance and ended with frustration as he couldn't get out of the fifth.

In between starts, Field's senior ace and pitching coach Keith Bowers worked on controlling Gartner's breathing as a way of getting through tough innings.

On Tuesday, Gartner could breathe easy as he tossed a complete game in Field's 4-1 victory over host Streetsboro.

"I just breathe," Gartner said. "I reach back and I trust my mechanics."

That faith was certainly tested Tuesday against a capable Rockets team led by their own ace: Noah Newman.

Gartner had plenty of chances to try out those breathing techniques as Streetsboro put a runner in scoring position in each of the first three innings and got someone on base in all seven of its turns at-bat.

Over and over, perhaps aided by those bullpen moments with Bowers, the Falcons senior was composed in the game's tensest moments, ultimately allowing a single run in his seven innings.

"I just needed to understand that I am who I am and I can pitch at the end of the day," Gartner said. "So I trust myself, trust my teammates behind me and at the end of the day throw strikes."

Caleb Gartner relishes challenges

Reflecting on Gartner's five-hitter, Joe Peterson actually turned back to a moment before Tuesday's contest.

Gartner, the longtime Field head coach noted, was originally slated to pitch Monday at his home ballpark before the game was rained out. It would have been understandable, per Peterson, had Gartner wanted to hold on to the opportunity to pitch at home, with that Monday game against Streetsboro pushed to Wednesday. Moreover, the weather was supposed to be much better Wednesday (60s and sunny) than Tuesday (40s and partly cloudy).

Pitching Tuesday also meant Gartner would likely have to go against Newman.

The senior, coming off Cloverleaf's six-run top of the fifth eight days prior, didn't blink.

"[He said], 'Hey, I want the ball, I want to go first,'" Peterson said. "We thought that we were going to get Newman, which that's a tough task, a tall order."

Gartner said he relished the chance to pitch Tuesday.

And he figured the cold would work in his favor.

"I think in the colder weather, I have an advantage because I know myself and when it's colder, the bats aren't popping as much," Gartner said. "I mean the wind was whipping out to right field today, but I think I really had the competitive advantage just working that fastball inside, not letting them get extended."

As for going against Newman, well, that's the life of an ace.

Last year, Gartner, who had a stellar junior season for the Falcons (5-1, 1.39 ERA, 57 K, 8 BB in 35 1/3 IP), could watch Griffin Ailes go to work against the opposition's aces.

This year, that's his job, one he wasn't backing down from Tuesday.

"You've got to go from just being that guy and watching a guy like Ailes battle and be tough and then you're getting their two as well, and then [now] leading up and you got everybody basically on your back saying, 'Hey, we need you to shove,'" Peterson said. "That's a tough adjustment, I mean it really is, even if it is a senior and even if it is somebody that's got as good stuff as he does. That's a tough adjustment."

Caleb Gartner shakes off spotty change-up to excel

On Tuesday, Gartner wasn't just adjusting to the life of an ace.

Or dealing with an early parade of Streetsboro baserunners.

The senior also dealt with the fact his favorite strikeout pitch wasn't working for him.

"Usually, my go-to strikeout pitch is that change-up away," Gartner said. "Today in warm-ups, it wasn't feeling good. It's always been my pitch, [but] I mean I've got three pitches for a reason so I trusted the other two and mixed in the change-up when I could just to let them know that I still had it."

At times, Gartner turned to his heater, sending it up in the zone to strike out back-to-back batters with a runner on second in the bottom of the second.

At other times, the southpaw turned to his curveball, burying it under the swing path of right-handed hitters, including a perfectly-located pitch for his ninth and final strikeout to end the bottom of the sixth.

"I thought his curveball was working tremendously today because his best pitch is his change-up," Peterson said. "I mean his change-up is one of the best I've seen in my years, but his curveball was really working well today and he was throwing it for a strike, so breaking that in on the inside half was huge, too."

On Tuesday, nothing was going to get Gartner off the mound.

Not back-to-back hits in the first.

Or two more hits in the third.

Or an error and a walk to start the sixth.

Or the fact that he had tossed 107 pitches entering the seventh.

Gartner was determined to finish the job.

"I've got to approach every game like it's my last game pitching," Gartner said. "I'm seeing their best guy every single series on Monday, in this case Tuesday because of the rain-out, but I'm seeing their best guy and I'm going to approach it like it's my last time ever playing baseball and I'm going to go out there, have fun and trust myself."

Field captures third straight win since Cloverleaf sweep

Gartner wasn't the only Field player picking himself off the ground following the Cloverleaf series.

The day after Gartner's tough fifth, the Falcons suffered an 11-1 loss to the Colts.

A few days later, Field rebounded with an 8-4 win over rival Mogadore, then topped Northwest a day later.

On Tuesday, the Falcons took control with a three-run top of the second, as Gartner took an outside pitch up the middle, left fielder Caden Kolesar reached on a chopper up the third-base line and shortstop Grady Eader fouled off a couple of two-strike pitches before singling to load the bases with no outs.

From there, Field plated a run apiece on second baseman Logan Lonzrick's bases-loaded walk, a bloop into right by centerfielder Garit Greene and a wild pitch.

There was nothing flashy about that top of the second.

Nor was there anything particularly flashy about the top of the fourth, when the Falcons added an insurance run as catcher Carter Little simply delivered an RBI single up the middle.

It wasn't flashy.

It was just good baseball for a Field team that has bounced back from adversity to win three straight.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Caleb Gartner can breathe easy after tossing gem for Field baseball