Zane Trace's inability to generate offense costs them the D3 district championship

CHILLICOTHE —Despite all of the excitement for their chance to compete for the Division III district championship, the Zane Trace Pioneers fell just short against the Minford Falcons, 5-3.

After an uncharacteristically poor hitting night, where the team registered only three hits, Pioneers' coach, Ron Allen, admitted that he was not sure what had changed in his team's offense throughout their tournament run.

"Of course in the tournament, you are going to face better pitching," Allen said. "We just have not been hitting the ball like we were capable of in these last two games. I don't know if that has something to do with not playing as much once you hit tournament time or what."

The game started well enough for the Pioneers who scored the game's first run.

After a single by Landen Jarell and Ben Nichols, Zane Trace already had two runners in scoring position.

Their pitcher, Trey Edler took advantage of that and used a sac-fly to bring home Jarrell for the game's first score.

When they reached the bottom of the third inning, they had a chance to rack up even more runs with the bases loaded and no outs against them.

Unfortunately, the team managed to get just one more run, after an RBI single by Austen Ison.

While they still held the lead, Coach Allen said that he knew that sequence would come back to bite them.

"It gave them momentum," Allen said. "We had a chance to knock them out. It could have easily been a 6-1 or 7-1 one game, but we did not take advantage of it."

His assumption was correct because the Falcons scored their first run of the game in the next inning.

With two runners on base, Branson Alley attempted a bunt and while the Pioneers were focused on getting him out at first base, it allowed Mason Book to reach home from third base.

It did not take long for Zane Trace to respond though, as they scored their third and final run in the same inning.

After their first two batters were walked, Minford made a change at pitcher, where they substituted starting pitcher Noah Martin in favor of Levi Corriell.

The move proved helpful after they got two quick popouts with the next two batters. However, the Pioneers had two more batters walked, which again loaded the bases.

Aside from a run by Brooks Hodson on a passed ball, Zane Trace again could not capitalize on the favorable situation.

That inability was starting to fuel Minford's comeback efforts, which officially began in the sixth inning.

After leading off the inning with a triple, Book was brought home after an RBI double by Martin.

Martin then made his way home after scoring on a passed ball, which tied the game at three runs apiece.

Unable to score runs in the sixth inning to retake the lead, the momentum continued to shift in the Falcons' favor.

That sentiment proved to be true after they opened the seventh inning with a single.

After that hit, Coach Allen made the decision to pull his starting pitcher, Trey Edler in favor of Rece Allen.

In Edler's six innings at the mound, he allowed eight hits, three earned runs, and struck out two batters.

Facing a new pitcher, the Falcons' still managed to have two runners in scoring position, despite facing two outs against them.

They were able to begin to turn them into runs after Carson Cronin reached home plate after an error by the Pioneers. On the next play, Adam Crank scored another run for Minford after a balk by the defense.

After Zane Trace managed to get one final out, they had their chance to spoil Minford's district championship chances, or at least fight long enough to take the game to extra innings.

Unfortunately, neither of those things happened and after solid defense from Minford, their memorable season had come to an end.

Though the team was dissatisfied by being named district runner-ups, Coach Allen still made a point to acknowledge his seniors Ben Nichols, Carter Hill, Jagger Stauffer, Trey Edler, and Austin Wingo, who helped them to make it as far as they did this season.

"We went 11-17 last year and we were able to bring most of our guys back," Allen said. "Our seniors really took control of the team as far as rallying everyone and helping us turn things around. We had a great year, going 24-4."

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: The Pioneers' offensive struggles lead to a tournament loss to Minford