Coach Brad Ganor's varsity baseball program completed a successful weekend by splitting a doubleheader at Dublin Jerome High School on Saturday. Senior shortstop and captain Tyler Finkler helped fuel the offense and was golden on defense.
In winning three out of four games over Friday and Saturday, the Wildcats improved to 3-3 heading into a Tuesday match up with the always sound Massillon Jackson Polar Bears. The first pitch at Jackson will be 4:30.
Here is the varsity doubleheader story and a recap on the junior varsity's sweep in Dublin follows the varsity story. *See the note on the lacrosse team's successful Saturday after the baseball stories.
Dublin, Ohio - To describe this past week as a roller coaster of emotions for Saint Ignatius head baseball coach Brad Ganor, his staff and his players would be an understatement.
After starting the week with losses at Ashland, a Division I regional finalist last season, and at Amherst Steele, a program with regional-and-beyond aspirations this spring, Coach Ganor’s Wildcats boarded the bus and headed South on Friday.
And in this corner’s humble opinion, I think it is safe to say that those emotions are now on an upward spiral.
The Wildcats, after two eye-opening victories in Chillicothe on Friday (see the corner’s story from Friday night), made the short trip down the road to Dublin, Ohio on Saturday and came away with a split against the
always solid Celtics from Jerome High School. Both games ended in identical 4-3 scores, with Saint Ignatius prevailing in the opener.
“When you look at one week, Monday to today, Wednesday we weren’t sleeping because we didn’t know what was going to happen or where we were going to get our first win,” said Coach Ganor after Saturday’s twin bill
on the spacious and impressive Jerome campus. “And then yesterday (Friday), to play as well as we did, and in the first game today we battled and hung on to win it.
"Yesterday we fought back to win them," Coach Ganor continued. "But you can’t do it every game and you can’t expect the offense to do it every game. Once in a while, you need the pitching and defense to throw up a zero or a one spot. That’s what we do at Saint Ignatius and that’s what we should do at Saint Ignatius.”
While the offense had some huge moments on Friday, including a 13-run inning against the highly successful program from Grove City, there was enough clutch pitching and some timely defense from senior shortstop and captain Tyler Finkler to enable the Wildcats to run-rule Grove City and defeat Bishop Watterson by three runs.
In Saturday’s opening-game victory over Jerome, Finkler’s glove was again golden and the ‘Cats’ offense, which also had a Finkler flair, was opportunistic.
Saint Ignatius (3-3), which could see both Ashland and Amherst Steele in the postseason, jumped out to a three-run lead over the Celtics in the top of the first inning.
With one out, Finkler lined a single to right-center field and advanced to second on a pitch in the dirt. An infield hit by senior center fielder and captain Conor Hennessey put runners on first and third base, and Finkler came home on an ill-advised pick-off attempt.
An RBI single by junior right fielder and Miami of Ohio recruit Nick Toth and another error by the Celtics had the Wildcats sitting at 3-0.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the fourth, when Jerome’s senior first baseman Tom Coon led off and drove a 1-0 pitch over the fence in left field. Senior pitcher/first baseman Jason Johnson followed with a
base hit to right field, senior center fielder Cam Willms (correct) laid down a sacrifice bunt and a two-base throwing error cut Saint Ignatius’ lead to 3-2.
Finkler sparked the Wildcats’ fifth-inning response by sending a single through the left side and moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hennessey. With two outs, Finkler stole third and came around to score Saint Ignatius’ fourth run when the throw from the catcher went up the third-base line.
Jerome, which suffered its fourth one-run loss of the season, with three of those defeats coming in extra innings, made things a little tight in the bottom of the seventh.
However, after two consecutive one-out walks and an RBI single by senior catcher Kyle Lento made it a 4-3 game, junior right-hander Shane Skuhrovec came on in relief and picked up the save. However, I am sure Shane would have no problem with us giving Finkler half of the save.
After Lento’s run-scoring single put runners on first and second with one out, Finkler made a highlight-reel play that saw him come up with a smooth back-handed stop deep in the hole at short and, in one motion, fire to third base to force out the lead runner. Skuhrovec then got the final out on a fly ball to right field.
Senior left-hander Tom Rolle (1-0) made his first start of the season for the Wildcats, going five innings and throwing 75 pitches. Johnson threw 95 pitches for the Celtics.
JEROME 4, SAINT IGNATIUS 3: The Wildcats started fast in Game 2, with senior second baseman and captain Dan Rowbottom leading off the top of the first with a single and Finkler laying down a perfect bunt that he beat out for a base hit.
Saint Ignatius led, 2-0, entering the bottom of the first after junior left fielder Nick Fabian and Longo delivered RBI singles.
However, the Celtics answered with two runs in their half of the first, the second tally coming off a two-out, bases-loaded walk.
Jerome, which improved to 3-4, took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the second on a two-out RBI single by Johnson. The run was set up by a walk, a balk and another base on balls.
Saint Ignatius, trailing, 4-2, entering the top of the fifth, made it a one-run deficit on a double the opposite way by the left-handed hitting Rowbottom, a base hit by Finkler and a slow chopper to the left side off the
bat of Hennessey.
Hennessey also gave his team a final shot in the top of the seventh when, with two outs and nobody on base, he lined a sharp grounder off the second baseman’s glove and promptly stole second base.
However, Celtics senior pitcher/shortstop and Akron recruit Masashi Sakamoto, who threw 124 pitches in going the distance, got the final out on a close play at first base.
COACH TIM CLARK'S JUNIOR VARSITY IMPROVES TO 5-0 WITH A SWEEP OVER THE CELTICS, 9-4 AND 10-8.
In game one, Dylan Smolen went 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. He also drew two walks. Kurt Mantes was also 1-for-3 with two RBI and two walks, and Jake Kucia was 1-for-3, with an RBI, two runs and two free passes.
Mullen Socha pitched five innings for the victory, yielding four hits and two earned runs. Mullen struck out two and issued two walks.
In Game 2, Sam Fuller was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Socha had 2 hits in 5 at-bats and drove in three runs, and Nick Jackson was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Cool-hand Luke Diggs yielded just one hit and did not give up a run in five innings on the mound. He struck out six and walked two.
*CONGRATULATIONS GO OUT TO SAINT IGNATIUS' LACROSSE TEAM (3-0), WHICH TRAVELED TO PENNSYLVANIA ON SATURDAY AND CAME AWAY WITH TWO SOLID VICTORIES - 11-8 OVER HILL ACADEMY FROM CANADA AND 6-2 OVER SENECA VALLEY. HILL ACADEMY HAS A PROGRAM THAT IS RECOGNIZED AS BEING AMONG THE STRONGEST IN NORTH AMERICA.