Varsity Baseball Earns First Win of Season
The Strongsville High School Varsity Baseball Team made a statement loud and clear that they shouldn’t be written off just yet. After three setbacks to Mayfieldon Thursday, and Ohio and Indiana’s top teams Moeller and Noblesville on Saturday, there was something to be proved against conference foe Elyria.
“We said that this was a statement game. I hate to make one game bigger than any other but after the three teams we played last week it’s time to get down to business. We know we have the toughest schedule in Ohio but it was important to come out against a good team and see what we were made of,” said head coach Josh Sorge.
Elyria put five on the board against Strongsville starter Mike Wovna in the first. SHS answered with four in their half of the first. “I thought that was really important, the fact that we answered and gave Mike a chance to go back out there and keep the game close,” said pitching coach Jason Frederick.
Elyria scored two and one runs respectively in the next two innings but the Mustangs never backed down. “We kept throwing punches,” said assistant coach Tim Spatz. “We made it a one-run game going into the fourth.”
In the bottom of the fourth, the Mustangs poured it on. Ten runs were scored before the inning came to a close to put the game at 17-8.
“This team is really figuring out what it means to be a good teammate. We had guys picking each other up all night. The majority of our runs tonight came with two outs, we capitalized on mistakes, and we stayed with a good approach at the plate. It’s nice to see this early in the season,” said Sorge.
Sophomore LHP Connor Ryan entered the game in the fourth behind 8-7 but was lights out for the Mustangs. “Connor has been nothing but superb his last three outings. He throws strike one and goes to work,” said Frederick.
“We had a lot of guys pick each other up. Brennan Singleton was scratched from the starting lineup because of a sickness and senior Scott McEvoy stepped in and had a 4-4 day. Jeff Hajdin and Erik Bokar had some terrific at bats with two strikes, Nate Langhals has made some good adjustments at the plate, and all in all, with the exception of spotting them five in the first, we played a pretty complete game from the first inning on,” said Sorge.
Strongsville will be back in action Wednesday at Elyria at 4:30.
JV Mustangs Improve to 2-0 Behind Pitching and Defense
Fine gets his first win with 4 scoreless innings of relief
Elyria, Ohio
Pitching and defense has been stressed since February inside the walls of Strongsville High School. Tuesday afternoon, the lessons learned inside were applied outside as Strongsville’s Junior Varsity baseball team rode pitching, defense, and timely hitting to a 7-3 come-from-behind victory at Elyria’s Ely Stadium. The Mustangs (2-0, 1-0 Northeast Ohio Conference) overcame an early 3-1 deficit by continuing to battle at the plate and on the mound.
While there were many contributors to the victory, sophomore right hander Jeremy Fine (1-0) was at center stage. Coming out of the bullpen after Strongsville tied the game at 3 in the top of the 4th on a Brian Genco RBI double, Fine held the Pioneers scoreless on just one base hit over the final four frames. “Without question, Jeremy is our toughest and most versatile pitcher right now,” Manager Doug Cicerchi said. “It’s very fortunate when you have a guy who can both come out of the pen and start a game and you know you’re going to get a strike-thrower who will compete. Jeremy has done everything we’ve asked so far.”
Fine’s four innings came after starter Dan Regrut battled through three innings. After allowing 3 runs in the first, Regrut worked himself in and out of trouble in the 2nd and 3rd innings to keep the game within striking distance. Assistant Coach Rob Pace commented, “Dan struggled early but found a way to get us into the middle innings with a chance to win. He competed without his best stuff and kept us in the ballgame. Then we got down to basics with small ball and good defense to pull out the win.”
The small ball Pace talked about came in the 7th inning. With the Mustangs clinging to a 4-3 lead, Nick DePalma led off with a bunt single past the pitcher. After an Aaron Caputo single, DePalma and Caputo executed a double steal with nobody out. Derek Wedel was intentionally walked and Dan Stewart hit into an RBI fielder’s choice to increase the lead to 5-3. An Elyria failed pickoff attempt made it 6-3, and a suicide squeeze by Pat McEvoy finished the scoring.
Strongsville will close the two game series with Elyria Wednesday April 7 at Strongsville High School. Game time is set for 4:30 with Austin Pritchard on the mound for the Mustangs.
SHS Drops Two in Cincy to go 0-3 First Week of 2010 Campaign
Although Strongsville High School seems to be improving each game, they dropped both games of a double-header at Blue Ash Sports Complex, home of the Moeller Crusaders.
Strongsville (0-3) faced the defending DI state champions for their first test of the afternoon. After going up 2-0 in the second, Moeller answered with seven runs in their half of the inning. "That was obviously a big inning we couldn't stay out of," said Josh Sorge, SHS head coach. "After we put two up on the board in our half we go out and walk the leadoff hitter then later kick a routine ball in the infield. That's a recipe for a big inning. Our guys know that, we should see it coming, and be mentally tough enough to stop the bleeding," added Sorge.
The Crusaders had six hits in the second inning alone. However, Strongsville battled back and had the game in reach in the seventh with the go-ahead run at first. "We swung it well to get ourselves back in the game. I think we did a good job of throwing punches each inning," said Sorge. "But, when you spot a team like Moeller a bunch of runs early I'm not sure who will come back on them."
Pitching coach Jason Frederick was optimistic about the pitching staff and its adjustments from the loss at Mayfield. "The kids kept it down much better today. Mike Wovna (senior) threw some good pitches down in the zone when he needed to but walked too many guys. Connor Ryan (sophomore) was fairly impressive because he showed he could work back and forth with his fastball and off-speed command. He got ahead of most of his hitters and went after all the lefties. If he continues to do that he'll be competing for starts," said Frederick.
In the nightcap, Strongsville faced perennial Indiana-power Noblesville. "That's probably the most solid team we'll see this year," said Sorge. "I really liked how they compete and more importantly, how they make you pay for mistakes. They squared up balls up in the zone, they capitalized on any miscues we had, they were good," said Sorge.
The Mustang lineup and pitching is still a work in progress. "Some guys shined today," said assistant coach Tim Spatz. "Nate Langhals and Connor Ryan both threw extremely well. We saw a lot from (Jeff) Hajdin today too. He made some things happen and created some offense for us. It's still early so we're still looking for that right combination of guys."
"We told our guys after the game that they're one play away from arguably the best team in Ohio and the best team in Indiana. But, we need to start winning games like this if we want to be where we think we should be," said Sorge.
The Mustangs will be back in action Tuesday at home to begin divisonal play in the NOC against Elyria (5-0). First pitch is 4:30pm.
Strongsville Dugout Club Annouces 2010 Summer camps
View the brochure here.