Wapakoneta Baseball Knocked-Off Late in PBR Spring Classic
WAPAKONETA- After an hour rain delay, the Wapakoneta Baseball squad hosted Stow-Munroe Falls in game two of the Prep Baseball Ohio Spring Classic kick-off showcase.
Over seven scoreless innings, Wapakoneta left 11 runners on base including three in the second and two in the fourth and seventh innings. In the final inning, with Miami (OH) signee Taylor Echols on the mound, Stow-Munroe’s Michael Romano doubled and was brought in by freshman Kyle Boozer on an RBI single to right field in the next at bat. The Redskins had the opportunity to tie the game in the final frame, however, Grant Jolly was gunned out after a hit by Kaden Moore. Drew Bailey hit into a fielder's choice to end the game and the Bulldogs won their first game of the season by a slim 1-0 score. “It was an aggressive play,” said Wapakoneta Head Coach Jason Brandt of the play at home. “They had to make the throw and hats off to them, they made a throw. Whether there was a stop sign or not, it doesn't matter. We need to score and that's the bottom line.”
“11 runners left on base against the same kind of pitchers that we've seen all week. Our approach was not really good today. We got to man up and make a play defensively, and with bases loaded, nobody out, we just got to man up and put a ball in play,” stated Brandt. “Hats off to their pitchers. They made the pitches they needed to make to get us out.”
Stow-Munroe’s Jake Harrington started on the hill and gave up two hits and zero runs over two innings, while striking out none and walking two. Four relievers came in later in the game and the Bulldog pitchers combined for six strikeouts and three hits allowed. Joey Lehner, Romano, and Boozer each collected one hit for Stow-Munroe.
“I think we'll see moving forward what we got out of this…like what we're made of,” voiced Brandt. “Are we able to come through and do this in the future and get the win? These guys have played in a lot of close games over the years and I have the utmost confidence in them that they'll be just fine,” added Brandt.
With the loss, Wapakoneta evened out at 2-2 (0-0 in WBL) and will look to break their two-game losing streak on Monday when they travel to Minster (3-0) for another non-conference game. Stow-Munroe improved to 1-5 and will look to win another when they welcome Wadsworth (0-1-1) on Tuesday for their league opener.