Coldwater’s Mason Smith pitched four scoreless inning in relief, allowing just four hits to record the win. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Coldwater broke the game down to its simplest terms – good pitching and some timely hitting in the sixth – to beat St. Henry in a high school baseball clinic.
Coldwater, OH – If one were to do a program on how the game of baseball is to be played…you couldn’t do much better than present the film of Thursday’s MAC matchup between Coldwater (9-1) and St. Henry (5-4).
Pitch well…limit the free bases (walks)…play pretty good defense…and get some timely hitting late when the game is on the line.
That’s exactly what Cory Klenke’s Cavaliers did to send the home crowd home happy in an 1 hour and 50 minutes with a 5-3 win over the rivals from down the road.
Mike Gast’s St. Henry Redskins nearly matched Coldwater, pitch for pitch, grabbing the early 2-0 lead in the second inning off Cavs starter Mason Welsch, scoring on back-to-back walks to start the inning, a sac bunt, and an RBI single by Austin Kunk.
Coldwater scored in its half of the second on a double by right fielder Mason Smith and a subsequent sacrifice fly ball by Brady Lefeld…2-1, St. Henry.
But Welsch wasn’t sharp again in the top of the third, giving up a third run on an infield error and an RBI double by the Redskins catcher, Drew Langenkamp – 3-1 St. Henry, and the end of the day on the mound for Welsch.
“Mason just didn’t have his ‘A’ game tonight, but we talk about how you need more than one pitcher to win in this league,” said Cory Klenke. “It was great the way Mason Smith came on in the fourth inning, threw strikes, didn’t give up any runs, and kept us in the ballgame.”
Not to get ahead of our story, but that’s exactly the move that Klenke made, replacing Welsch with Smith, playing in right field, and it turned out to be the difference in the ballgame.
St. Henry’s David Clune matched Mason Smith pitch for pitch threw five innings.
Smith would come on to pitch the final four innings with an impressive line, and an even more impressive demeanor on the mound. Calm and undeterred by a 3-1 deficit, he shut out St. Henry on just four hits, struck out three, and walked a pair.
He was impressive without the aid of an overpowering fastball, and for his confidence to pitch to contact and let the defenders behind him make plays. He was efficient, and to Klenke’s point, he gave his team a chance to come back and win a ballgame. Challenged by St. Henry base runners in the fourth and sixth, Smith coolly pitched his way out of both innings with a fly ball in the fourth and a strikeout in the sixth.
Coldwater cut the St. Henry lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth with an unearned run, setting up a dramatic finish in the final two innings.
And St. Henry pitcher David Clune was similarly impressive, and like Mason Smith, kept the Redskins in the lead through five innings by pitching to contact and relying on his defense. He struck out two, walked two, and allowed the Cavaliers just five hits for the game.
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But his pitch count and the stress of pitching five innings with just that one-run lead began to wear Clune down. And Coldwater quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth on a single by Karsyn Homan, a walk to Mason Welsch, and another single by Baylen Blockberger. A sac attempt scored Homan with the tying run. And with one out Brady Lefeld hit a ground ball that resulted in a dropped throw at home plate to force out Welsch, who scored as a result with the go-ahead run, Coldwater exiting the inning with a 5-3 lead.
The key moment in the inning was simply the fact that with Brady Lefeld at bat, it was imperative that he make contact and force St. Henry to make a play, and he did just that.
Brady Lefeld’s infield ground ball in the sixth scored teammate Mason Welsch with what proved to be the winning run.
“First it was important that those guys get on base in front of me,” Lefeld smiled. “It gave me the opportunity to hunt the fastball and hit a ball hard. Actually, I hit a curveball, but I put it in play. You do that and good things happen, I guess.”
And with the lead for the first time, Smith came back out for the top of the seventh and quickly retired the first two hitters before giving up a harmless single to right by Owen Zimmer. Undeterred he induced a ground ball to shortstop for the game’s final out.
As it turned out Mason Smith would rather pitch than talk, and simply shrugged over his ability to pitch patiently for three innings until his offense finally generated some run support for his effort.
“It felt good,” he said. “I knew the defense would make plays behind me, and that the offense would score some runs. I tried to push the score out of my head and just throw strikes.”
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Borrowing from teammate Brady Lefeld, he concluded, “Good things happen.”
To Klenke’s point, Smith proved that against a quality opponent there was that alternate pitcher that you need in high school baseball when your #1 is off his game.
St. Henry centerfielder Jared Nietfeld runs down this fly ball to the gap in the second inning.
“Ironically, Mason is our only non-football and non-basketball guy on the team,” smiled Klenke. “But he’s been a part of big games in the past, and I don’t see moments that are too big for him. He’s calm out there and he gave us the chance for that big inning in the sixth.”
Coldwater won it with 5 runs on 5 hits, and committed 2 errors.
St. Henry lost it with 3 runs on 7 hits, and committed 3 errors.
But even with five errors in the game, it was testimony to teams at every level of the game of how the game is to be played. Throw strikes…make plays…and make timely contact with runners on base. Coldwater did it. St. Henry didn’t.
Lou Brunswick and Brian Harlamert would have liked it.
“They’re looking down and smiling,” Cory Klenke agreed.
In fact, anyone who loves baseball…would have smiled!
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