Vande Holser lays down the perfect bunt, a double-suicide squeeze that helped the Dawgs pull away from the Bears with a four-run third inning. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Gapen)
A two-RBI suicide squeeze by Vande Holser ignited a four run third inning for Grove City, which recorded a statement win in a nonleague matchup between Central District big-school powers.
Delaware, OH – With coach Ryan Alexander constantly barking out three-number signals to Grove City batters and base runners from his box behind third base, opponents can only wonder what he has up his sleeve.
“Run, run, run, run, run,” Greyhounds senior pitcher Luke Harper said. “That’s how we like to play. Everything you saw out there today, we’ve done it before. That doesn’t make it any less exciting, though.”
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The key sequence that jump-started a four-run third inning in Grove City’s 8-2 win over host Olentangy Thursday featured something even the most grizzled baseball observers may have never witnessed: A two-RBI suicide squeeze by Vande Holser. A white-tailed eagle that soared over Berlin’s baseball and softball complex much of the day was a tough act to follow but Holser’s squeeze also was a sight to behold.
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Back-to-back leadoff walks to Carson Stickley and Logan Highley and a passed ball in between put the Greyhounds in business. Gavin Lawler doubled off the center field fence, bringing home Stickley and leaving runners at second and third.
The left-handed hitting Holser got his marching orders, then on the first pitch dropped an exquisite suicide squeeze between the mound and first base. Berlin pitcher Carter Elliott threw to first for the out, but by that time Highley and Lawler already had scored.
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Mason Quatman saw plenty of action at home plate from the Dawgs, including this tag for an out on Grove City’s Nate Bartunek.
“We run that sort of play a lot and bunting is one of my specialties so I was in a good spot there,” Holser said. “Coach told me when I was walking to the plate, ‘Just get it down’ and I did. That’s just an electric moment to pull off a double squeeze and watch both guys score. That was a big momentum boost for sure but the guys have to get on base for me to unlock my game and they did a great job of that today.”
The perfectly executed double squeeze left Alexander grinning from ear to ear.
“That was a really a big moment in the game,” he said. “That pushed the lead from 2-1 to 4-1 and then we tacked on another one. Our game plan is always to be aggressive on the bases. Our guys like to run and, fortunately, we had quality at-bats all day to make that possible.”
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Incidentally, the fourth run of the third came when Harper intentionally got himself into a rundown “attempting” to steal second and prolonged it enough for Alex Elliott to scamper home with the fifth run. The old pickle play also is a fixture in the Greyhounds’ playbook.
Berlin’s Carter Elliott delivers a pitch during an 8-2 loss to Grove City.
“That two-RBI squeeze was a credit to coach Alexander and the way they play baseball,” Berlin coach Mike Weaver said. “We’d like to play that way but Ryan has it mastered. You’ve got to play a clean game to beat Grove City and we didn’t do that. The walks always come back to haunt you. We got plenty of traffic on the bases but couldn’t deliver the big hits, and they did.”
Bears pitchers walked six batters and hit two others and many of the free passes came to haunt them.
Stickley smoked a two-RBI double to the center field fence in the sixth to break things wide open and give the Greyhounds (14-7) a win over the Bears (14-5) in a matchup of legitimate Division I district championship contenders. Berlin is seeded third and Grove City sixth in the upcoming tournament. With the Ohio High School Athletic Association expanding from four to seven divisions, the Central District now will send six champions to regional play.
Berlin, state semifinalist in 2024, already has clinched its second straight Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division title. Grove City, which reached the state title game in 2022, also has sewed up a third consecutive OCC Ohio crown.
Connor Patridge seals the deal in relief against the Bears. Both teams now look toward tournament play.
Elliott and Harper each collected three hits for the Greyhounds while Stickley and Lawler reached base three times. In addition to running his pitching record to 6-2 with a workmanlike effort in 5 2/3 innings, Harper got Grove City on the board in the second with an RBI single. He worked an 0-2 count to full then, to the delight of his chanting teammates, fouled off four consecutive pitches before delivering.
“We gave up a lot of pitches at Gahanna (in a 6-0 loss Tuesday),” Alexander said. “That kind of left a bitter test in our mouths. These were the best swings we’ve put together in a long time today. We were locked in and fought up there against a really good pitcher and one of the elite teams around. It came at a good time with the tournament coming up.”
Jack Showalter and Lucas Patrick had two hits apiece for Berlin, which came in ranked sixth in the MaxPreps state power poll and 16th by the state coaches.
Berlin returned only three starters, plus three pitchers from the 28-4 regional champion squad but Weaver was confident the Bears would be an elite team once again. His staff fancied a 1.89 ERA entering yesterday.
“While we knew we would look different offensively, we had four good pitchers coming back to build around and a lot of unsung kids who were part of that run last year,” he said. “In spite of us playing probably our second worst game of the season today, I’m really pleased with the way we’ve played this spring and we have high hopes for what awaits us.”
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