Jonathan Alder’s Grant Horne shuffles and fires to first to complete the game-ending double-play against Bishop Watterson. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Backed by seven walks, the Pioneers beat the Eagles 7-3 in a non-league matchup of top-seeded district title contenders.
Plain City, OH – The Jonathan Alder baseball team has lost just one game this spring, but even being the state’s top-ranked team in Division IV hasn’t kept it from going through a rough moment or two at the plate with the regular season winding down.
“I’m going to be honest with you: The last couple games, we haven’t been swinging the bat real well and haven’t come up in the clutch like we did earlier in the season,” coach Craig Kyle said. “That was kind of concerning as we’re getting ready to go against our next three opponents and with the tournament coming up.”
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The Pioneers know their biggest challenges likely are yet to come this spring as they look to make it back to the state tournament for the first time since 2014, but the plate discipline they showed while drawing seven walks during a 7-3 win Saturday at home over Watterson goes a long way toward alleviating those concerns.
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Like Jonathan Alder, the Eagles – who have moved from Division II to III this spring with the OHSAA’s expansion from four to seven divisions – are the top seed for their respective district tournament.
The postseason won’t begin until May 24 for the Pioneers, but the 21-1 record they’ve produced is proof that Kyle might have one of his best teams in his 16 seasons as coach.
“You just want to take good at bats always, and don’t try to do too much,” senior second baseman Grant Horne said. “That’s our main goal. It feels good. Obviously, we still have work to do, and nothing’s given, but we’re looking good for the tournament.”
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Caden Mangini attempts to score but gets tagged out as he collides with Alder catcher Jace Schrock.
Horne was in the middle of the action throughout against Watterson for the Pioneers, who were regional runners-up a year ago and whose only loss this spring was 3-1 on May 10 to undefeated Division III powerhouse Defiance.
He doubled and scored in the first inning, produced a sacrifice bunt in the third inning, walked and scored in the fifth and reached on a bunt single in the sixth. Horne even started a game-ending double play in the seventh after Watterson got two runners on.
“It’s just about playing the game, knowing who’s at third, knowing what kind of athlete you’ve got there and the situation,” Horne said. “I’d say last year we kind of relied on talent more to win games. This year, we’ve had to plug away and fight more. Just as a team, we work together well.”
In the Jonathan Alder sixth, third baseman Silas Shoemaker walked and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by left fielder Garrett Bauer. Leadoff hitter and center fielder Cashton Wheeler then walked, and Horne’s bunt single loaded the bases. Senior shortstop Ashton Martin, who entered the game batting .550, and senior designated hitter Zach Gantz both produced RBI walks to produce the Pioneers’ final two runs.
Corey Taylor delivers a fast ball during a game against Bishop Watterson.
“We talk about count awareness and not helping the pitcher,” Kyle said. “I feel like so many high school hitters get themselves out swinging at bad pitches, so I thought our guys did a good job of count awareness and pitch recognition. … That’s team baseball, and I guess that’s Jonathan Alder baseball.”
Jonathan Alder scored three times in the fifth and two in the sixth in support of sophomore starting pitcher Corey Taylor, who has proven to be a strong complement to Martin and senior Tyler Barton on the mound. Both Martin and Barton are 5-0 and Taylor is now 5-1 after pitching 4 1/3 innings against the Eagles.
Taylor, who also gained what he and coach Kyle hope was a big experience boost when he started the game against Defiance, produced a two-run single in the fifth.
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“You’ve just always got to battle back, never give up, and keep going,” Taylor said. “I just kept taking deep breaths and realized it was going to be OK. It’s challenging, but if I keep working hard, I’m going to do what I’m (capable of doing). We definitely have a ton of swag knowing we can do what we’ve been doing.”
Watterson reliever Blaise Strausbaugh found himself in some tough situations, including this bases-loaded, bottom-of-the-inning jam against Jonathan Alder.
Watterson, which dropped to 13-4 and is one of the state’s best in its respective division as well, last made it to the state tournament in 2015 and has similar postseason hopes.
Taylor got into trouble in the second inning when he allowed a leadoff single to junior third baseman Ben Burleson, hit sophomore center fielder Caden Mangini with a pitch, and allowed and single to sophomore first baseman Nate Henderson before hitting junior second baseman Brady McAninch with another pitch to drive in the first run.
Watterson senior left-handed pitcher Noah Lawler singled and scored on a single by senior left fielder Chance Strausbaugh in the third.
Henderson opened the fourth with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice by McAninch and scored on a single by sophomore catcher and leadoff hitter Ben Uhlenhake.
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Catcher Ben Uhlenhake extend and grabs a wild pitch during Watterson’s 7-3 loss against Jonathan Alder.
The Eagles, however, stranded two runners in each of the final three innings. Jonathan Alder sophomore reliever Mason Petersheim didn’t allow a run over the final 2 2/3 innings.
Watterson junior reliever Blaise Strausbaugh walked five and gave up three runs over the final two innings, but both he and Lawler lead the team in wins with five.
“We had some really good at bats, but we just struggled throwing it over the plate late in the game,” Watterson coach Jeff Boulware said. “(Blaise Strausbaugh) struggled today, but that’s going to happen in high school baseball. We’re going to throw him right back out there next week. The difference today was that we didn’t get the two-out hit and they did, and we gave them a lot of free bases.
“But I feel real good about where we are. The last couple years we have played our best baseball in late April and really didn’t finish the seasons the way we wanted, so what we’ve tried to do this year was backload our schedule with some top talented teams. We’re trying to get ourselves ready to play our best in May.”
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