Omen for the day…hit, or be hit, and Loramie’s Louis Hart got on base with one off the elbow in the sixth, but to no avail as the ‘Skins were shut out 2-0 in the district final. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Fort Loramie mustered just three hits off a Cedarville sophomore…Redskins squandered their one best opportunity to score in the fifth…season comes to a 2-o end in the district tournament.
Anna, OH – You hear it all the time…how easy it is to lose a state tournament baseball game for the lack of doing just one of the game’s essential elements.
You have to pitch.
You have to field.
And you have to hit.
Do ’em all and you’re in pretty good shape.
But fail to do any one of the three and you could be packing your bags. That was the story Thursday as Fort Loramie failed to get a base hit with the bases loaded in the fifth and none out. Trailing 1-0 from a Cedarville first-inning run, they had that golden opportunity to flip the script, and they struck out…grounded into a fielder’s choice…and grounded out to second to end the inning and strand all three. A back-breaking turn of events, they would eventually lose to Cedarville, 2-0, and finished their season with a 14-12 record.
“They got a run early and their sophomore pitcher gained a little more confidence with his breaking pitch, and that made it tough on us,” said Redskins coach Jeff Sanders. “But we had our opportunities. We had our best three hitters up with the bases loaded in the fifth and we just needed one hit. And that’s tournament baseball. Sometimes you just need one and we didn’t get it.”
Loramie starter Gabe Hart gave up a first inning run, then scattered five hits in a complete game effort. “He was good, and he gave us a chance,” said coach Jeff Sanders.
That first inning run off starter Gabe Hart turned out to be an omen for the day. A base hit that eventually made it to third base with two outs, that runner scored on a wild pitch, uncontested at home plate (it was that wild), and from that point Loramie was a fish swimming upstream against Cedarville righthander Xavier Pauling.
Pauling was no Paul Skenes, but it was evident that he dreams of competing in tournament games on days like Thursday. He pitched into and out of trouble on a couple of occasions, but he showed no nerves and no fear. He mixed his pitches, he threw strikes, and he was as good as the moment called for.
“He was good enough,” added Sanders. “He’s young, but he threw strikes.
“And we made some mistakes early in the second inning running the bases that might have taken us out of an opportunity. So we get behind, we made those mistakes, and it took us out of our game. We’ll run, and we’ll bunt, but when you don’t have the right guy on base at the right time in the right situations you’re kind of limited to just swinging away. And that’s what happened.”
Cedarville pitcher Xavier Pauling pitched out of trouble three different times to frustrate Fort Loramie and secure the district title for the Indians.
“We’ve had good pitching all season,” said Cedarville coach Trevor Creeden. “Xavier is one of our top two, kind of a 1A and a 1B scenario, and that’s what you need in the tournament. If you have two strong guys you can be in any game. And honestly, teams have had a tough time scoring on us. Xavier was good for us again today.”
But in the fifth inning he proved Creeden’s theory on how strong pitching can keep you in any game. Lucas Brandewie led off with a line single to center. Pinch hitter Zach Dues then put down a perfect sac bunt and legged it out to put runners on first and second with no outs. Thomas Hoying then followed with another bunt that went for a single and jammed the bases. Loramie fans inched closer to the chain-link fence that lined the Anna diamond to get a closer look…that’s how certain they were that the ‘Skins were about to break through.
But Sam Goubeaux followed Hoying’s single by striking out. Dylan Meyer chopped a high hopper to the third baseman who threw out the lead runner (Brandewie) at home for a fielder’s choice. And still needing that one hit, Carson Arnold, who had the ‘Skins only real hard hit of the day in the second inning (a double), grounded out weakly to second base to kill the rally and Loramie’s best chance of the game.
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Once again, in the sixth, they got a pair of runners on base via being hit by a pitch. But again Pauling showed no concern. He just threw strikes, pitched to contact, and mixed well enough that Loramie hitters could never anticipate the fastball.
In the bottom of the sixth Cedarville would add an insurance run when leadoff batter Zach Creeden opened with a single, moved to second on a botched pickoff attempt at first, went to third on a bloop fly ball single over first base by Pauling, and then scored on a sac fly ball to center field…2-0, Cedarville.
Loramie’s Dylan Meyer dives to tag out a Cedarville runner attempting to score an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Pitcher Gabe Hart, backing up the play, watches.
In the finale seventh, Loramie got the leadoff runner on when Thomas Hoying reached on an error by the second baseman…but the ensuing two, three, and four hitters all seemed to guess fastball when the curve was coming, or vice-versa. A short fly ball to center, a ground out to second, and a ground out to third that cinched the game, the district title for Cedarville, and Loramie’s season.
They lost it with no runs on three hits and committed two errors.
Cedarville won it with two runs on five hits, and had two errors.
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As Tippecanoe coach Cam Givens said just twenty four hours earlier on Wednesday, the way the game played out proved just how easy it is to lose a tournament baseball game. You need good pitching, but you never take for granted how many runs you need to actually win.
Diamond gem of the day…Loramie centerfielder Cotton Rose made this diving catch of a ball hit in the third inning.
“And Gabe Hart gave us a chance to win today,” added Jeff Sanders. “He can throw the breaking ball at any time for a strike and he was able to grind through the meat of their batting order. He was good.”
Hart struck out seven and walked two. And like Pauling, he showed no fear, as big as the moment required.
But pitch, hit, and field and you’ll be in pretty good shape in any game. Do two of the three and you’ll be OK in most games. But fail to do just one in a tournament game…and a guy like Xavier Pauling can send you packing.
Such was the story of the district final, and such was the story of how it ended for the Redskins.
For the lack of a hit……
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