Grove City’s Brayden Starner celebrates his score with head coach Ryan Alexander during a D1 regional semifinal against Olentangy Orange. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Thanks to some clutch hitting and solid relief pitching by Carson Welsh, Grove City got the final run in a topsy-turvy game with more than its share of odd twists.
Lancaster, OH – Cool as a cucumber on a hot, sun-splashed afternoon at Beavers Field, Grove City left-handed pitcher Carson Welsh didn’t let a sixth-inning hiccup ruin his day.
“Playing football (starting quarterback) and all, pressure doesn’t really get to me,” said Welsh afterwards, with an icebag attached to his pitching shoulder.
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Welsh not only got the pitching win with 2⅔ innings of solid relief work but whacked a pivotal two-RBI double in the fifth inning that helped Grove City edge Olentangy Orange 7-6 in a Division I regional semifinal Tuesday.
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As expected, the game was a back-and-forth affair with key two-out hitting and smaller details – such as stolen bases, wild pitches, passed balls, balks and sketchy defensive decisions – determining the outcome.
“It was answer, answer back all game long,” Greyhounds coach Ryan Alexander said. “Hats off to their guys for battling like we knew they would. We knew what we were up against. But on this day, things went our way.”
Alexander and Orange coach Tom Marker are best friends dating to their high school and college playing days in the Ohio Valley region. Alexander was best man in Marker’s wedding and hired as buddy as an assistant on his first team in 2010.
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Carson Welsh gets the win against Orange in the relief role, with a little help from the sun.
Orange beat Grove City 6-1 in a 2023 regional semifinal on the way to a state runner-up finish. Grove City was coming off a state runner-up the previous season.
“You know, that’s my guy but I still hate to lose whether it’s to Ryan or anyone else,” Marker said. “I respect what he’s done over there and will root for him the rest of the way. Things just happen. The way things developed, it was going to come down to who scored last and it happened to be them on this day.”
It was 4-4 with two outs in the top of the fifth inning when a huge break went Grove City’s way.
Landon Hinkle walked and Alex Elliott singled. Welsh skied what appeared to be an easy fly out to medium deep center field, but Wyatt Lidke, obviously struggling with the sun, lost track of the ball and allowed it to drop behind him for a two-RBI double.
“On a play like that, you’re just hoping for the best … that’s why you always keep running hard,” Welsh said. “I saw him kind of leaning and thought it might have a chance when I was circling the bag.”
Alexander initially thought the hard-hit ball might carry over Lidke’s head, or even the fence.
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“Luckily, the sun was our friend today,” he said with a wide grin. “That was a huge momentum swing for us.”
Jake Luling takes one for the team, getting hit in the elbow by a pitch.
Orange (23-6), however, scored twice in the sixth with two outs to pull even again.
Griffin Zavislak doubled and Keegan Knupp was intentionally walked on a 3-0 count. A successful double steal moved them both into scoring position. After fouling off several pitches, James Wimsatt whacked a two-strike single to make it 6-6.
But as was the trend all day, Grove City struck back in the top of the seventh.
Reece Blount drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a ground out. A wild pitch sent him to third.
On yet another two-strike count, Elliott hit a grounder into the hole between first and second base. Zane Konczak made a spectacular diving snag, but Elliott beat the throw by a half-step, scoring Blount with what would be the winning run.
“We were just trying to score a run and we found a way,” Elliott said. “When I saw him make the catch, I thought ‘Oh, man!’ and worried a little bit but I knew I had the speed to get there.”
Welsh set down Orange in order in the bottom of the seventh on three lazy fly outs.
Every Grove City batter reached base at least once.
Grove City (21-9) will face Olentangy (23-7) for the regional title at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Zavislak, Wimsatt and Maverick Scholvin each had two hits for the Pioneers (24-6), who were ranked third in the final state coaches poll. Grove City was tied for 16th.
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