University School scored three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to put an end to any thoughts of a Wapakoneta comeback. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
A dominating performance by University School’s Aaron Moss put a stop to Wapak’s latest magical season, one breaking ball at a time.
Akron, OH – They say a rolling stone gathers no moss and Wapakoneta’s baseball team discovered a pitcher named Moss kept rolling along.
The Minster Bank is proud to sponsor the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.
University School Preppers’ pitcher Aaron Moss put a stop to Wapak’s pursuit of a Division III state championship bid Friday afternoon in Canal Park, rolling over them, 4-0.
Hall of fame writer Hal McCoy covers the UD Flyers and sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Moss’s four-hitter was the only the second time this season that Wapak was shut out as their 22-6 season ended one win shy of the state championships game.
And for most of the game Wapak starter Grant Jolly matched Moss pitch-for-pitch.
While Moss held Wapak to no runs, three hits with one walk and eight strtikeouts, Jolly stifled University on one run and four hits for six innings before stamina struck and he gave up three runs in the sixth.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids because nobody expected us to be here from day one,” said Wapak coach Jason Brandt.
But on Day One, Wapak beat New Bremen, 5-0, and won the first 11 games and it was evident something special was sprouting in Auglaize County.
“They just battled all year long relentlessly and played big-time in the big games,” added Brandt, owner of 406 wins during his 23-year tenure as Redskins coach.
And they battled Friday, too, in an attempt to annex their first state title in their third semifinal game.
Logan Services, in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus proudly sponsors your favorite sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Moss, though, owned the ingredients to prevent it.
“I don’t know if Moss had three balls on more than two kids,” said Brandt. “He worked ahead in the count, but he wasn’t overpowering and we knew that. We didn’t have good at bats and rolled over on some breaking pitches. That’s what we were hoping we didn’t do.”
Wapak’s Grant Jolly pitched well, allowing just 4 runs on 7 hits…but got no offensive support.
Moss fed Wapak an unhealty and unpalatable diet of off-speed offerings to keep Wapak confounded and confused.
Festivities didn’t start well for Wapak when University stole a run in the first inning.
And it didn’t end well because Wapak couldn’t push across any runs when opportunities surfaced severa times.
For example:
“We led off an inning (fourth) with a base runner and got the guy up to second (sacrifice bunt), but then we had a little weak pop-up on a 2-and-0 count and the next guy went down looking on three pitches we didn’t even swing at,” said Brandt.
“Those are things you don’t want to have but it happens in high school baseball,” he added. “You hope those things don’t happen and we’ve been very good at getting the leadoff runner on during most innings.”
That fourth inning was the only time Moss permitted the leadoff batter to reach base.
Koverman, Staley, Dickerson proudly supports your favorite high school sports on Press Pros Magazine.
“You can do a lot when you get that first guy on base, but hats off to them for keeping our leading guys off base,” said Brandt.
It stayed 1-0 for five innings and when Wapak couldn’t score, University solved Wapak ace pitcher Grant Jolly for three game-clinching runs in the sixth.
“He’s been our horse all year long,” said Brandt, speaking about his season-long Clydesdale. “That was his third loss but I think he has only given up two or three earned runs in those three losses.
“We ride him as long as we can and he is definitely one of the reasons, if not THE reason why we were here. We rode on his coat-tails a long time and we’ll continue to thank him for years to come.”.
Universityv Leadoff hitter Bryce Fielding singled and stole second and continued to third when catcher Griffin Mericle slung his peg into center field.
Pitcher Moss played perfect fundamental baseball by punching a ground ball to the right side that enabled Fielding tgo score and give University a two-batter 1-0 lead.
Huffer Chiropractic can help your athlete perform at their best – with offices in Osgood, Jackson Center, and Dublin, Ohio.
And that’s the way it stayed as Wapak’s frustratingly left potential runs soaking up sun while standing harmlessly on the bases.
It stayed that way, anyway, until University took advantage of a tiring Jolly to score the three runs that sent Wapak prematurely home.
Jolly and his 92 miles an hour fast ball are headed for Marshall University. He ran into another mini-problem in the second when he gave up a one-out double.
But he recovereds with a strikeout and a ground ball.
Then he tried to help himself with his aluminum bat with a bullet train drive into the right field corner, a two-out triple in the third. But that’s where he stayed.
University pitcher Moss tried to do the same thing with a two-out double in the third, but he, too, stayed right there.
Wapak tried to draw even in the fourth when Griffin Mericle led with a single. Coach Jason Brandt tried the smallball route by having Mason Ludwig bunt Mericle to second.
And once again, there he stayed as Joel Moore popped to second and Daron Houser was caught glimpsing at a Moss breaking ball.
So it stayed 1-0 as both teams continued to put runners on base and leaving them standing on the bases.
VPP, in Versailles, Ohio, proudly sponsors Buckeye baseball on Press Pros Magazine.com.
It happened again in the bottm of the fourth when University’s Tuckerer Greer poked a oneout single to center. But the next two Preppers were retired by Jolly and it stayed 1-0.
The trend didn’t cease in the fifth. Wapak’s Zach Fisher drew a first-pitch one-out walk. But Mason struck out both Jarrett Mullen and opposing pitcher Jolly.
Through five innings, Wapak put one runner on base in the first, third, fourth and fifth, but none found their way across home plate.
And it was the same for University. After scoring the run in the first, they left a runner on base in the second, third and fourth.
Then the Preppers put it away in the sixth.
The Hughes Law office, in Urbana, is the presenting sponsor for all OHSAA state tournament coverage on Press Pros. Call them today if they can help you…Ph. 937-398-0520