In the above photo, Jonathan Alder’s Cam Potter (left) and Ashton Martin (10) go after the ball as a Kenton Ridge player slides into third base. In the bottom photo, Mason Keaton slides safely into the plate for a run. The Pioneers beat the Cougars, 8-7, in ninth innings during a Division II regional semifinal game. The contest was played at Mason High School.
(Journal-Tribune photos by Tim Miller)
—
Working through a myriad of tough issues, the Jonathan Alder baseball team withstood the challenges and were scheduled to play for a regional title on Friday.
The Pioneers faced a familiar foe on Thursday in Central Buckeye Conference rival Kenton Ridge during a Division II regional semifinal at Mason High School.
Scoring three runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game, Jonathan Alder pushed across a run in the top of the ninth to earn a hard-fought 8-7 victory.
The win advanced Alder into a regional final against Hamilton Badin on Friday.
“We have a lot of trust and belief in our players,” Jonathan Alder head coach Craig Kyle said. “We took some punches and didn’t flinch.”
Jonathan Alder and Kenton Ridge had faced each other twice during the regular season with the Pioneers winning both times.
The Pioneers registered the first blow as they scored two runs in the top of the first inning.
Garrett Roach blasted a two-run homer, scoring Ashton Martin ahead of him, that got JA off to a good start.
Kenton Ridge, though, came right back in the bottom of the inning.
A walk and singles by Zach Deel and Caleb Obee produced one marker for the Cougars.
They then had runners on second and third with no outs.
Kyle went to the mound to talk to starting pitcher Tyler Barton to settle him down.
The visit worked as Barton struck out the next two batters.
The final out came on a pop fly.
That was the first of many times in which JA was put under pressure.
Kenton Ridge had runners on base in seven of the nine innings.
The Pioneers added to their run total in the second frame.
With one out, Andy Yoder was hit by a pitch.
That was followed by singles from Mason Keaton and Chase Chopin that scored one run.
A safety squeeze sacrifice bunt by Ashton Martin plated Keaton to make it 4-1.
Kenton Ridge cut the lead to 4-2 with a run in the bottom of the second.
The Cougars took the lead with a five-run fifth inning.
In a lot of cases, getting blitzed by a lot of runs would cause a team to get down on themselves.
But that is not what happened to the Pioneers.
They responded during the ensuing inning, starting with the bottom of the batting order.
Singles by Greg Kennedy and Yoder got things going. They each advanced one base on a sacrifice bunt from Keaton.
A single by Cam Potter scored Kennedy.
Chopin rocketed a double in the right-center gap to score Yoder and Potter, tying the game at seven.
The Cougars had a big chance to earn a walk-off victory in the bottom of the seventh.
A hit batter and walk were sandwiched around a strikeout by Martin, who had relieved Barton in the fourth inning.
As a result, Kenton Ridge once again had runners in scoring position.
Kennedy, who pitched a perfect game against London in the district final, was called upon to quell the rally.
That is exactly what he did with a fly ball to left and a strikeout.
“Mentally you have to be ready at any time,” Kennedy said. “I also know I have a defense that I trust behind me.”
Kyle knew Kennedy had what it would take when called upon.
“I have belief in him,” Kyle said.
Neither team scored in the eighth, setting up the game-winning rally by the Pioneers in the ninth.
Martin opened the frame with a single.
Roach also had a single that sent Martin to third.
After a fly out to center, Kennedy hit a ground ball to the right of the shortstop.
The ball was fielded cleanly, but the only play was to first.
Martin scored the go-ahead tally on the play.
Kennedy got the first two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
He turned the ball over to Potter, who earned the save on a ground ball for the final out.
“We never really thought about being behind,” Kennedy said. “We were going to give all we had.”
“The only thing we could do was respond,” Kyle said of earning the come-from-behind win. “We survived and advanced and now we need to take a deep breath and get ready for Hamilton Badin.”
JA 220 003 001—8-10-2
KR 110 050 000—7-11-0
WP—Kennedy
LP—Deel