The question on this play was, who was going to reach the plate first? Would it be Marysville base runner Connor Parks (21) or Hilliard Davidson catcher Dylan Bunyak? The answer… it was Parks as the Monarchs defeated the Wildcats, 13-11, Friday evening.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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After a couple of difficult losses to Upper Arlington by scores of 12-4 and 1-0 earlier this week, the Marysville High School varsity baseball team needed a big offensive shot in the arm.
The “vaccine” that cured the ailing ball club was delivered during Friday evening’s 13-11 victory over Hilliard Davidson.
The antidote came as the result of a change to the squad’s approaches at the plate.
“We want to be an aggressive team with the bats, but I think lately we had been trying to do too much,” said head coach Nick Blake. “We told the guys that tonight, we wanted them to be a little more patient and wait for a good pitch.”
The strategy worked as the Monarchs broke out of their doldrums to the tune of 14 base hits against a trio of Wildcat pitchers.
Noah Brown had a particularly solid night with the stick, earning a trio of hits in as many trips to the plate.
A stiff wind blowing out of the ball park led to Davidson’s opening run in the visitors’ portion of the first inning.
Monarch pitcher Andrew Van Hoose got Hilliard’s first batter out on a pop-up.
He had an 0-2 count on Alex Painter, but the Wildcat hitter connected with the ball on the third pitch.
The ball sailed in the jet stream and just continued to go with the support of the fierce wind.
The sphere didn’t reach the ground until it had cleared the left field fence for a 1-0 Davidson lead.
Van Hoose shook off the dinger and got two groundball outs to end the inning.
The Monarchs responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame.
Connor Parks led off with a single against Davidson starter Austin Conrad.
He reached second on a Wildcat error that also left Michael Bonczak perched on first base.
Christian Colvin got to first when he was safe on a fielder’s choice.
Bonczak was wiped out at second on the play, but Parks advanced to third.
Parks then scored on a wild pitch and tied the game at 1-1.
Davidson regained a 2-1 margin in the second.
Drew Yoder singled and later scored on Dylan Bunyak’s two-out base hit.
The Monarchs really worked the sticks by plating seven runs in the bottom of the second.
Chase Kilgore drew a lead-off walk.
After a line drive out, Brown ripped the ball deep in the hole at shortstop for a base hit that left runners on first and second.
Parks followed with a single that loaded the bases.
Bonczak was issued a free pass that produced the game-tying run at 2-2.
Brown later scored on a wild pitch and Colvin singled in a run as MHS climbed to a 4-2 lead.
Blake Storr continued the batting barrage with a single that plated two more runs for a 6-2 margin.
Storr stood on first base when MHS designated hitter Matt Belt strode to the plate.
He was ahead in the count at 2-1 when Conrad unleashed his next pitch.
Belt turned on the offering and drilled the ball in the direction of left field.
The wind was just as favorable to Belt as it was to Davidson’s Painter during the previous inning.
The ball cleared the fence and Belt trotted around the bases on the homer that pushed the Monarchs out to an 8-2 lead.
Marysville appeared to have the game well in hand when it added two runs in the bottom of the third against Wildcat reliever Joey Sheets.
Brown singled, but was called out after trying to swipe second.
Sheets issued consecutive walks to Parks and Bonczak.
The Davidson southpaw notched a strikeout, but Storr doubled both Parks and Bonczak home for a 10-2 spread.
The Wildcats began to chip away at MHS’ lead, scoring twice in the fourth and adding another run in the fifth.
The situation got a bit dicey for the Monarchs with one out in the fifth.
Davidson’s Grant Cowan singled and two straight MHS fielding errors juiced the sacks.
A sacrifice fly by Christian Sweet drove in the run that narrowed the Wildcats’ deficit to 10-5.
Van Hoose loaded the bases once again by hitting a batter.
That prompted Blake to make the call to his bullpen, summoning sidearm reliever Blaine Williams.
The senior coaxed a groundball to get the Monarchs out of the jam.
Marysville created a little more separation with two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.
As it turned out, the Monarchs would need all three of those runs to guarantee their victory.
Bonczak led off the fifth and was hit by a pitch.
He advanced to second on Colvin’s sacrifice bunt and went to third on Storr’s single.
Belt doubled in a run for an 11-5 lead.
Storr was on third and broke for home as Gabe Schaeffer squared around to bunt.
Schaeffer put the ball exactly where it was needed as Storr scored on the suicide squeeze for a 12-5 advantage.
The Monarchs went on top 13-5 in the sixth.
Jack Christian singled against relief pitcher Brady Ingland, went to second on Brown’s base hit, stole third and scored on an error.
Things got interesting and/or nerve wracking in the top of the seventh when Jake Carper came on as the Monarchs’ third hurler of the game.
Carper walked the lead-off batter and then hit the next man in the lineup.
MHS got an out on a fielder’s choice, but Davidson had runners on the corners.
Another MHS fielding miscue and a wild pitch allowed a pair of runs to score and slice Marysville’s lead to 13-7.
In between the carnage, the Monarchs were able to get the second out on a flyball.
Another walk juiced the sacks and back-to-back singles from Ryan Mayr and Painter both plated a pair of runs.
All of the sudden, matters got tense for Monarch Nation as the Wildcats pulled to within 13-11 with two out.
Cowan represented the tying run when he came to the plate.
Carper got Cowan to lift a high pop fly in the vicinity of third base.
MHS fans wouldn’t have been blamed if they held their breath as the ball descended toward Earth.
Christian, however, made the catch to end the game.
While the Monarchs had a solid night at the plate, their fielding was ragged with four errors.
Blake, though, wasn’t overly concerned.
“We’re normally pretty good on defense, even when we’ve struggled with the bats,” he said. “Tonight, we moved the ball well.
“Our defense was just a trade-off with our offense.”
The Monarchs upped their overall record to 10-8 and their Ohio Capital conference Central Division mark to 6-3 with the victory.
They will step away from the OCC today with a single home game (11 a.m.) against Teays Valley.
HD 110 201 6-11 9 3
MHS 172 021 x-13 14 4
WP: Van Hoose
LP: Conrad