Marysville’s Mason Springs celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run in the top of the third inning. The Monarch notched two RBIs in the team’s loss to Olentangy Berlin.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
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Bats were cracking during Marysville’s 12-11 diamond loss to Olentangy Berlin on Wednesday.
“We just didn’t play well enough to win,” MHS coach Nick Blake said. “We just missed a couple opportunities late defensively that took (led to) quite a few runs.”
The game marked the third time the two Cardinal Division foes squared off this season. With the Bears already locking up an Ohio Capital Conference title, the Monarchs sought to get on the positive side after losing the last two matchups.
The third game saw plenty of scoring as both squads hit a pair of home runs.
“That was definitely the most [I’ve ever seen] and a couple of those weren’t cheap,” Blake said.
MHS had a chance to tie the game in the top of the seventh with runners on base. A second strikeout by Berlin’s Nathan Broze, though, sealed the victory.
“I thought offensively, we did some things pretty well,” Blake said.
Berlin got on the board first. With the bases loaded, Marysville’s Isaiah Brooks hit Berlin batter Daniel Barreca, forcing in a run in the bottom of the second.
The Monarchs got out of further trouble when Mason Springs helped secure a double play.
Marysville tied the game 1-1 in the top of the third on Tate Martino’s homer.
“It was a hitter’s game for sure,” Martino said.
James Hackworth doubled and advanced on a fielder’s choice.
With two down, Springs gave MHS a 3-1 margin with a round-tripper.
“We’ve been circling the bases lately and it really showed,” Martino said.
Berlin was able to knot the score at 3-3 with RBIs coming from Parker McDaniels and Mason Quatman.
Quatman later boosted the Bears back into the lead by scoring on a wild pitch.
Another RBI from Barreca put the Bears ahead 5-3.
Marysville opted to change pitchers from Brooks to Griffin Scheiderer in the bottom of the fourth.
“That was Isaiah’s first start of the year,” Blake said about the southpaw. “He’s actually battled back from a shoulder injury.
“Those second and third innings were a lot of high stress pitches, but he’s been really good for us to this point.”
Neither team scored in the fourth.
The Monarchs, though, plated four runs in the fifth to grab a 7-5 margin.
Berlin rallied in the bottom half of the fifth with six runs and took an 11-7 lead.
Half of the Bears’ runs came on a homer from Ascher Dent.
“You give a couple free passes, and one hit leads to a couple of runs,” Blake said. “We didn’t make it difficult enough on them today on that end.”
With Berlin’s third pitcher, Showalter, on the mound, Marysville cut the deficit to 11-9.
Scheiderer sprinted home on a passed ball. Derek Moyer drove in a run.
Berlin padded the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a first-pitch home run from Quatman. That gave the Bears a 12-9 lead.
The Monarchs had one last chance to retake the lead in the top of the seventh. They loaded the bases with one out.
Berlin’s Showalter walked Fisher to score Martino.
Showalter, nursing a 12-10 edge, got the second out on a K.
Showalter walked Tyler Kesterson which brought in a score and pulled MHS to within 12-11.
At that point, Broze became the Bears’ fourth pitcher.
With two down, he notched a strikeout to save the game.
Losing on the hill for Marysville, Scheiderer pitched three innings. He allowed seven runs on four hits, while getting one strikeout and one walk.
Brooks pitched the first three innings. He yielded five runs on five hits. He walked four and fanned a like number of batters.
Showalter, who got the win, allowed four runs on three hits. He issued five walks and struck out three.
Nick Gemienhardt and McDaniels combined for seven runs allowed on nine hits with four strikeouts and four walks.
The Monarchs fell to 15-5 overall with an 8-5 record in the Cardinal Division of the OCC.
“I think things are happening at the right time for us,” Blake said. “The job’s not done yet and maybe we’ll get a shot at them again.”
Marysville will play at Olentangy (5 p.m.) today.
“Every game still matters and every win feels just as good as the last,” Martino said. “All the guys still feel pretty positive.”