Jonathan Alder’s Cam Potter (8) collides with Kenton Ridge’s Logan Fyffe (9) after the Cougar corralled a ground ball to tag out the Pioneer.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
—
Pressure makes diamonds and Jonathan Alder’s baseball team loves pressure.
“I reminded [the team] this is why you play high school sports,” JA head coach Craig Kyle said. “They’re the sixth-ranked team in the state and we are the fourth… This is what you work for and they always give us a battle.”
The Pioneers are riding high on an 11-game winning streak following their 5-3 triumph over visiting Kenton Ridge.
“We executed when we needed to,” Kyle said.
The win kept Alder undefeated in the Central Buckeye Conference at 9-0, while also improving to 12-1 overall.
Despite feeling KR’s scoring threat early on, the Scarlet and Black remained calm.
Kyle credited the team’s 2023 postseason loss to Bloom-Carroll as a learning experience for matchups like Monday’s.
“Honestly, I think they learned last year in our tournament loss,” he said about the team’s veteran mindset. “I think what happened last year was a big help tonight.”
The Cougars went into the contest at 12-2 overall with a 6-3 conference record.
“It is a great team win against a really good team,” junior Ashton Martin said. “We were just able to get a couple timely hits.”
KR managed to get Logan Fyffe in scoring position at third base in the first inning.
With two out, Martin remained steadfast. He fanned Jake Beard to end the threat.
“Pressure bursts pipes and we have to learn how to be in pressure situations and not get too high or too down,” Kyle said. “We always say ‘make the routine plays in clutch situations.’”
It was not until the bottom of the fourth inning when Alder’s offense started to click.
Chase Chopin took advantage of a KR error to get on base.
Grant Horne beat out a well-placed bunt that advanced Chopin to third.
With Martin at the plate, Horne swiped second, putting two Pioneers in scoring position.
The home crowd cheered as Martin’s double brought in both runners.
“We didn’t have great energy all game but in that inning, the energy was much better,” Martin said.
Jace Schrock gave JA a 3-0 lead when he drove in Martin.
“We talked about our approach a little bit,” Kyle said about the game plan. “I heard the energy in our dugout go up.”
Alder quelled the Cougars at the top of the fifth and returned to the plate for some extra breathing room.
Horne’s sacrifice fly advanced Chopin to second and Cam Potter to third.
KR opted to intentionally walk Martin to load the bases.
Garrett Roach singled in a run and kept the sacks juiced.
A sacrifice fly from Schrock was enough for Chopin to tag up and give Alder a 5-0 margin.
The Cougars then began to claw back into the game.
KR’s Braden Smith closed the distance following two RBIs.
Beard and Zach Deel crossed the plate to make it a 5-2 ball game.
“They are really good,” Kyle said. “The biggest thing I said when they scored was ‘minimize’ and we talked about not being afraid to fail.”
After failing to increase the margin in the bottom of the sixth, the Pioneers needed one last defensive stand if they sought to keep their conference record intact.
Martin began to feel the fatigue in the top of the seventh as Deel motored to second and third on wild pitches.
“It was just normal fatigue and I’m pretty sure my body will feel it tomorrow,” Martin said. “It was nothing really big… my pitch count was getting up there.
“I don’t know how many I threw, but it was definitely more than normal.”
Deel scored on an RBI by Fyffe.
With two down, Horne was able to get the following runner out at first to seal in the win.
Martin’s complete game included seven strikeouts and one walk.
Fyffe, who took the loss, finished with five strikeouts and a like number of walks.
The Pioneers will host Benjamin Logan on Friday.
“I think we need to keep pitching and playing defense the way we are,” Kyle said. “Our hitting is starting to come around.”
“We are bunting at a really high level,” Martin said. “Playing great defense is also the biggest thing.”
KR 000 002 1-361
JA 000 320 x-5 7 1