Mason Bright of North Union fires a pitch toward the plate against Liberty Union. The Wildcats won 10-0 during the Division III sectional title game.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Bob Putman)
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A five-run first inning was more than enough for North Union on Thursday as the No. 7 Wildcats blanked 15th-seeded Liberty Union 10-0 in a Central District Division III baseball sectional final at North Union.
It was NU’s 15th win against nine losses and advanced the Wildcats to a district semifinal for the first time since 2009.
“Before the season we told each other we wanted to bring something special to the program,” junior outfielder Evan Beery said.
Beery collected two singles and drove in three runs, including one in the bottom of the sixth inning that ended the game on the run rule.
Beery has been struggling with his hitting lately, but kept a positive attitude.
“I’ve been in a slump so I focused on swinging at pitches I knew I could hit,” Beery said. “If it did not happen I just went on the next pitch.”
Mason Bright made sure the first-inning outburst by his teammates was not going to be wasted.
He limited the Lions to just two hits, both singles, while striking out six and walking one.
“Everything was working and I was throwing it for strikes,” Bright said. “My teammates helped out a lot.”
“Mason has been as good as he has been over the last few games,” head coach Nick Blakeley said.
Bright has not been the only player who picked up the pace.
The Wildcats are now 5-2 in the month of May and still have a chance to earn a Central Buckeye Conference Mad River title.
They are scheduled to complete a game at Springfield Shawnee on Saturday. The game was halted by darkness in mid-April with the two teams deadlocked at eight runs each after seven innings.
A victory will earn North Union a tie with Graham for the Mad River crown.
The Wildcats plated two runs just four batters into the bottom of the first inning against Liberty Union.
Tyler Krebehenne and Caden Potts got things started with back-to-back singles.
Krebehenne crossed the plate on a Liberty Union error and Potts scored on a sacrifice fly by Bright.
Miles Marlette kept the inning going with a single,
Liberty Union’s pitchers then issued four straight walks.
Beery, Drew Schmidt and Krebehenne each coaxed a free pass with the bases loaded.
The Wildcats bumped the lead to 6-0 in the second inning on a ground out by Ashton Haubiel that scored Bright.
Two more runs were scored in the fifth.
Beery had a run-scoring single and Krebehenne had the other on a sacrifice fly.
Needing two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, North Union did just that, starting with a leadoff home run by Landon Converse.
Bright was safe on an error and Haubiel followed with an infield single.
An intentional walk to Marlette loaded the bases.
Following the first out of the inning, Beery then dropped a single into right field to score Bright.
Blakeley commended his team for getting the Wildcats to one of their best seasons in several years.
“This group has taken its lumps over the last two years,” he said. “Through it all they have put in the work to get better and now that has paid off.”
North Union advances to the district semifinal on Tuesday at No. 3 West Jefferson, which defeated Worthington Christian 6-3 on Thursday.
The first pitch is slated for 5 p.m.
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