Defense was the name of the game when University and Buckeye met for their Division II district semifinal on May 23. Both pitchers kept the scoreboard blank for the first five innings and the defenses made big play after big play.
The scoreless tie was broken in the bottom of the sixth when Joey Zigman has hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Preppers the lead. A wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by Tyler Ryan later in the inning made the University lead grow to 3-0, which was the final of the game.
Fourth-seeded University returns to Twinsburg on May 25 and to face second-seeded Tallmadge in the district final. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
While the hit by pitch finally got University on the board, a single by Ryan Pattison and a double by David Faremouth put those runners in scoring position for them to be able to come home. An intentional walk of Aaron Moss also allowed him to be at third for the aforementioned sacrifice fly.
Even with the game scoreless, University coach Rob McNerney liked what he was seeing from his batters. He knew that if they could string together some hits, then the Preppers could break the scoreless defensive duel.
A pair of hits in the sixth got the @USbsbl bats going, and a hit by pitch brought in their first run of the game. Preppers head coach Rob McNerney talks about the bats finally getting going for his team #NHBaseball pic.twitter.com/yZ6QB1LWkM
— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) May 23, 2022
“We talk a lot about energy being contagious,” said McNerney. “For our three-four batters to start the inning with two hard-hit balls, it gave us more life. I felt like we were locked in from the beginning but we weren’t able to get runs across. Our dugout stayed focus and energized. You want to hit runs in but you’ll take them how you can get them. You can’t be picky in postseason baseball, especially when it’s zero-zero in the sixth.”
While the bats weren’t able to get things going immediately, the defense was strong from the first pitch. Shortstop Ben Elliot made a diving snag on a line drive that was millimeters away from getting past the infield for a base hit.
Jae Smith made a pair of sliding catches in left and Faremouth laid out for an out in foul territory close to the Buckeye dugout entrance. McNerney knew that with the way his defense was playing and supporting starting pitcher Aaron Moss, that the bats would follow suit sooner or later.
“The defense was incredible today and the name of the game in the postseason is pitching and defense ,” said McNerney. “Aaron supplied his part and there were some errors early that we could’ve avoided but the guys stayed focused. Our guys know their roles and know to do what it takes to get their job done because they know it’s for the team.”
Speaking of Moss, he was able to work through a tough second inning and walked away as he allowed three hits in his complete game shutout. The freshman saw the bases loaded with two outs. He kept his cool and was able to strike out the next Bucks batter looking.
He allowed just three hits in a complete game shutout. Aaron Moss talks about his work and what he did to keep the game in reach for the @USbsbl bats #NHBaseball pic.twitter.com/ng4UeFD6v0
— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) May 23, 2022
“I knew that I didn’t have to overpower that team,” said Moss. “That’s not the type of pitcher that I am and they’ve done it all year and I knew that they were going to back me up.”
After the second inning, Moss allowed one hit and two base runners with three innings of retiring the side in order. Moss knew that he had to keep his solid outing going and with the defense backing him up, he knew that he had to stick to his game plan.
“I knew that we were going to put up runs, it was just a matter of time,” said Moss. “I kept doing what I was doing knowing that they would back me up. Pitching with a lead is a lot better feeling than pitching when you’re down or tied. I was able to keep doing what I was doing and knew that we were going to get the win.”
