Fifth inning keys Panthers to D-IV district final win over Falcons
· Yahoo Sports
MACEDONIA — Jefferson held Norton at bay and led heading into the bottom of the fifth inning in Thursday's Division IV Northeast 1 baseball district final.
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But in that fifth inning, the Panthers turned the tide and went to post a 6-4 win at Nordonia High School.
Jefferson, playing in its first district final since 2015, ended the season at 19-5-1.
"The stage got a little bit big for us," Falcons coach Scott Barber said of the fifth inning. "We threw two sophomores and one freshman pitchers."
Leading 4-1, the Panthers opened with a double and single off starter Joey Sands.
Barber went to left-handed pitcher Dylan Myllymaki, who promptly yielded a single.
Lucas Uden was brought to quell the rally, but by the time the inning ended, Norton had tallied five runs on five hits.
A walk, fielder's choice and balk also contributed to the Panthers scoring.
"They are usually calm in the moment," Barber said. "Things kind of snowballed from there."
Barber lifted Sands with no outs in the fifth.
"Joey was up in his pitch count," Barber said. "He had 22 pitches on Tuesday [a 4-2 district semifinal win over Hubbard], and about 80 [Thursday.]"
Sands said Norton capitalized on some momentum it had achieved.
"That's baseball," he said. "We have to fight back harder."
Early on, after Norton had taken a 1-0 after the opening inning, the Falcons struck for three in the top of the third.
Brayden South singled to right. After the first out, Michael Riffle grounded a single between first and second, sending South to third.
Sands' single brought in South with the game-tying run. Riffle scored on a throwing error, and RJ Cotton's fielder's choice brought in the third run.
Norton junior Jackson Lewis pitched three full innings and one batter in the fourth.
Lefty Ronnie Ammons entered the game.
He gave up a run in the fifth, as Riffle scored on Tate Hudson's fielder's choice out.
From there, though, Ammons settled down and shut Jefferson out in the sixth and seventh.
Despite the loss, Barber was pleased with the accomplishments of his team this season, which consisted of a Chagrin Valley Conference Lake Division championship and sectional title.
"We told the kids it's time to celebrate," Barber said.
Sands said he was very proud of the team.
"We played as a team," he said.
Jefferson will lose three seniors — George Dzura, Hudson and Padgett.
"George's playing time was down, he's a basketball player," Barber said. "But he did everything we asked of him. Tate and Logan were strengths of Jefferson baseball."
Sands said Hudson and Padgett were invaluable resources, especially for him.
"They were a huge part of the team," Sands said. "They were huge in leadership for our team. They're great seniors to look up to."
But Barber likes the prospects of the team next season.
"Starting with juniors, at catcher Michael Riffle, infielders Tristan Gilman and Brayden South, along with freshman Luke Uden," Barber said. "In the outfield, we had junior RJ Cotton, along with sophomores Joey Sands, Mason Kalil and Nate Burt, along with freshman Liam Dreier.
"Pushing them for varsity playing time will be sophomore Dom Green and Dylan Myllymaki."
Barber hopes the loss will motivate the team to take the necessary steps to reach the next level.
"Still today, players and coaches have a bitter taste in their mouths, so being so close to winning that game," he said. "Now we have to channel that emotion into putting in the time this offseason to get better every day."