LEXINGTON, Ohio – Who said a baseball team needs momentum to succeed in the postseason?
Coming off two straight losses by a combined score of 30-0, Lexington proved otherwise Thursday by earning a Division II sectional title with a 5-0 victory over Clyde.
The Minutemen (15-10) lost last weekend to Division IV state powerhouse Berlin Hiland, 20-0, and local power Ontario, 10-0. None of that impacted the tournament game, which featured strong starting pitching from Austin Eifrid and more timely hitting from outfielder Nick Adams.
“It was poor scheduling on our part,” said Lexington coach Kevin Morrow, whose team twice knocked off Ohio Cardinal Conference rival Madison last week. “We told the kids those (weekend) losses are not on you. We said flush your minds and remember all the good teams we played and played well against.
“We had plenty of time to rest up, get our minds clear and come out and play our kind of baseball,” Morrow said.
Eifrid certainly had his mind right: pitching five shutout innings, allowing five hits while striking out four and walking two. He worked in and out of difficulty with the Fliers (13-11) stranding seven runners during the game.
Adams, whose efforts at the plate keyed the wins against Madison, did his part with a two-run triple in the third inning. His blast to right center scored Eifrid and pinch-runner Cory Swartzmiller. It followed a sacrifice fly from Evan Lee that plated Hunter Biddle. Adams then scored on a wild pitch and Lexington had a 4-0 lead.
“We moved Nick from the two hole into more of a run-producing spot about halfway through the season and he has come through time after time,” Morrow said.
That was all the scoring the Minutemen would need, but the hosts added another in the fourth when Eifrid singled home Biddle. All the runs (three earned) came against Clyde starter John Jackson, who allowed four hits while walking four and fanning two.
It was the kind of game Clyde coach George Parks has seen too often this season from his young team. The Fliers started five sophomores and two freshmen against the Minutemen.
“That (third inning) was our season in a nutshell,” Parks said. “In the games we lost, we always had one bad inning. We had more baserunners than they did. We just didn’t execute. Their pitchers found a way to get it done. We didn’t and we gave up the big inning.”
The Lexington defense worked hard behind Eifrid and reliever Matt Frazier, who authored two shutout innings, with no hits and one walk. Third baseman Biddle was key with five assists.
“One of our strengths all seasons has been our defense,” Morrow said. “Hunter has shared time at third with Matt (Frazier) and they are both quality defenders.”
Lexington will play Bellevue on Thursday at Madison in the district semifinals. Bellevue advanced with a 4-3 win over Sandusky Perkins.
“We played both of them during the season,” Morrow said. “We didn’t fare well against Perkins, but (All-Ohioan) Evan Lee wasn’t there. We beat Bellevue, so if push comes to shove, I would rather play Bellevue.”
Parks, whose Fliers also played Bellevue and Perkins, said that semifinal with Lexington will come down to pitching. “Sandusky Perkins has a stud pitcher, but Bellevue has a senior-laden team,” he said.
Before that, however, Lexington has two crucial OCC games with Wooster, now scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. at Wooster and Monday at 5 p.m. at Lexington. The Minutemen win the OCC outright with two wins and will share the title with Madison if they split with the Generals.
“One of our strengths all seasons has been our defense,” Coach Kevin Morrow said. “Hunter has shared time at third with Matt (Frazier) and they are both quality defenders.”
