ONTARIO, Ohio — Brennan Armstrong wanted to finish what he started, but Shelby coach Jon Amicone thought his sophomore starter had done enough.
In fact, Armstrong had done more than his share in the Whippets 2-1, 10-inning Northern Ohio League win at Ontario.
A left-handed fireballer, Armstrong struck out a career-high 17 and surrendered just one hit in nine scoreless innings. The sophomore wanted to work the 10th, but was lifted in favor of left-hander Dillon Thornsberry.
“I wanted to go one more inning but, you know, (I had) a lot of pitches on my arm,” Armstrong said. “I had to shut it down.”
Amicone considered sending his ace back out for the 10th, but decided to give the ball to Thornsberry.
“Brennan is a very honest kid and we have a good relationship,” Amicone said. “He came out after the ninth and said, ‘I think I can go one more.’ When I heard, ‘I think I can,’ that was enough. He did enough to win the game at that point.
“I had no issue going to Dillon. You’ve got to give him credit because you’re sitting in 40 degree weather for three hours and all of a sudden you’ve got to go in and close a game in extra innings. That’s not easy to do.”
Before then, Armstrong was virtually unhittable. He struck out the side in order in the fourth and worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in the sixth with a pair of strikeouts.
“I got ahead with my fastball,” Armstrong said. “My curveball was there today. I got the hitters off-balance a little bit.”
Pitch-for-Pitch: Ontario starter Ridge Jackson traded zeros with Armstrong for six innings. The senior right-hander came out to warm up for the seventh, but left with a shoulder strain. Jake Gleason worked into the 10th before giving way to lefty Nolan Hatfield. The trio limited Shelby (2-2, 1-0) to four hits.
“Our pitching has been very, very solid,” veteran Ontario coach Dan Gorbett said. “(Jackson) only threw 64 pitches.”
Breaking Through: Shelby finally broke the ice in the top of the 10th. Alex Paulo fell behind 0-2 but battled back to work a walk and was lifted for pinch runner Charlie Vogt, who stole second base. Garrett Caudill walked on a full count, with Vogt advancing to third on a passed ball. Caudill stole second before Nate Sayre drove in Vogt with a hit to center. Caudill eventually scored an insurance run when he scored on Carter Brooks’ RBI fielder’s choice.
“We had to manufacture runs because their pitchers were phenomenal,” Amicone said. “There weren’t many comfortable at bats.”
Keep Battling: Ontario (3-1, 0-1) refused to go quietly in the bottom of the 10th. Trevor Cochran walked to lead off the inning and scored on a two-out error. Thornsberry stranded the potential game-tying run at third when he induced a game-ending groundout to first.
“I told our kids to keep their heads up high,” Gorbett said. “We battled the whole way and never quit. At the end there we made it interesting.”
