Bearcats suffer heartbreak at hands of Newark Catholic
- Newark Catholic defeated Paint Valley, 2-1 in nine innings, in a D-IV regional semifinal.
- Green Wave' starting pitcher Gabe Morris struck out 13 Bearcats in 7 2/3 innings of work.
- Paint Valley's offense managed a total of four hits in the contest.
- Bearcats' starter Mason McCloy threw a superb 8+ innings — 124 pitches — in the loss.
LANCASTER – In a contest that seemed more like a chess match than a baseball game, Newark Catholic eventually captured Paint Valley's king and rode a walk-off single to victory.
While both teams' bats were silent for the most part, a pitcher's duel between Paint Valley's Mason McCloy and NC's Gabe Morris was taking place on the hill. Both left everything they had on the bump, neither earned a win.
Instead, NC's Rob Engle got the win, throwing just 1 1/3 innings to do so, in a 2-1 victory Thursday evening at Beavers Field, sending the Green Wave into a Division IV Regional Final.
Pitching wasn't all Engle did to collect the win for his team.
Engle reached base to start the rally thanks to a Paint Valley error before advancing on yet another sacrifice bunt from NC — the Green Wave successfully laid down four in total. With Engle standing on second, senior Nick Halloy bounced a pitch back up the shoot, plating the winning run.
"(Gabe) has given us a lot of great innings this year and tonight was no different," NC coach John Cannizzaro said. "His record this year is something like 4-2 but he's pitched two or three league games, keeping us in the ballgame, but didn't get the decision. He took us into extra innings tonight and did what we needed him to do. McCloy did the job as well. It was a duel from the get go."
Paint Valley coach Shayne Combs echoed those comments while elaborating on his ace.
"We've been saying from day one that if we go out and compete as hard as we can just one pitch at a time, even if it ends up being a losing effort, then that's okay," he said. "But how good was Mason today? What an incredible lineup he faced and really, other than a couple of middle innings where (NC) squared him up a little bit, he really had his way. I'm just so proud of him."
Neither team scored until the bottom of the sixth inning when NC struck first.
The Green Wave (19-11) saw third baseman Tanner Lake leg out a bunt for a hit before being moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Mitch Lohr. Engle would then strikeout for the second out of the inning, giving way for Morris to step into the limelight — as if he needed another reason to pat himself on the back. Morris delivered the goods with an RBI single, plating Lake, and giving NC a 1-0 lead.
The Bearcats (20-6) would quickly provide an answer but not without a flair for the dramatic.
Junior catcher Teagan McFadden led off the top of the seventh with a double — just the second hit for Paint Valley up unto that point — but then proceeded to watch McCloy strikeout swinging and third baseman Josh Krech strikeout looking. With two outs in the inning, designated hitter Skyler Knisley became the Bearcats' last hope.
Knisley delivered. He laced a sharp single past diving Green Wave shortstop Engle to tie the game.
McCloy, who took the loss in 8 1/3 innings, finished with 124 pitches. The senior allowed one earned run on seven hits, while striking out three batters.
Morris was handed a no decision after throwing 7 2/3 innings, giving up one earned on three hits and striking out 13.
Morris also led the Green Wave at the dish, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Jack Wollenburg followed by going 2-for-3 while Halloy went 1-for-4 with the biggest hit of the game for either squad.
Paint Valley scratched out a total of just four hits as a team.
The Bearcats will say goodbye to two seniors — McCloy and Clay Archer — while NC will now have a shot at a third consecutive regional title against Berlin Hiland, Friday night, back at Beavers Field in Lancaster.
dwebb@chillicothegazette.com
Twitter: @dw1509