SPORTS

Newark Catholic baseball’s offense protecting its aces

Kurt Snyder
Reporter
  • NC pitchers Gabe Morris and Rob Engle have combined for three shutouts in four postseason games.
  • Sophomores Tanner Lake and Jody Mummey had two hits apiece against Fisher Catholic.

NEWARK – Gabe Morris and Rob Engle are the first two ingredients in Newark Catholic’s recipe for a third consecutive trip to the Division IV state tournament.

If the Green Wave’s co-aces, however, get tripped up at some point during this week’s regional tournament, NC has an emerging counterattack. The Green Wave’s young lineup has shown marked improvement in recent weeks.

NC (18-11) plays Paint Valley (20-5) at 5 p.m. Thursday at Beavers Field in a semifinal. Hiland (27-3) and Trimble (21-3) play in the early semifinal, and the final is at 5 p.m. Friday.

The Green Wave did not pound the ball in their 10-0 victory against Fisher Catholic in a district final May 21, instead taking advantage of five early errors, but NC has scored 30 runs in its past three games, showing the payoff from battling a Licking County League that was filled with top-notch pitchers.

“It’s great to have some type of production out of all nine spots in the order,” NC coach John Cannizzaro said. “We faced a challenging schedule in regards to opposing pitchers, and sometimes you get in a slump and get down on failure. Right now, we are feeling pretty positive about a lot of things.”

Mitch Lohr and Jack Wollenburg have been moved up in the order since the 2014 season, senior Nick Halloy has shined in his first regular playing time at the varsity level and sophomore Tanner Lake has set the table all season. Lake and classmate Jody Mummey each had a pair of hits against Fisher Catholic.

“We saw some good pitching and saw some not-so-good pitching,” Halloy said. “It was just a matter of adjusting to whatever they threw, and I think we did that pretty well.”

Paint Valley is making its second consecutive regional appearance. The Bearcats trailed Symmes Valley 4-1 before rallying for a 5-4 victory in eight innings in their district final May 18. The Green Wave likely will see right-hander Mason McCloy, who has an ERA under 1.00 in more than 70 innings this season.

The Green Wave’s trump card continues to be their senior right-handers on the mound. Morris and Engle have combined for three shutouts in four postseason games so far.

NC is competing in its 10th consecutive regional tournament, and the Green Wave have never lost a semifinal during that run.

“We definitely have a group of guys that doesn’t take any games off, especially this senior group,” Engle said. “We know every time we step out there it could be our last time, so we don’t take anything for granted. When we come out here, we mean it. We are here to win.”

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @newarkurt