Ospelt hurls Rockets past Rocky River

Bay got back to .500 with a 10-4 win over Great Lakes Conference rival Rocky River April 14.

Bay got back to .500 with a 10-4 win over Great Lakes Conference rival Rocky River April 14 to remain one game out of first place behind Elyria Catholic.

Pitcher Truman Ospelt went the distance for the Rockets, earning his first win of the season in his first varsity start. Ospelt gave up four hits and four runs while striking out three and giving up only one walk.

“I was throwing my fastball really well, and to work in a curveball with it, (Rocky River) just couldn’t react to it in time and it was just a really good day to pitch,” Ospelt said.

Bay (4-3) jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning before Rocky River answered with a pair of runs to take the lead in the top

of the second, and knowing how well his team can hit, Ospelt said all he could think about was holding the Pirates scoreless from then on.

“After that inning I noticed after I screwed up, walked a couple people and then (Rocky River) got that one hit which brought in the runs,” Ospelt said. “After that I wanted to make it so they couldn’t score again ... (and) I think it went really well because I only had a couple bad innings, but mostly I got it done, (and) didn’t (have to) throw too much.”

Rocky River (3-4) struggled in the field much of the game, and in the third and fourth innings, the Rockets were able to score eight runs (one earned) off nine hits and three errors.

Where the Pirates struggled, though, Bay played exceptionally well. The Rockets defense saved run after run despite Rocky River making hard contact at the plate.

“(Bay) played great defense,” Rocky River coach Darryl Sanders said. “We hit the ball hard and they were right there. Their pitcher, give him credit, he put the ball where he needed to and we hit it where he wanted us to hit it.

“We told our players that there were a few plays we should have made that we didn’t make that extended innings, hurt our pitcher . ... It’s just little things we have to keep working on.”

Bay coach Ben Boka said he’s starting to see his team hit the ball more and execute fundamental plays that they struggled with the first few games of the season, and sees the confidence building in the dugout with each win.

“When you have good pitching and good defense, you put yourself in a position to win the ball game,” Boka said.

“Offensively, we were able to hit the ball a little bit, string some hits together and execute some fundamental plays that led to a number of runs for us.

“For us right now, our conference record keeps improving with each win and the bats are starting to come around where they weren’t the first three or four games.

The Rockets will travel to Myrtle Beach, S.C., during the spring break, while Rocky River makes the trip to University School April 15.