The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Win clinches title share
Abrahamowicz, Banjoff lead Panthers past Bay in GLC showdown
Elyria Catholic held off Bay, 3-2, in a Great Lakes Conference showdown on May 2 at Oberlin College, which clinched a share of the Great Lakes Conference title for the Panthers.
It was a chilly, breezy day and both starting pitchers made quick work of the opposing lineups, as only one earned run
came across out of the five total runs scored in the game.
Elyria Catholic starting pitcher Andrew Abrahamowicz (6-0) overpowered Bay’s hitters most of the night, as the right hander struck out eight in his complete game effort, allowing four hits and issuing one walk.
It was the Nebraska commit’s
20th career win in four years and sixth of his senior season.
Abrahamowicz admitted after the game he was even more amped up for the GLC matchup, knowing what was at stake against one of his team’s biggest rivals.
“There’s definitely extra adrenaline,” Abrahamowicz said.
“You obviously want to win the conference again and they’re a good team. Facing them is a quality win.”
Elyria Catholic coach Bruce Lisicky had the right guy on the mound for a big game and was proud to see another stellar outing, despite some defensive miscues behind his starting pitcher.
“We feel comfortable with him out there,” Lisicky said of
his ace.
“They hit two or three balls out of the infield all game and only one of them went for a hit. When there’s two outs and a runner on third, we know he’s going to make a pitch and get the strikeouts when we need them.”
Bay starting pitcher Liam Hanna did his job on the other side, keeping the Rockets in the game from start to finish, allowing only one earned run in the contest.
Sophomore cleanup hitter Leighton Banjoff got things started for Elyria Catholic’s offense, roping a single to right to lead off the bottom of the second inning.
Banjoff swiped second and later came around to score on a single by Brendan Holley and a fielding error in right.
Bay came right back in the top of the fourth, taking advantage of an error to get the leadoff man aboard.
Connor Shell stole second after reaching base on an error and Thomas Koss followed him with a single, putting runners at the corners with nobody out.
Koss attempted to steal second and was thrown out, but Shell took home and scored on the throw, tying the game.
Abrahamowicz struck out the next two to send the game to the bottom of the four all knotted up at one.
Elyria Catholic used aggressive baserunning in the bottom of the fifth to steal another run from Hanna and the Rockets.
Jack Laird drew a leadoff walk and Daniel Peacock came in as a pinch runner. Grant McClure’s sacrifice bunt moved Peacock into scoring position and the leadoff hitter in the lineup, Tony LoParo sent a sharp grounder to short.
An errant throw allowed LoParo to reach first safely and Peacock made the turn from third to home without hesitation, scoring the goahead run.
“That’s what we practice,” Lisicky said.
“We practice with two outs and there’s a ground ball in the infield, you’re scoring.
“They’re running hard on contact and as they’re rounding third, we see the bad throw and we keep sending them. We make a living off that sometimes.”
One inning later, when Elyria Catholic needed a clutch hit for an insurance run, Banjoff came to the plate and drove a hard liner to the gap in right center, scoring Ryan Strittmather from second.
All three of Banjoff’s atbats were hard hits the other way to the right side out the outfield and it didn’t hurt to have a strong wind heading that direction, but the ability to hit to all parts of the field is one of the sophomore’s strengths at the plate.
“He’s got that inside-out swing,” Lisicky said.
“That’s a good approach to have so you end up hitting the ball that way. He really turns on it and that’s where his power is.”
The insurance run proved crucial, as Bay did not go down quietly in the seventh.
Once again, Bay was able to take advantage of an Elyria Catholic defensive miscue, as Ryan Keane reached first with a wellplaced swinging bunt and later came around to score on another fielding error.
With the tying run at second and two outs, Abrahamowicz sealed the deal, inducing a groundout to end the game.
Elyria Catholic extended its conference win-streak to 22 games with the win, while Bay (9-8, 6-2) lost its chance of winning the conference outright.
It was not the outcome Bay coach Ben Boka was hoping for, but he was not disappointed to see his team hold its own against the No. 4-ranked Division III team in the state.
“We had some chances with runners in scoring position, but we didn’t come through on them,” Boka said.
“They hit the ball one or two more times than we did. There were a couple plays in the field that we didn’t quite come through on that led to a run. We’d like to have those back.”
Hanna’s complete game effort was one of the positive takeaways of the night for Boka.
“Hanna has been keeping hitters off balance all year,” he said.
“It’s a tough loss for him to take today because he certainly pitched well enough to win.”
Although Bay’s chances at a conference title diminished, the game showed how much the young team has grown since starting the season 0 and 3.
“This is where we thought our players would get to,” the coach said.
“It’s been very much a growth kind of season for a lot of players. We just keep getting better the more we get out here. I’m really proud of the boys and the strides they’ve made. I think getting in pressure situations and games such as today, it’s only going to help out in the long run and help the squad overall.
“As we get closer to the tournament next week, these kinds of experiences will help them learn to compete in state tournament play.”
Elyria Catholic improves to 15-3 overall (10-0 GLC) and it takes a total team effort to achieve that kind of success, but in a pivotal conference game, it was two of the team’s stars — Abrahamowicz and Banjoff — who led the way, both on the mound and at the plate.
Banjoff finished the day 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI double, a single, a run scored and a stolen base in game in which baserunners were hard to come by, while Abrahamowicz once again showed why he’s headed to pitch on the big stage at the next level.
“They’re two of our best players,” Lisicky said.
“That’s why we send them out there. Andrew’s our best pitcher and Banjoff’s leading the team in hitting.”