The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lake edges rival NDCL
Lake Catholic’s 2017 season ended painfully in the Division II Jefferson District final. The Cougars were eliminated from the state tournament with a nine-run loss delivered by their chief rival, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin.
Each lineup features a host of new faces, but enough experience to understand the meaningful nature of a matchup between the programs in May.
On May 1, Lake Catholic’s trip to NDCL delivered what Cougars coach Dennis Woods called the best start of the season from senior Tom Yuras.
At the plate, the Cougars used a three-run fifth to withstand the Lions’ three-run seventh for a 4-3 victory. The victory followed an 8-5 Lake Catholic triumph on the Cougars’ home field April 30 and helped reconcile last season’s district final defeat.
“We lost, 11-2, I believe, and we did not have a good game,” Yuras said. “To come out here and go back-to-back days, play really good ball both days and hit well was real nice.”
THE SCORE
LAKE CATHOLIC 4, NDCL 3
Yuras allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked one.
The senior right-hander held the Lions scoreless through the first three frames while Lake Catholic built a 4-0 lead. Yuras pounded the strike zone with his fastball and mixed in his slider and curveball.
Although Yuras struck out eight, Woods thought he was effective because he didn’t chase strikeouts.
“He has a tendency to like strikeouts,” Woods said. “I don’t think he was trying to get strikeouts today.”
Yuras’ trust in his defense was notably rewarded in the fourth inning, when right fielder Jack Lausin made a sliding grab of Dan Liberatore’s two-out line drive that would’ve put the Lions on the scoreboard.
Lake Catholic scored its first run before the Cougars recorded a hit. Lake Catholic drew five walks in the first three innings, and Sam Melnyk’s RBI groundout gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
Melnyk, Logan McNutt and Eric Harb knocked consecutive RBI singles in the fifth for a 4-0 edge. Yuras recorded an out in the seventh before Tim Munz entered to record the game’s final two outs.
Lake Catholic improved to 8-8, and timely hitting will be paramount to the Cougars’ postseason hopes. Lake Catholic, moved up to Division I this season, is the No. 5 seed at the Euclid District.
“I believe we can be a top contender,” Yuras said. “As long as we stay hitting, we can hang with the best of teams.”
NDCL fell to 4-12. The Lions scored three runs in the seventh on Frank Martin’s RBI single, Jack Graycar’s RBI double and Joe DiMattio’s RBI groundout. Left-hander Alex Bumpus lasted 4 2/3 innings before Sam Urbanski held the Cougars scoreless for the rest of the game.
Coach Jim Clark lamented missed opportunities in earlier innings. NDCL stranded runners at third base to end the fourth and fifth innings.
The D-II Lions will begin their district title defense May 8 as Jefferson’s No. 9 seed. Clark has been encouraged recently by NDCL’s improved hitting.
“It seems like it’s a collective thing where our guys are struggling to put together some consistency,” Clark said. “In fairness, we lost some games and, to some degree, some of our guys are trying too hard. We’ll just try to get them to relax and see what we can do.”