The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Big inning propels North
For the three innings, the matchup between North and South at Classic Park on April 25 had produced one hit. A grind-itout pitchers’ duel between South’s Jerome Gural and North’s Matt Barner appeared to be in the offing.
The Rangers fell behind, 2-0, in the top of the fourth, but exploded for 11 runs in the bottom of the frame and added one more in the fifth for a 12-2 victory.
THE SCORE NORTH 12, SOUTH 2
South (8-11) staged a two-out rally in the top of the fourth. Jack Barnoski, who had doubled, a came home on an infield single by Jeremiah Atwell, then Gural laced a triple to deep center field to score Atwell and make it 2-0.
The sun came out from behind cloud cover in the bottom of the frame, and North’s fortunes changed. The first four Rangers reached base, and North (11-4) sent 15 batters to plate while racking up 11 runs on six hits, four walks, and two hit batsmen to break the game wide open.
“It was a lot of fun,” North coach Kyle Stahlberg said of the win and the big inning. “Their first pitcher was really
locked in for the first couple innings. It took us a minute to figure him out. One time through the order was pretty tough. These guys were sitting back there watching, and waiting for their next shot. When they got back up they capitalized.”
Barner breezed through three batters in the top of the fifth, then North’s John Keough led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk and advanced to second on a groundout by Brody Spock. Two batters later, John Lanning singled to right field to bring in Keough and end the game.
The win snapped a fourgame losing skid for the
Rangers that followed a 10game winning streak to begin the season.
“We were in a little bit of a slump, but it looks like we’re back on track,” said Lanning, who had three hits and drove in two runs. “This is the game we needed to pick us up and remind ourselves who we are.”
The turnaround was stunning for the Rebels, who appeared to have things going their way for 3 1/2 innings.
“I’m kind of speechless, to be honest with you,” South coach Brian Pellegrini said. “It was just one of those innings where you blinked, and they scored 11
runs. I told our guys that I loved the way we played for three and a half innings. Jerome cruised for three innings then he lost it. It happens in baseball. Nothing you can do about it, it’s part of the game.”
The win was significant for North in that it came over the rival Rebels, snapped a losing streak, and took place on the Rangers’ “other home field.”
“It’s awesome,” Stahlberg said. “We love playing here, and we love that they have us out every year. I know (South) love it, too. We love coming here every year, and we always have it circled on the calendar.”