Newark Catholic 5, TriCounty North 4:
Russia struggled SPRINGFIELD — to hit against Fort Loramie’s Jared Middendorf in four regular-season games in the past two years, including two losses earlier this season in Shelby County League play. But in the late innings of a regional semifinal Friday, Russia got six hits off Middendorf and reliever Eli Rosengarten to spark a comeback victory.
The Raiders scored six runs in late innings to claim an 8-4 win over Fort Loramie, which earns them a spot back at Carleton Davidson Stadium today in a Division IV regional final against Newark Catholic.
Loramie, which beat Russia 3-2 and 4-0 in regular season, scored three runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 4-2 lead. But the Raiders (22-7) scored two in the fifth to tie and four in the sixth to secure the victory.
“This is the fifth time we’ve faced him in the last two years, and we’ve had four runs at the most,” Russia coach Kevin Philpot said of the team’s late outburst against Middendorf. “We were more comfortable seeing him this year for a third time. Even though we haven’t had the most success, they were ready.
“I just told them, ‘No wasted swings against this kid,’ because he’ll off-speed you on the first pitch. If we want to go whaling after it thinking a fastball is coming, we’re going to be down 0-2 swinging at a ball in the dirt. That’s what we focused on all week.”
Leadoff hitter Dion Puthoff doubled to left to get the Raiders going in the fifth. Drew Sherman hit a single to center two batters later to score Puthoff, and Kevin Drees tied it 4-4 with a sacrifice bunt that scored Sherman.
Middendorf walked Russia’s Daril Lavy to start the sixth, and Puthoff followed two batters later with a single to left. Fort Loramie then replaced Middendorf with Rosengarten, but the Raiders kept hitting. Dylan Cordonnier hit an RBI single to shortstop to put Russia up 5-4, then Drew Sherman hit a triple to deep center to score two more runs. Sherman later scored from third after a single by Kevin Drees.
Fort Loramie coach Bill Sturwold credited Russia’s hitters for making the difference.
“Those first five innings were just like our regular season games, but it’s the third time they’ve seen Middendorf, and the advantage goes to the hitter at that point,” Sturwold said.
The Panthers gave up four unearned runs in the first inning, thanks to three hit batters and one walk. After the Green Wave added one in the second to take a 5-0 lead, Tri-County North (19-10) scored three in the third.
Tanner Booth hit an RBI double with one out in the seventh, but the Panthers’ last two batters made routine outs.