Shelby battles back, clips Lucas 3-2
By CHUCK RIDENOUR Daily Globe Sports Editor
For five innings, the Whippets and their bats were frustrated.
In the sixth inning, the sticks showed some life and tied the game.
The seventh saw Blaine Bowman triple over the right fielder’s head to lead off the stanza and Jeremy Holloway followed with a RBI single to right-center and scored Bowman with the game-winner in a 3-2 non-conference varsity baseball win against Lucas Monday.
The Whippets improved 12-6 on the season and the Cubs dipped to 10-8 in the first ever meeting between the two programs in Richland County.
“It was nice to see our guys fight back after five innings of frustration where we left some guys in scoring position. It seemed like every inning we left guys on base and to see us bust through at the end was good for us,” said SHS coach Jon Amicone.
Shelby stranded runners in scoring position five times, including two in the first and one at third in the second.
The Whippets squared things at 2-2 in the sixth when Landon Kennard walked, advanced to second on a fielder’s choice and scored on a two-out single punched to center field by Nic Eyster.
Eyster, a freshman, went all seven innings for the red and gray and scattered four hits. He finished with eight strikeouts and three walks.
He survived a difficult fifth inning when Lucas tallied two runs on two hits and two walks.
The SHS defense also came through with a pair of double plays to minimize damage in the game and one of the twin killings was in the fifth when the Cubs got their first three batters aboard.
“The name of the game is Nic Eyster… a freshman kid who was given an opportunity and he made the most of it. To throw a complete game and get the big, two-out hit to tie the game in the sixth inning shows the kind of player he is. As a freshman he’s got maturity beyond his years. He did a really good job for us,” said Amicone.
Shelby led 1-0 in the first on a run-scoring single by Marshall Shepherd who drove in Bowman, who reached the base paths when he was hit by a pitch.
The Whippets finished with six hits — Bowman’s triple and basehits by Holloway, M. Shepherd, Luke Shepherd, Eyster and Kamdyn Wheeler.
Andrew Smollen suffered the loss and struck out five and walked three.
Next up for SHS is a huge Mid Ohio Athletic
Conference with Ontario. The Warriors currently lead the race at 7-2 and the red and gray enter at 7-4. In between is Highland at 9-3. Today’s game at Ontario and Wednesday’s home date with the Warriors are must-win games.
“Our goal is to be in it the last week of the season and we’re in it,” said Amicone. We have two huge games against really talented team in Ontario. We’ll take one game at a time. We’ll have Shep (Marshall Shepherd) going for us tomorrow and we’ll see how it all shakes out.” POSTSEASON
The tournament pairs were determined Sunday and Shelby is the No. 3 seed in the Division II Sectional/district at
Fremont. The Whippets have a first-round bye and await the winner of the game between No. 6 seed Clear Fork and No. 11 seed Mansfield Senior. The red and gray will host that winner on Friday, May 20, at 5 p.m.