St. Marys Youth Legion wins opener 16-1 in five innings
The St. Marys Youth Legion baseball team kicked off their 2023 season on Tuesday evening on the road against Warren, bringing home a 16-1 fiveinning win.
Mason Nicklas went the distance on the mound for St. Marys, striking out 12 while tossing a one-hitter.
St. Marys had 11 hits of their own in the game, with Charlie Geci and Nicklas each recording a double.
The Post 103 squad scored in each of the five innings, putting two runs on the board in the top of the first, four each in the second and third, five in the fourth, and one in the fifth. Warren scored their lone run in the bottom of the fourth.
A single, a hit batter, and a walk loaded the bases for St. Marys in the top of the opening inning. With Wyatt Brem at bat, Frankie Smith scored on a balk by Warren’s pitcher. Brem ended up drawing a walk to reload the bases. A double play by Warren followed, resulting in the first two outs, but Charlie Geci was able to score to give St. Marys a 2-0 lead. Jayce Walters walked to join Brem on base, but a strikeout left both stranded.
Batters for Warren went down in order in the home half of the inning on a groundout and a pair of strikeouts.
With two outs in the top of the second, Paxton Herzing walked, and then Frankie Smith singled to put runners on the corners. With Geci at bat, Herzing stole home as Smith stole second, making the score 3-0. Geci ended up drawing a walk.
With Nicklas at bat, Frankie Smith scored on a passed ball. Nicklas ended up walking as well, and then both he and Geci scored on a single by Brem and an ensuing error on the play. The runs gave Post 103 a 6-0 lead.
Nicklas struck out the side in the home half of the inning.
Back-to-back walks by Walters and Brady Leathers started off the top of the third. With Gideon Cronk at bat, Walters scored on an error by the second baseman. A single by Cronk put runners on the corners as Leathers advanced to third on the play. With Michael Miller at bat, Leathers scored on a passed ball, increasing St. Marys’ lead to 8-0.
Frankie Smith drew a two-out walk to join Cronk on base, and then a single by Geci scored Cronk and a double by Nicklas scored Frankie Smith. A groundout left both Geci and Nicklas stranded with Post 103 ahead 10-0.
Batters for Warren once again went down in order in the bottom of the inning.
A single, a walk, and an error loaded the bases for St. Marys in the top of the fourth. A single by Cronk scored both Dominic Muccio and Walters and moved Landon Smith to second. Benjamin Mecca hit into a fielder’s choice that erased Landon Smith at third, and then the next batter struck out swinging.
With two outs, Frankie Smith reached on an error, with Cronk scoring on the play. A double by Geci scored both Mecca and Frankie Smith, making the score 15-0.
A one-out triple followed by a balk with two outs resulted in Warren’s only run of the game in the bottom of the inning, making the score 15-1.
A single, an error, and another single loaded the bases in the top of the fifth, with Cronk drawing a oneout walk to score Gilmore and put St. Marys ahead 16-1.
A pair of fielder’s choices brought Warren up to bat for the final time, and then Nicklas struck out the side in the home half of the inning to give St. Marys the 16-1 five-inning win.
St. Marys 16
Frankie Smith 3-4-2, Charlie Geci 2-2-2, Mason Nicklas 2-1-1, Wyatt Brem 3-0-2, Matt Gilmore 3-1-0, Dominic Muccio 1-1-1, Jayce Walters 1-2-1, Brady Leathers 1-1-0, Landon Smith 2-0-0, Gideon Cronk 3-2-2, Michael Miller 2-0-0, Benjamin Mecca, Paxton Herzing 1-1-0, Jay Vollmer 2-00. Totals 28-16-11.
Warren 1
Snyder 2-1-1, B. Schene 2-0-0, Valencia 2-0-0, A. Schene 1-0-0, Orth 1-0-0, Degnan 2-00, Carlson 2-0-0, Slattery 1-0-0, Chase 1-0-0, Raffafle 1-0-0, Bryan 1-0-0. Team 16-1-1.
Score by innings
St. Marys 244 51 Warren 000 10
R
16 1