The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Shawver shuts down Westlake
With his offense struggling, Amherst’s Evan Shawver took things into his own hands, striking out 14 and knocking in the game’s only run as topseeded Amherst slipped past No. 9 Westlake, 1-0, in a Division I sectional final in the Lorain District on May 12.
Amherst moves on to play No. 4 Midview in a district semifinal at the Pipe Yard in Lorain at 4 p.m. May 17.
“When you get in the tournament,
it doesn’t matter what the records are because you’re going to get everybody’s best game,” Amherst coach Matt Rositano said. “We knew Westlake was going to come out and give us a good game.”
Those records he mentioned were polar opposite as the Southwestern Conference champion Comets (22-5, 17-2 SWC) hosted the struggling Demons (7-12, 7-10 SWC), who knew they faced a tough task.
“I’m proud of our ball club,” Demons coach Larry Mosley said. “They fought. They understood that it was a whole David vs. Goliath scenario, but they didn’t shy away from the moment.”
Westlake got its momentum early as Connor Sternerkert reached base on a walk and took second on a wild pitch by Shawver. The Demons grabbed another baserunner as Michael Parfejewiec connected on a single.
Sternerkert got as far as third before Shawver settled down and got out of the early jam. The scare was indicative of how the day was going to be for Amherst.
The close calls continued into the second inning as Westlake’s Omer Abed belted a double into center field. He then advanced on a wild pitch as the Demons were threatening again.
Much like the first inning, Shawver settled down, striking out three straight to end the inning. Shawver (3-3) credited his teammates for helping him out of the first two innings.
“I just try and throw strikes and I know the eight people behind me are making plays no matter what,” Shawver said. “Even if it’s my catcher blocking the ball or my shortstop throwing the ball, I know things are happening around me.”
Amherst’s offense was unusually silent as Westlake pitcher Billy Blood (0-3) gave his best performance of the season, striking out four, walking one
and holding the Comets to four hits. Mosley felt Blood’s performance is a sign of things to come.
“That’s what playoff baseball is all about — the records go out the window,” Mosley said. “Billy Blood will be a name that Amherst will be looking at next year. I’m proud of Billy.”
Blood held Amherst’s lineup in check until the bottom of the third when Hunter Cassidy’s single and steal of second allowed Shawver to deliver an RBI double, giving the Comets the 1-0 lead.
“It felt good because, you know, I have been struggling these past few games with my hitting,” Shawver said. “When I came up (to bat) I knew I had to hit a drive if I wanted to keep playing and we were going to move on to the next round. I just tried to sit on a fastball and I hit it.”
His offense was a welcome sight, but it was his pitching that continued to thrill the home fans. Shawver seemed to gain steam after he gave himself support. He carved up the strike zone with an array of pitches and struck out the side in the top of the fifth to earn his 11th strikeout.
“After that first inning,
he kind of settled down,” Rositano said. “He found his curveball and was able to mix up some pitches and kept them off-balance from there.”
Shawver mentioned his dugout had fueled him in the close win, but it seemed to cause a little bit of controversy in the first couple innings as Mosley took exception to the noise coming out of the Amherst dugout when Blood was pitching and let the home plate umpire know. That caused a heated interaction between both coaching staffs.
Rositano felt the whole thing was blown out of proportion and the boys were just having fun.
“You get a good high school baseball atmosphere and the kids are into it, and I don’t think there is anything more to say about that,” Rositano said.
Mosley disagreed and looks to use the close game as fuel heading into next season.
“I don’t know if you saw the antics that happened a little bit between those first couple innings, but our offseason will be geared toward shutting up teams that are a tad bit bush league,” Mosley said.