By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
WEST UNITY (May 6, 2024) – Hilltop spotted Cardinal Stritch a quick 3-0 lead, and the Cardinals stopped every Cadet attempt to forge a tie or win to take a 4-3 victory.
The Cards got three first innings runs, not all the fault of Hilltop starter Cameron Schlosser. Nate Bennett reached on an infield single, and Schlosser walked the next two batters to load the bases with no one out.
Schlosser got Tyler Bohnsack to hit an infield chopper, but an error marked a pair of Cardinal runs and a dropped flyball on the next hitter scored one more.
Schlosser got out of further trouble with a pop up and a strikeout to hold Stritch to the initial three runs.
From that point, Schlosser made just one bad pitch in the next five innings, a high fastball that Jacob Ball pounded over the left field wall with two down in the third.
The solo shot gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead before the Cadets began to get back into the game.
In the bottom of the frame, Brady Wagner, Wade Wagner, and Devin Dempsey all singled to start the inning and when the throw from center went awry on Dempsey’s hit, the error scored Brady Wagner to put the Cadets on the board.
One out later, Schlosser marked the second tally of the inning with a bounce out to cut the Cardinal lead in half at 4-2.
The score stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh. Three infield errors on grounders around a bounce out scored one Hilltop run and put runners on first and third.
A defensive indifference allowed the runner at first to take second putting the potential tying and winning runs in scoring position, but Ball got a strikeout and a fly out to end the contest.
Brady Wagner had three of Hilltop’s eight hits on the day. Schlosser went six innings, giving up just four hits and two earned runs. He walked two and struck out five Stritch hitters.
Stritch starter Kaeden Granger got the win. He struck out five, walked one and was touched for five hits and two runs, both earned.
STRITCH 301 000 0 – 4 6 4
HILLTOP 002 000 1 – 3 8 1
Records: Stritch 11-5, Hilltop 12-7
WINNING PITCHER: Granger (3 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts) OTHER: Ball
LOSING PITCHER: Schlosser (6 innings, 4 hits, 4 runs, 2 earned, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks) OTHER: D. Dempsey
LEADING HITTERS: (Stritch) Bennett – 3 singles; Bohnsack – single, 2 RBIs; Ball – home run, RBI; (Hilltop) Rebeck – 2 singles; Schlosser – 2 RBIs; B. Wagner – 3 singles