by Kent, Ohio – The Solon Comets strung together timely clutch hits Friday afternoon, which led to five runs, propelling them to a 5-1 victory over host Kent Roosevelt in a Hudson District sectional final matchup.
Through the first four innings, both starting pitchers (Zac Common for the Rough Riders and Nate Kusner for the Comets) pitched shutdown ball, only allowing one hit between them, a single in the third inning by Common.
After Common got through the top of the fifth inning unscathed, Kent Roosevelt took the lead in the bottom half after a dropped pop fly on what should have been the third out. Kristian Daetwyler, who got on base due to a fielders choice, scored on a wild pitch to give the Rough Riders the lead, 1-0.
The Comets would break through in the sixth inning.
Sam Bubonics would start off the inning by beating out a grounder to get the first base hit for the Comets. After a strikeout, Ryan Guggenheim would win an eight-pitch battle by singling into left field. With two outs, junior right field Jude Littrell singled to right field to tie up the ball game. He was then followed up by Jack Westrich, who added another single, this one of the go-ahead kind, to put Solon ahead, 2-1.
“I was looking to do something with the first pitch of the at-bat, saw one down the middle and let it rip.” said Westrich.
But the Comets were not done.
Junior catcher Camden Loeschen hit an RBI single of his own to increase the Comet lead to 3-1, and then Sloan Ulrich broke the game open with a two-run double to left field, sending the Solon bench into a frenzy.
“We knew that he was one of the better pitchers. We knew we had to get our foot down, get the barrel to the ball and just start hitting it. Jude (Littrell) had a nice little hit to get our run going, then I came up, got down in the count, then just shortened up my swing and took it to left center and got us going.” said Ulrich.
Ethan Wong added an RBI single to left field in the seventh inning for the final margin.
Nate Kusner pitched a complete game to improve his record to 5-2 on the year. He gave up four hits, one run, walked three, and struck out eight.
“That’s a great team there. We knew coming in that we could not take them lightly. They have a great record so we just came in and played our brand of baseball. We gutted it out so, on to the next one.” said Kusner.
“We knew about Kent Roosevelt. They’re well coached and a very talented team. We knew it was going to be a battle for seven innings. At the same time, that’s the kind of season we’ve had. We’ve played a lot of close games against some very talented teams and knew that if we kept chipping away and got (Common)’s pitch count up, then we could punch a couple runs across and that’s what we did. He is one of the better pitchers we’ve seen this year without a doubt. We knew what we needed to do and thankfully we were able to do it.” said Solon head coach Damien Kopkas. “Nate (Kusner) threw a fantastic game. He battled through and threw a lot pitches. He has been our ace all year long and fully expected him to compete. He gave us everything he had tonight.” he added.
Solon improves to 18-7 and travels to Baldwin-Wallace University to take on St. Ignatius Saturday afternoon, then takes on top-seeded Walsh Jesuit Tuesday afternoon in a Hudson District semifinal.
“I believe Zac (Common) hadn’t allowed a hit in five innings. He pitched a really good ball game but Solon managed to put balls in play and gave their team great at bats, putting them in position to do things offensively, and it turned into a couple of runs. Those are the defending district champions and this is one of the toughest districts in the state.” said Kent Roosevelt head coach Michael Haney. “I feel bad for my guys. They competed their butts off today and I’m really proud of them. This is one of the best groups I’ve ever had.”
Kent Roosevelt finishes their season at 18-8.
