by Lakewood, Ohio – The visiting Avon Eagles jumped ahead early and held off the host Lakewood Rangers, 6-4, on Friday night.
It didn’t take long for Avon to get the offense going.
Matt Maxey led off with a walk, followed by a Brenton Dill single. Gavin Ehrhardt laced a double down the right field line to score a pair of runs and put Avon ahead 2-0. Joey Griffiths drew a walk and eventually scored on a double steal attempt to make the lead 3-0.
Avon added to their lead again with a two out rally in the top of the third inning. The Eagles got a pair of walks and a single to load the bases, and Ryan Sudbrook drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 4-0.
Lakewood got on the board in the home half of the third. The Rangers loaded the bases before Brody Papay struck out back-to-back hitters. Senior Luke Mason hit a two-out RBI single to cut their deficit to 4-1.
That was all the Lakewood offense could muster, as Papay managed to limit the damage to one run and struck out the next hitter to end the inning.
The Eagles added a run in the top of the fourth on a fielder’s choice groundball, and another thanks to a Leo Winters RBI single in the top of the fifth to increase their lead to 6-1.
Lakewood responded with a run in the home half of the fifth to cut their deficit to 6-2. They would load the bases looking for more. However, Avon left fielder Matt Maxey had other plans.
He threw out a runner attempting to score on a flyout to left field to end the inning and thwart another Lakewood rally.
The Rangers cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth inning.
They loaded the bases once again and capitalized. Aidan Maxwell beat out a grounder for an RBI single, and Mason Ivinskas put a flyball between a pair of Eagle outfielders for another RBI single. However, Chris Egger got out of the inning without any further trouble.
Lakewood got a two-out walk to bring the tying run up in the bottom of the seventh. Brenton Dill induced a line-drive out to close the game and secure the win for Avon.
The Avon Eagles improve to .500 at 6-6. They will travel to Mayfield for another non-conference game Saturday, April 15th. Sophomore pitcher Brody Papay struck out nine batters in 4+ innings of work. He allowed just one earned run on five hits. Chris Egger came on in relief and threw 2.2 innings, escaping jams in the bottom of the fifth and sixth, respectively.
Patience was a virtue for the Avon bats Friday evening. Despite having just four hits, the Eagles drew ten walks in total, with Joey Griffiths drawing three of them.
Lakewood drops to .500 and now sits at 4-4. The Rangers will host Holy Name in Great Lakes Conference play Monday, April 17th. Luke Jablonowski pitched 1.2 innings in relief, striking out three hitters. Aidan Maxwell and Luke Jablonowski each had a pair of hits.
