by Kent, Ohio – The Crestwood Red Devils scored eight runs in the second inning, en route to a 12-2 victory in five innings over visiting Maple Heights at Schoonover Stadium on Monday night.
After a scoreless first, the Red Devils jumped on top in the second. With one out, Logan Bailey singled to left field and stole second. He would later score on a Scott Schaefer double to field for the first run of the game. Schaefer would score on a balk, and junior Clay Bascombe, after reaching on an error, would score on an errant throw into left field after stealing third, to increase the lead to 3-0. After adding three more runs, Logan Bailey would bat for the second time in the inning, and came through with a sacrifice fly. Another run would score on the throw from right field, increasing the lead to 8-0.
The Maple Heights Mustangs would score two runs in the top of the third inning, both coming off bases-loaded walks.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Red Devils would score four runs, capped off by a two-run single by junior designated hitter J.J. Riley for the final margin.
Freshman pitcher Jacob Dustman pitched a complete game, giving up only two runs on four hits, walking three batters, and striking out six.
“It felt good to get the win. It was a lot different on the mound being a freshman, and it was a good win.” said Dustman.
Senior pitcher/catcher Jacob Ober, who earned the victory in the first game, followed it up by going 2-4 with a single and double, and two runs scored in that game, and 2-2 with two singles and a run scored in the nightcap.
“Well, we started off the first game, it didn’t seem like we had it all going for us at first but then towards the end there, we started getting momentum going, then after that, we just brought it for the second game and ended up doing well compared to the first.” said Ober.
Despite the winter-like elements, Crestwood head coach John Bakalar was satisfied with how his team played in both games.
“Anytime you can be out here, it’s exciting, even with the elements. First game, John Hay matched up pretty well with us. It was a sloppy game on both sides, with errors, walks, stuff like that. I really liked our resiliency. We were down twice, but battled back to tie/take the lead both times. I thought the two freshmen who started did a nice job both games. Anytime you can walk out of here with two wins, you’re pretty happy. The first one wasn’t pretty, but we got it done.” he added.
The Crestwood Red Devils improve to 3-1 and face the Beachwood Bison at Schoonover Stadium in a double-header Tuesday afternoon.
“For the first time seeing live pitching outside, we hit a lot of line drives and not a lot of lazy fly balls. The kids had a good work ethic, kept the ball down, all good things. I’m happy with the results tonight.” said Maple Heights second-year head coach Lee Harris.
The Maple Heights Mustangs open up Lake Erie League conference play at Bedford on Wednesday afternoon, and travel to Kirtland on Thursday afternoon.
