by Akron, OH- St Vincent St Mary took down Holy Name 6-3 in game two of their double-header to get revenge for their playoff loss against the Namers last season.
Tyler Slone pitched in game one of the double-header against Boardman (STVM won 10-2). He would switch places with Matthew Large at first base for this contest. In the top half of the first, Holy Name pitcher Josh Kell walked Rylan Hurley aboard with one out, but the middle infield of Mikey Tworzydlo and Adam Humenik doubled up Hurley and Daniel Krabill to retire the side. In the bottom half of the inning, the Green Wave went in order with Large recording one strikeout.
The Fighting Irish would strike first blood in the second off of a 2 RBI single from Ashton Tamzarian. On the prior at-bat, Matthew Englehart reached on a fielder’s choice. However, he was out due to runners’ interference. While a run scored on this hit, the runner was forced to retreat to third in the aftermath. Large once again retired the Namers in order, preserving STVM’s 2-0 lead heading into the third.
Brendon Preisel reached for Holy Name with one down in the top half of the inning, but the rest of the offense could not get rolling as Large commanded from the mound. Russell Masetta relieved Kell in the bottom of the third inning for HN. He recorded a strikeout while also getting out of the inning with two runners left stranded for St Vincent St Mary.
Holy Name would get on the board in the fourth as Danny Stibley would steal home. However, Krabill would proceed to throw out Harrison Frank who attempted to take third. In the home half of the inning, Masetta would retire the Fighting Irish in order. This brought the Green Wave back to the sticks down 2-1.
In the top of the fifth, Preisel would get to first on a base hit. With two down, he stole second base to put himself in scoring position for Niemiec. However, he struck out to end the inning. Preisel took over on the mound for Masetta in the bottom half of the inning. Slone was able to get his pitcher an insurance run with an RBI infield single. Heading into the sixth, STVM led 3-1.
Large continued to deal on the mound as he retired Humenik, Stibley, and Frank in order. The top of the lineup for the Fighting Irish made sure to slam the door shut on the Holy Name comeback as Max Milkovich recorded a 2 RBI double that saw him reach third on an error. Hurley grounded out to short on the following at-bat, but Milkovich was able to score off of the contact. Heading into the seventh, STVM was in the driver seat as they led 6-1.
The Green Wave kept fighting until the end of this ballgame. Both Nemeth and pinch-hitter Dom Marchetta reached on base hits to begin the inning. With one out, Joey Ragone hit an RBI single. Preisel then followed suit on the next at-bat. This led to St Vincent St Mary Coach Ben Shepherd calling Connor Christie in from the bullpen. He was able to seal the 6-3 victory as he forced Humenik to pop-out to right field.
With the wins today, STVM officially has more victories than they did all of last season. Coach Shepherd has done an amazing job rebuilding this Fighting Irish team to be one of the best in Ohio. According to MaxPreps, they are the 20th best team in the state and 5th best in Division II. Next up for St Vincent St Mary is CVCA on the road Tuesday evening.
Holy Name now falls to 0-6 on the campaign. They look to get their first win of the year on April 14 as they take on Padua at Baldwin Wallace. That game is scheduled for 12:30 PM with Marchetta expected to pitch for HN while the Bruins are scheduled to throw Heidelberg commit Nick Hofener.
Holy Name Key Players
#16 Russell Masetta: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 W, 1 HBP, 1 K
#18 Brendon Preisel: 2-3, 2 1B, 2 SB, RBI, 1.000 OBP
#24 Danny Stibley: 1-3, 1B, R
St Vincent St Mary Key Players
#4 Ashton Tamzarian: 1-2, 1B, 2 RBI, W
#6 Tyler Slone: 1-1, 1B, W, HBP
#24 Matthew Large: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 8 K, 3 R, 2 ER
Player of the Game: Ashton Tamzarian
