by The Padua Franciscan Bruins Defeat the Keystone Wildcats 6-4, Behind Nathan Krayzel’s Stellar Relief Performance
North Ridgeville, OH-
The Padua Franciscan Bruins erased an early three run deficit to advance to the district finals. The Bruins faced the Keystone Wildcats in a tough match up. The Wildcats were led by senior pitcher, Brock Miller on the hill and the Bruins were led by junior Lucas Palange.
The Wildcats struck first on an RBI double by freshman, Ryan Younglas to give the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead. Brock Miller followed suit with an RBI double, bringing Younglas home to increase the Wildcats lead to 2-0. Senior left fielder, Victor Vilchez drove in Miller in the next at bat with an RBI single, to give the Wildcats a 3-0 advantage heading into the bottom of the 3rd inning.
The Bruins brought in junior pitcher, Nathan Krayzel who struck out the side in the top of the 4th inning, sparking a momentum shift from the Padua dugout. Krayzel found himself in uncharted territory, stating “I don’t usually like coming out of the pen, but I was able to come out today and do what I had (to do.)”
The bottom of the 4th brought on a rally from the Bruins. Senior right fielder, Matt Lowe started the inning off with a single, then advanced to second on an error by the pitcher. Senior, Jacob Duliba, pinch hit for Manny Lebron, and smoked an RBI double to left field, driving in Lowe, putting Padua on the board, and ending Miller’s night. The Wildcats chose to bring Vilchez onto the hill in relief. Two at-bats later, Palange singled on a hard ground ball to right field, driving in pinch runner, Manny Lebron, making the score 3-2. The Wildcats elected to intentionally walk, senior catcher, Yuri Bellina, bringing up junior 1st basemen, Spencer Siedlecki. Siedlecki drove in the two-run go-ahead double, seizing control of the lead, 4-3. After the game, the first basemen said that he felt motivated, stating, “when they intentionally walked Yuri… honestly that kind of just set me off. They wanted to get to me, they are trying to get me out.”
Krayzel kept dealing through the 5th inning, not allowing a base runner, and sustaining the Bruins’ lead. The Bruins’ offense tacked on two more runs behind an RBI single from junior center fielder, Makhi Williams, and a balk, making the score 6-3. The Wildcats brought freshmen, Blake Moore to close out the fifth inning with a strike out.
In the top of the 6th inning, the Wildcats showed some fight. Moore drew a walk to start off the inning. Junior first basemen, Alex Sayers drove Moore home on an RBI single to center field.
In the bottom of the 6th, Moore shut the Bruins down with two strikeouts and 1-2-3 inning to bring the Wildcats back up to the plate. Krayzel continued his dominance with 3 strikeouts to close the game and secure the win.
Bruins’ head coach, Ryan McSweeney, stated the team “felt a bit shaky” against Miller, but was proud of the resilience his guys have shown all year. McSweeney also tipped his cap to Nathan Krayzel for his relief performance, and to his hitters for making adjustments at the plate throughout the game. McSweeney feels it will be a tough test in the district final against the Rocky River Pirates, but he is excited and ready for his team to take on the challenge, stating “at this point in time of the year, anything can happen.”
The Padua Franciscan Bruins will take on the top seed, Rocky River Pirates on Wednesday, May 22nd at 5 p.m. at North Ridgeville High School.
Notable Performances
Keystone Wildcats
Brock Miller 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 R, 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K
Victor Vilchez 2-3, 1 RBI
Alex Sayers 1-3, 1 RBI
Ryan Younglas 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 R
Blake Moore 1 SB, 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Padua Franciscan Bruins
Makhi Williams 1-4, 1 RBI, 3 SB
Lucas Palange 2-2, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SB
Spencer Siedlecki 1-3, 2 RBI
Jacob Duliba 1-1, 1 RBI
Nathan Krayzel (W) 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
