Ocean City turns it around the next day to beat their cross-bay rivals
OCEAN CITY – The Mainland Mustangs baseball team rallied for a come-from-behind 5-3 road win over rival Ocean City in the final inning Wednesday, April 12.
The next day, the Red Raiders returned the favor, beating the Mustangs 9-2 at their home field.
“We always talk to our kids about winning the week,” Mainland head coach Billy Kern said after Wednesday’s game. “You can’t do that unless you have a good game to start the week off. Ocean City is obviously a great program, coach (Andrew) Bristol does a great job. So when we can get out of here on the road with a win, we feel good with where we’re at going into the rest of the week.”
After losing to Ocean City in the rematch, the Mustangs beat Atlantic City 21-6.
“That’s a huge win for us,” said Mainland senior first baseman Nick Wagner. “You always know when you play Ocean City it’s going to be a tough game. But now we’re confident, we feel good, and I’m happy with what we did today.”
The game couldn’t have started off better for the visitors as Christian Elliott homered on the first offering of the day from starter Matt Pashley.
The pitcher was able to shake it off and settle in from there, while the Raiders responded in the bottom of the first to tie it up thanks to the speed of Jack Hoag.
The Raiders then grabbed the lead in the next frame as Shawn Repetti and Hoag drove runs home.
The Raiders had runners on throughout the game, but couldn’t capitalize to break the game open.
Meanwhile, Pashley did well to limit the damage of the dangerous Mainland lineup.
“He battled,” Bristol said. “It came down to us leaving too many guys on base. We didn’t get the timely hit we needed. We get the timely hit and we’re in an entirely different position. We were aggressive early and that kind of took us out of our aggressiveness on the bases after that. It changed the dynamic when we left runners on.”
The coach saw it as a one-game aberration.
“I think our approach is still there,” Bristol said. “I really like the way we’re hitting right now, we just didn’t get it done today, and it’s guys who normally get it done. So it’s a bounce-back day tomorrow, maybe we change it a little bit.” (They did.)
The Mustangs chipped away for single runs in the fourth and sixth to tie it back up at 3-3, setting the stage for the late-game fireworks.
With one out and sophomore Travis Large on the hill for the Raiders, Bryan Perez reached base after taking a pitch to the helmet, and Elliot reached on a bloop single.
Both then moved up a bag on a pitch in the dirt, which ultimately proved crucial.
With two outs, a tough play at third turned into a run-scoring error to give Mainland the lead.
They tacked on another on an off-target throw on a play at first off the bat of Wagner.
Cohen Cook then stepped in and closed it out for a big early-season win for his team.
“It was huge,” Wagner said. “From (Jake) Lodgek, to Tanner (Levin), to Cohen – they did great today. They hung in there, they battled, they trusted the defense behind them. It was awesome.”
“Our pitchers did a nice job fighting through some adversity,” Kern said. “We’ve got to clean it up a bit behind them and work a little harder getting that first out of the inning. The first three or four innings the leadoff guy got on. In high school baseball the percentages don’t go your way when that happens. But I was happy with Jake; and Tanner was a great bridge today; then if you have an athlete like Cohen to finish a game in any sport that you’re playing, you feel good about your chances.”
Indeed, the game was chock full of great pitching.
“That was actually the first time I’ve seen Pashley, Lex or Large in person,” Kern said. “I was impressed with all of them. They filled the strike zone, they were able to throw breaking balls in any count, and they kept them in the game. So it’s a testament to the depth the conference has.
“You go through a game where you don’t see Evan (Taylor) or Duke (McCarron), the normal names, and they get three quality outings from those guys. It just shows you where the league is pitching-wise.”
“In a battle like that, it’s often strange things like a tough play late that decide the ballgame,” Kern said.
“We knew it was going to be tough,” Wagner said. “We know we have to put the ball in play when we can, and that’s exactly what we did. Joe Sheeran coming up, 3-2 count, two outs, they botch a ball. Evan Taylor is a great third baseman, but that’s just baseball, it happens. That was huge from Sheeran.”
“He made every play today and then some,” Bristol said. “Then that last ball had so much spin on it. It was hit off the end of the bat; it’s not an easy play. Of all the hard plays he made today, I think that was the hardest one to make because of the spin on it. So I think we lost that when we let the runners move up on the play before that.”
Bristol is confident in his pitchers despite the day’s result.
“He’s a big part of our mix,” Bristol said of Large, who took the loss. “He’s got the makeup to come in there in a big situation. Tommy Lex came in in a big situation, and Matt Pashley pitched the way we expect him to pitch. So we’re a little banged up with the pitching and the veterans, but these guys are getting the time now and the experience to make this staff even stronger.”
Coach Kern, meanwhile, was pleased with how his team handled the early deficit and didn’t panic.
“I think in these games you have to try to hang around and not get blown out early,” Kern said. “Both teams are so talented that if you get to a 3-, 4-, 5-run lead in a series, you start to worry about tomorrow,” Kern said. “So if you can keep yourself in it to win today, the kids stay in it. I thought offensively was where we really kept ourselves in it today. Our at-bats were good; even our outs were loud. They gave us no indication that they were going to go away offensively, so we felt really good with where we were.”
“It’s going to help us a long way,” Wagner said. “We feel confident, we feel good, and we’re ready to play tomorrow.”
Wagner is one of the few seniors on a team with high hopes.
“You know, it’s fun,” Wagner said. “Just to see them persevere through adversity – a couple balls going left or right – they stuck with it, played hard, and got the outs when it mattered.”
He’s excited to be a team leader this season, whatever it entails.
“My goal is just to do whatever it takes to help the team win this year,” Wagner said. “Our goal is to win a state championship, and however I can help that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Red Raiders win 9-2 on Mustangs’ field
The Raiders responded on Thursday, April 13, with a 9-2 win over Mainland to split the series.
Dante Edwardi got the win on the mound pitching three innings with 5 strikeouts and allowing 2 hits and 2 runs. Tom Lex and Evan Taylor pitched two innings each and combined for 6 strikeouts.
Mustang Cohen Cook took the loss, allowing 7 hits and 5 runs. Brandon Dearborn allowed 4 hits and 3 earned runs in 2 innings.
Taylor had 3 hits, including 2 doubles, for 2 RBI for the Raiders and Duke McCarron had 3 RBI, on a single and a double. Isaac Peterson also had a double and single, Noah Herrington had a double and Jack Hoag scored 2 runs. Riley Gunnels contributed an RBI. Edwardi had a single for an RBI.
Cook had 2 singles and Brady Blum and Christian Elliott had a single apiece.
Should the teams meet again, it would be in the postseason.
By KYLE McCRANE/Sentinel Sports
