St. Vincent-St. Mary and Norton utilized run-scoring doubles to achieve success in Division II district semifinal baseball games Wednesday at Canal Park.
Sophomore Jack Mullin smacked a double in the opener to guide St. V-M to a 2-1 win over Springfield, and Norton senior Geoff Snyder and sophomore Ben Hornacek each hit a double in the nightcap to help power Norton to a 5-0 win over Tallmadge.
St. V-M (14-10) and Norton (14-8) will meet in a district final at 2 p.m. Thursday.
“It’s survive and advance this time of year,” St. V-M senior Mitch Whalen said.
Mullin’s double to the right-center field gap in the bottom of the sixth inning scored seniors Kyle Kelly and Stephen Currie and erased a 1-0 deficit to Springfield (15-14).
“I kind of thought about the last time we played here against Berlin Hiland [in a regular season game and won 3-2 after trailing 2-0],” Mullin said. “This was a similar situation. We just weren’t getting hits and Mitch was pitching great.”
Whalen (4-2) struck out eight and allowed one run and five hits in 6⅓ innings.
“I just cleared my mind and knew the hits would come soon,” Whalen said.
St. V-M coach Anthony Boarman lauded Whalen and Mullin for their performances.
“Jack has been really good for us this year,” Boarman said. “I was proud of his ability to come through. That was a big hit for a sophomore. … Mitch has pitched like that every single game and we have given him similar run support every single game.”
Springfield’s run came in the fourth when junior Cole Meyers scored on a single by senior Niko Ballantyne.
“We executed in all phases of the game,” Springfield coach Randy Jarvis said. “We had one missed sign in the seventh inning with a hit and run on the stolen base [attempt]. Other than that, I couldn’t be more proud of this group collectively.”
Jarvis praised senior Tristan Phillips (7-3), who pitched a complete-game three-hitter. Phillips pitched a two-hit shutout in a sectional final last week against Field in a 1-0 win.
Snyder and Hornacek provided Norton with two big hits, and senior Tucker Cavanaugh (7-1) pitched a shutout to top Tallmadge (14-13).
Snyder hit two singles and a double. His double in the second scored Hornacek and sophomore Bret Baker, who also made two great diving catches in center field.
“We have a good group of seniors,” Snyder said. “Obviously, we had to step up and I think we did tonight. We played really well. It is all about the team effort tonight.”
The Panthers turned four double plays; Snyder to senior Robby Robinson in the second inning, junior Drew Hugland to junior Tim Murray to Robinson in the third inning and Robinson to Snyder to Cavanaugh in the fourth and seventh innings.
“I’m a ground-ball pitcher, so I’ve got to rely on my infield to get me out of stuff,” Cavanaugh said.
The Panthers made it 5-0 in the third with senior Mitch Zimmerman, senior Cole Edgell and Hornacek each scoring a run.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the #ABJVarsity high school blog at www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.