After falling behind early in the game, the Manual baseball team could not overcome a four run deficit to Saint Xavier. Manual had plenty of opportunities throughout the game, but the Crimsons stranded ten runners on base in the ballgame.
“Offensively, it’s just situational hitting,” Head Coach Matt Timbario said. “When we get runners on, we gotta get them in. We had runners on base all seven innings, so it’s not like we were struggling to get guys on; we just weren’t getting them in.”
The Crimsons struggled to get runners home with fewer than two outs, as Manual only had one hit with runners in scoring position throughout the game.
“We need to execute when we have less than two outs, and we have runners in scoring position,” Jarrett Harness (12, #4) said. “We have to find a way to get them in in whatever way it may be.”
Harness delivered the one hit when he hit an RBI single to score Trae Gordon (12, #8) with no outs in the bottom of the third. Harness was two for three at the plate Wednesday night, with two singles, the RBI and a run.
“I just hit his fastball,” Harness said. “[St. X pitcher Grant Wessling] had good off-speed pitches so I just waited for a fastball, and when it came I hit it.”
However, Manual’s biggest issue in the game may have came on the mound, where usual steady pitchers Campbell Seiler (12, #12) and Jake Rist (12, #9) struggled to consistently throw strikes throughout the game. In fact, the Tigers scored four runs due to walks or wild pitches alone. Seiler gave up four runs in just an inning and one third pitched, and Rist was in and out of jams before he allowed two runs after pitching an inning and two thirds.
“[We] have to get ahead; it’s all about getting ahead,” Timbario said. “Its gotta be 0-1 instead of 1-0. When we pitch ahead in the count, it’s a lot easier. When we fall behind, their hitters are ready to swing at anything when they’re ahead in the count.”
After Aaron Grammar hit a two RBI single off of Rist in the top of the fourth, Timbario opted to take out the hard throwing righty in favor of Harness. Harness responded with three strong innings, where he gave up just one hit and one walk to St. X.
“I just tried to mix up my pitches,” Harness said. “I stayed out of fastball counts and if I did get in one I’d throw offspeed [pitches].”
“[Harness] did what we wanted,” Timbario said. “He threw strikes and he got ahead in the count. Jarrett has played for us on the varsity level for four years; he knows what to do when he gets out there. He’s got the experience and the confidence when he’s on the mound.”
After falling behind 6-2 in the fourth inning, the Crimsons and the Tigers remained scoreless until Gordon sparked a comeback attempt in the bottom of the seventh inning after getting hit by a pitch. After both Harness and Chris Gambert (11, #25) walked, Manual had the tying runner at the plate—down 6-3 after Gordon scored on a wild pitch—with no outs. After Matthew Marino (12, #7) and Tate McGarvey (12, #23) grounded out to the catcher, second baseman Aaron Sary (9, #20) hit a two RBI single into center field to pull the Crimsons within one at 6-5. Ben Cooper (12, #34) had a chance to tie or win the game with, but he struck out to seal the victory for the Tigers.
“When [we] were behind in the game, we went out there and told our guys to take pitches until their pitcher throws strikes,” Timbario said. “Their pitcher struggled, and he couldn’t get strikes across the plate, so we just kept taking pitches until we got the bases loaded, and we got some timely hits. We were just one hit short.”
Even though the Crimsons could not complete the comeback, the team was able to play decently overall and learn some valuable lessons.
“It just shows that we belong,” Timbario said. “I felt like even though we did get the loss, it was a good loss. We played the game of baseball correctly–just a couple of things didn’t go our way; they made some plays, and they came out on top.”
Manual (12-8) will next take the field Thursday night at Eastern. First pitch is at 5 p.m.
