SHELBY — In a close game, the team that usually makes the first mistake is the one that suffers the most.
That team was the Wynford Royals on Wednesday afternoon.
Locked in a 1-1 game heading to the top of the fifth inning, one mistake turned the game around.
With two outs, Western Reserve had loaded the bases, but a Wynford throwing error allowed the Roughriders to take a 2-1 lead. Instead of ending the frame still tied at 1-1, Wynford was down and Western took full advantage, scoring three more times in the inning to take a 5-1 lead.
From that point, the Roughriders came away with a 9-2 win in the semifinal of the Division VI district tournament in Shelby. With the win, the Roughriders advanced to the district championship and will play Colonel Crawford for the title on Friday at 5 p.m. The Eagles advanced with a 10-5 win over Crestview in the day’s second game.
Of the five runs Western tallied in the first five innings, none were earned off Wynford starter Drew Pope, a fact not lost on Wynford coach Tom Smith.
“We gave them the first five runs in the game; they were all unearned, and Drew got up close to 100 pitches and he had run out of gas at that point. The bullpen struggled from there,” Smith said.
Smith added that his team was shorthanded entering the game.
“Our top three pitchers are all hurt, or out,” Smith said. “My centerfielder has been out for a long time with a broken hand. We had a lot of guys out, so it’s not the way we wanted to finish but we had a chance.”
Western Reserve coach Jason Good felt that his team pressured the Royals for most of the game and took advantage of Wynford miscues.
“Early in the game, I thought we had good approaches in our at-bats, we hit it right to the centerfielder, right to the middle infield on a few line drives,” Good said. “We kept preaching all season long, go to an away side gap and good things are going to happen. That’s what happened in the fifth inning.”
Good also felt that his team played to their strengths.
“Our objective is always, take advantage of the other 90 (feet) and be one step ahead of our opponent,” Good said. “And things happen the right way when you catch your opponent sleeping. A cutoff situation or a passed ball that went only 10 feet behind home plate.
“Our guys came in and were ready to take advantage of the extra 90 feet every single time,” Good said.
Western opened the game, taking a 1-0 lead on a Connor Harmeling single, a Wynford error and a double by clean-up hitter Cooper Zunis.
The Royals struck back in the bottom of the frame on a walk to Gage Massey. Massey stole second and scored on a double to right-center from Drew Johnson.
For the next three innings, Roughriders starter Harmeling and Pope matched each other pitch-for-pitch. Neither team could gain advantage until the fifth, when the Roughriders gained control.
“We didn’t hit the ball hard today; he kept us off-balance, I guess,” Smith said of Harmeling. “We only had a couple of good, hard hits. Drew had a nice one early in the game. We just didn’t hit the ball hard today.”
Pope officially worked 4 2/3 innings, permitted no earned runs on six hits. He struck out three and walked three. Hunter Routson and Levi McLaughlin finished up.
The Royals did get a run in the seventh on singles from Collin Hulsmeyer and Massey.
Harmeling went the distance, scattering six hits. He struck out four and walked two.
“Connor has pitched great the last few outings,” Good said. “Early in the year, he gave us some relief outings, and we’ve been able to go to him to give us quality starts. He doesn’t walk guys; he keeps the ball down and he keeps his composure no matter what.”
Box score
Western Reserve 100 042 2 9 11 1
Wynford 100 000 1 2 6 3
WP: Connor Harmeling (4 SO, 2 W)
LP: Drew Pope (4 SO, 3 W)
HR: None.
Triples: None.
Doubles: (WR) Cooper Zunis; (W) Drew Johnson.
Multiple hits: (WR) Tyler Wood, Caleb Rausch, Connor Harmeling; (W) Drew Johnson, Collin Hulsmeyer.
Records: Western Reserve 9-12; Wynford 11-13.
Next: Western Reserve vs. Colonel Crawford, at Shelby, Friday.