FINDLAY (Crawford County Now) — The Carey baseball team had Seneca East’s number in the regular season, sweeping the Tigers in a two-game series with a 5-1 win in 11 innings in the first game and a 6-2 victory the next game.
The Blue Devils looked to be continuing the domination, leading 3-0 after three innings into a Division VI district semifinal game Wednesday afternoon at the Marathon Diamonds in Findlay.
But then the Tigers roared, exploding for a six-run fourth inning and fending off a Blue Devils resurgence just enough to take an 8-7 victory, move on to the district final and end Carey’s season.
“It was the type of game we expected, close, emotional, a dogfight; it’s how all our games have been against them, and we expected the same thing,” Carey coach Trey Bame said. “It’s really hard to beat a team three times, especially a team that’s that good, that disciplined, that well-coached. We were right there. We know we could have done it. We know we should have done it. But all credit to them, they earned it.”
Seneca East advances to face Ashland Crestview (11-11) in a district final at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Marathon Diamonds.
After three innings of spotless work on the mound and with one out in the fourth inning, Carey ace Garrett Hall ran into trouble.
An error got a runner on base before Branson Robinson and Brady Bloom singled back-to-back to load the bases. Gunner Polachek was hit by a pitch, which got the Tigers’ first run on the board, and Luke Mason walked to add another one.
Then, the avalanche. Branson Finnell knocked in two runs on a single, and immediately after that, Braydon Robinson added two more runs on another single to complete an enormous inning for Seneca East (18-6).
The Tigers added another run in the next inning on a Bloom RBI double to make it 7-3.
But Carey (22-4) didn’t lie down, as it added three crucial runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to trim its deficit to one.
Benson Kloepfer opened the inning with a double, and Landon Tarris drove him in on a single. Garrett Hall walked before Louis Watkins hit a ball to deep left field that went under a bench and was ruled a ground-rule double. Only Tarris scored on the ruling that would’ve added more runs for Carey otherwise.
Regardless, David Hall drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to complete the Blue Devils’ three-run inning and make it a one-run game, but Watkins was left stranded at third.
Carey tied it in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Dash Puckett came up huge in the clutch belting a triple on a line drive to center field and soon after was able to score the tying run on a passed ball.
But Seneca East kept its composure in the face of Carey’s comeback. After Nicholas Parks singled to open the inning, Branson Robinson delivered with another single of his own to drive Parks home to take an 8-7 lead, which the Tigers would hold on to for the win.
“That six-run fourth inning was huge,” Seneca East coach Rick Bowerman said. “It was a real momentum-builder for us. I think it gave our kids a lot of confidence to see that and say, ‘Hey, we can win this game.’ And even after they tied it up there in the bottom of the sixth, our kids were positive. They said, ‘Hey, we’re going to score, we’re going to score.’ So that was good.”
Carey jumped out to the early lead in the first inning after a Watkins RBI triple before he scored on a passed ball. The Blue Devils added another run in the third inning on a Tigers error.
Garrett Hall started and took the loss for Carey, allowing eight runs (only two earned) on seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts in seven innings.
“This game was gonna be between two teams that can make it very deep in this tournament; we knew that, and they know that,” Bame said. “Unfortunately, we were on the losing end today, but it doesn’t take away from what we’ve accomplished this year. … This is the standard now for us, and we’re gonna continue, and we’ll be back.”
Bloom started for Seneca East, allowing six earned runs on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. Braydon Robinson threw the final 2 1/3 innings of relief and took home the win, allowing no earned runs on one hit with four strikeouts.
“We knew Carey’s a very good team. They beat us twice this year, but both were close games,” Bowerman said. “We knew it was going to be a battle, but we knew we could hang with them. I’m really proud. Just the resiliency of our kids and not giving up, fighting every pitch to stay alive, putting the ball in play. And that’s what won us the game. We were able to do the little things.”
Carey loses five seniors to graduation: Bostyn Ritter, Landon Tarris, Carter Bame, Puckett and Mason Rickle.
“They’re a very tight-knit group, and they’ve really helped set the standard leading this program, not just this year, but since they came into the program,” Bame said. “Some of them played all four years, some lettered four years, some lettered three years, two years, one year. But it’s taken all of them collectively to step up and lead.
“I give them credit for how they’ve come together and set this tone for the younger guys. They’ve all had different roles, but they all had very important roles. And the young guys look up to all of it, and we need it. Not everyone is gonna be the guy who leads the team in average, in RBIs or strikeouts, but every single one of those guys is crucially important to this team and our success this year. We’re gonna miss them, but I’m glad I got to coach them.”
Box score
Seneca East 000 610 1 8 7 2
Carey 201 031 0 7 7 2
WP: Braydon Robinson (4 SO, 0 W)
LP: Garrett Hall (3 SO, 3 W)
HR: None.
Triples: (C) Dash Puckett, Louis Watkins.
Doubles: (SE) Braydon Robinson, Branson Finnell, Brady Bloom; (C) Benson Kloepfer, Louis Watkins.
Multiple hits: (SE) Branson Robinson, Brady Bloom; (C) Louis Watkins.
Records: Seneca East 18-6; Carey 22-4.
Next: Carey season over; Seneca East vs. Ashland Crestview, Division VI district final at Findlay, Friday.