The Abrahamowicz Summer Baseball classic finals were set, with host Amherst downing Midview and North Ridgeville knocking off Avon in the early day July 29 semifinals.
North Ridgeville scored a run in each of the first three frames but that wasn’t enough. Amherst’s three-run fourth and fifth innings rallied the Comets from a 3-1 deficit to a 7-4 win over the Rangers in the title game. It was their second straight Summer Classic title.
“After the top of the third, they came in off the field and I told them, ‘We could not have played any worse baseball for the first two-and-a-half innings,” Amherst coach Matt Rositano said. “‘And we’re only down three-nothing. So everyone take a deep breath, reset, and let’s get back to playing good baseball.’”
PHOTOS: Amherst vs. North Ridgeville baseball, July 29, 2023
Xavier Compton drew a leadoff walk and stole second base shortly after. With starter Kyle Urban flying out to right for the first out, Nicky Mealy hit a short liner into left field to score Compton and give North Ridgeville an early 1-0 lead.
Dominic Iezzi singled to start the second frame, with a throwing error on a Daniel Lowe ball in play allowing Iezzi to advance to third.
Lowe was off and running with Tommy Wolfram up, and the throw to second allowed Iezzi to cross the plate. Lowe was called out sliding back to first in a rundown that was a close call.
With one out during the Rangers' turn at the plate, Amherst starting pitcher Cael Charles was lifted for junior Alex Lakner to face No. 9 batter Nathan Bright, who drew a walk to send it back to the top of the order.
Lakner struck out Compton for the second out, and Jacob Schliesser threw to second to nail the pinch runner leaning too far from second base.
In the third inning, the Comets dropped an infield pop-up, giving the Rangers a third overall run with two outs in the frame.
North Ridgeville's Urban got into trouble in the third, allowing the first three runners to reach with no outs. A Logan McCrone lineout and a Christian Gendics fielder's choice nailing the runner at home produced two quick outs.
That left it up to Caleb Melendez to do some damage, and he did. A lined shot to left scored Cole Charles, but a good throw to Wolfram from Mealey erased Henry Isaacs at the plate on a close play to make it a 3-1 ballgame after three frames.
Lakner was in a bases-loaded jam in the fourth just like his counterpart Urban a half-inning prior. With Andrew Flesher working the count full, Lakner reached back and put some extra heat on his fastball, blowing it by Flesher to get the swing and miss for an inning-ending strikeout and the first scoreless inning pitched by Amherst.
Urban put two runners on in Amherst's half of the fourth and was lifted in favor of Daniel Lowe. After getting one quick out, a quick by Dylan Coughlin plated Landon Wolf to make it a one-run affair.
With a full count and bases loaded with two down, Issacs ripped a ball between third and short for two more runs and their first lead of the title game.
“I was just like (it’s) a 3-2 count,” Isaacs said. “If it’s going to be there, I’m going to take it for a ride, hit the ball hard. See what I can do and help out the team.”
Wolfram tied it up in the visitor's half of the fifth on a deep sacrifice fly to Logan McCrone in left, scoring Carter Clark to knot the game back up at 4-4.
Wolf countered during Amherst's turn at bat, getting a ball for a hit into center field that was bobbled and brought Gendics home to give Amherst a 5-4 edge, with two more runs crossing with a hit and an error on a play at first with two down to make it 7-4.
Cam Rios pitched a scoreless sixth for Amherst with only one base runner and the Comets closed it out in the seventh to secure another Summer Classic crown.
Both sides grew a lot, and North Ridgeville set the foundation for next year after losing over a dozen seniors from its first district team in over 40 years.
“We’re always looking,” North Ridgeville coach Matt Ponting said. “We tell the kids it’s a great chance to show what you can do (and) show what kind of person you are and what kind of teammate you are. That’s the most important thing and just going out to play baseball. It’s good to see.”
