The Wadsworth Varsity baseball team is on a roll. The Grizzlies have 16 wins in a row to start the 2015 High School Baseball season.
In a battle of two state-ranked teams, Wadsworth defeated St. Edward 9-5. The Grizzlies are ranked 7th in the state in the latest High School Baseball coaches poll. The Eagles of St. Edward are ranked 21st.
A five-run third inning gave Wadsworth a lead that they would not give up. The big hit in the inning was a three-run homer by Dylan Palidar. “Dylan has a lot of power” said Wadsworth head coach Greg Pickard. “It was an 0-2 pitch that didn’t get much of the plate. He just reacted to the count”.
Wadsworth built the lead to 8-1 heading into the top half of the 6th inning. St. Edward got themselves back into the game by scoring four runs. A leaky Wadsworth defense allowed the Eagles to get back in to the game. “That’s uncharacteristic of us. We need to get back and work on some fundamentals. Hopefully it was just a bad day in the field” said Pickard.
The lead was 9-5 heading into the 7th when Nick Bebout showed off his throwing arm and ended a St. Edward rally. With a runner on first and one out, a left-handed St. Edward batter lashed a hit down the right-field line, heading to the fence. With most fans and players on the Wadsworth bench expecting at least one run to score, Bebout fielded the ball and unleashed a laser to home plate. Catcher Craig Palidar caught the ball and slapped the tag on the St. Edward runner from first base for the second out.
“We all know Nick has a strong arm, but that even made me say WOW” said Pickard.
Wadsworth pieced together enough pitching to get by. Cameron Deemer worked five-plus innings to get the win and Aaron George came on and shut the door on St. Edward.
Next up for the Grizzlies is a Friday afternoon contest at GlenOak and a Saturday game (11 am) at home against Chippewa.
Then comes next week’s two-game series against Copley for first place in the Suburban League. Wadsworth is 10-0 in conference play. Copley is 8-2. Tuesday’s game is at Copley and Wednesday’s game is at Wadsworth.
