The Wadsworth Baseball team’s dream of a deep run in the State High School Baseball Tournament ended on Wednesday afternoon, as Walsh Jesuit beat the Grizzlies 5-4 in the Hudson Div. I district finals.
For Wadsworth, ranked number two in the State, it was their first loss of the season. The Grizzlies end the campaign at 27-1.
Wadsworth got on the scoreboard in the third inning. After two outs, Riley Campbell reached on an error. The Grizzlies followed with four straight singles. Craig Palidar and Kyle Pennington each drove in a run and Wadsworth grabbed a 2-0 lead.
For Grizzlies starting pitcher Cameron Deemer, it was a struggle during his time on the mound. Deemer hit three batters, walked three more, threw a wild pitch and gave up four hits in four-plus innings. He gave up a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth as the Warriors grabbed a 3-2 lead.
Wadsworth had runners on base in the fourth, fifth and sixth, but couldn’t put more runs on the board.
With one out in the seventh, Walsh strung together two singles, a double and a triple off Wadsworth relief pitcher Chris Byers and grabbed a 5-2 lead.
But, the Grizzlies didn’t go quietly in the bottom of the seventh. Dominic Canzone replaced starter Ty Shoaff for Walsh. Riley Campbell led off with a triple. After Jared Houser struck out, Canzone walked three straight batters allowing a run to score. That closed the gap to 5-3. A force out at third off the bat of Dylan Palidar plated another run making it 5-4.
That brought Alex Laikos to the plate with runners at first and second, two out and right hander Shane Downey now on the hill. Laikos hit a slow bouncer to second. The Walsh second basemen missed the tag on Palidar and threw the ball to first. The umpire called Laikos out at first to the surprise of just about everyone in the Ballpark at Hudson. Instead of wild cheering at the signaling the end of the game, there was an eerie silence from fans of both teams.
Wadsworth Head Coach Greg Pickard argued the call, but to no avail. “You can never blame the outcome of a game on an umpire,” said Pickard. “We could have made a few more plays; we had a miscue in the infield which is uncharacteristic of us which extended an inning for Walsh.”
There were plenty of tears in the Wadsworth dugout. But, the Grizzlies came onto the field and applauded Walsh. The same was true for the Warriors as they applauded the district runners-up.
Walsh, ranked number 3 in the state, will move onto the Canton Regional. Their record is 25-3.
