MEDINA — Playing spoiler can be pretty sweet.
Brunswick’s Jake Williams looks to the umpire after tagging out Medina’s Collin Winters attempting to steal second base during the fourth inning. AARON JOSEFCZYK/GAZETTE
The Brunswick baseball team delivered a crushing blow to Medina’s Greater Cleveland Conference championship hopes Monday, scoring two unearned runs in the top of the seventh inning and holding on for dear life to win 8-7.
The Blue Devils (6-7, 4-4) ended the wild game that lasted 2 hours, 27 minutes on a textbook 6-4-3 double play with the tying run on third base.
“It’s always a good game against Medina,” shortstop Jake Williams said. “We love playing against them, we love competing with them and we like to beat them, too.”
Momentum swings were frequent, as Brunswick led 1-0, 2-1, 5-4 and 8-6 and the Bees (13-7, 6-3) 4-2 and 6-5. Given new life following a two-out error in the seventh, the Blue Devils went ahead for good when Williams (double, 2 runs) scored on a wild pitch, but Jordan Sadler’s following RBI single was vital.
That was because Medina made a spirited rally against closer Jake Hovanec, using a Williams error and Austin Provost double to put runners on second and third with no outs. Following a strikeout, Trace Peterson (home run, 2 runs) slid under a tag at home on a fielder’s choice to make the score 8-7.
Undeterred, Hovanec induced a sharp grounder to short, where Williams fielded cleanly and initiated the game-ending double play.
A rowdy celebration near first followed.
Brunswick’s Justin MacLellan gets back to first base as the ball goes over the head of Medina first baseman Spencer Aukerman during the second inning. AARON JOSEFCZYK/GAZETTE
“I made an error late in the game, so I really needed to pick myself up there,” Williams said. “I’m glad I got a ground ball to redeem myself, and I’m excited we won the ballgame.”
Potential game-changing sequences were answered throughout, as Brunswick went up 2-1 in the second inning but Collin Winters cranked a two-run home run and Chris Fryer added a sacrifice fly to put Medina ahead 4-2.
The Blue Devils responded in the fourth, scoring three runs on a passed ball, wild pitch and error. The 5-4 lead didn’t last long, as Medina got an RBI double from Fryer and an RBI bloop single from Spencer Aukerman in the bottom half.
Following its theme of multiple heroes, however, Brunswick tied the game at 6 in the sixth on a towering solo home run by pinch-hitter Frank Ciacchi, who had 16 career at-bats coming in.
“It was a fun game,” Ciacchi said. “I thought we played well. It’s just good to beat a rival, you know?
“(After the) first two pitches, it was 2-0, and (Fryer) gave me a little fastball and I just hit it.”
After committing five errors, having two runners caught stealing and stranding seven, Medina must win today at Brunswick before the inaugural conference tournament. The Bees trail Solon (8-1 in GCC) and Strongsville (7-2) but would be back in business with a win and Solon loss to Mentor (5-4).
“It just sucks,” Winters said. “I wish we could have played better, but we didn’t. We’ve just got to make plays. We didn’t make plays, and that cost us.”
Brunswick 8, Medina 7
BRUNSWICK 011 031 2 — 8 6 2
MEDINA 013 020 1 — 7 9 5
WP — Jake Presage (2-2) 1⅓innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts. LP — Chris Fryer (1-1) 2⅓innings, 3 runs, 1 earned, 2 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts. Save — Jake Hovanec (1) 1 inning, 1 run, 0 earned, hit, 0 walks, strikeout. Brunswick (6-7, 4-4) — Cameron Sasala double; Jake Williams double, 2 runs; Frank Ciacchi solo home run. Medina (13-7, 6-3) — Cade Pipoly 3 singles; Collin Winters two-run home run; Trace Peterson solo home run; Austin Provost double; Chris Fryer double, 2 RBIs.