BRUNSWICK — Dillon Munoz was supposed to ride the pine. Then he was supposed to bunt.
Neither happened.
Munoz instead unleashed the swing of his life Tuesday, crushing a two-run, opposite-field home run in the top of the seventh inning to help Medina’s baseball team stun rival Brunswick 3-1.
The senior outfielder began the Greater Cleveland Conference game on the bench. He ended it on the shoulders of teammates Alex Whittaker and Robbie Hansen after his holy-cow moment gave Spencer Aukerman (5-1, 1.32 ERA) his Medina County-leading fifth win of the season.
“I can’t even wrap my head around it right now,” Munoz said. “I’m still a little shocked.”
With the Bees (14-7, 7-3) trailing the Blue Devils (6-8, 4-5), No. 9 hitter John Curtis walked to lead off the seventh. Bryce Fink pinch-ran and advanced to second on an error.
Munoz got multiple sacrifice bunt calls from coach Nick Kaplack — Medina announces a combination of colors and numbers instead of using traditional signs — but fouled off his lone stab and looked at four other offerings from left-hander Dominic Rivellino (2-2, 1.94 ERA), whose pitch count had surpassed 100.
Rivellino then delivered a 3-2 fastball, and Munoz used every muscle in his 5-foot-9, 170-pound body to power a fly ball to right-center field. The shot bounced off the scoreboard — ironically two feet below where Medina’s run total read “0” — and sent his teammates into hysteria.
Chris Fryer added an RBI single off reliever Jake Hovanec, but Munoz got the hero treatment afterward.
“I just wanted to go up there and swing away and hope for the best,” Munoz said. “I knew it was a hard shot, and at first I didn’t think it was over (the fence) because I rounded first and saw the ball still in play.”
Adding to the crazy story was that Munoz trotted out to play left field after a half-inning. The situation was unique, as Kaplack attempted to wave a runner home on a single to right by Trace Peterson (2-for-4), but that player ignored Kaplack and was subsequently benched.
All Munoz did was single, walk and, of course, blast the game-winning home run.
“Opportunities, you have to jump on those,” Munoz said. “I’m just thankful.”
Munoz salvaged an otherwise forgettable game of situational hitting for Medina, which left the bases loaded twice and grounded into two 4-6-3 double plays over the first four innings. The Bees then had a runner picked off and stranded two in the fifth.
Aukerman was the reason why they were still in the game.
The right-hander with a sweeping curveball was on point throughout the nippy 50-degree afternoon, allowing six hits and striking out a career-high 12. The Baldwin Wallace recruit went down 1-0 on an RBI single by Jake Williams but stranded two runners in the fifth and got back-to-back strikeouts with a runner in scoring position in the sixth.
Aukerman struck out the final two batters to finish the emotional game in style.
“I just tried to focus and keep the team in the game,” he said. “I knew we would come back.”
Medina kept alive its slim GCC title hopes heading into the conference tournament, which opens Saturday in Euclid. The Bees must win the event and hope Solon (12-2, 9-1), at minimum, loses the third-place game.
Making the tourney more interesting, the teams will meet in the semis Wednesday if Medina beats Shaker Heights (4-12, 3-9) and the Comets eliminate last-place Euclid in the opening round.
This scenario was made possible by Munoz, an unlikely hero if there ever was one.
“Awesome,” Aukerman said. “When Dillon hit that, we all went crazy.”
Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.
Medina 3, Brunswick 1
MEDINA 000 000 3 — 3 11 1
BRUNSWICK 001 000 0 — 1 6 2
WP — Spencer Aukerman (5-1) 7 innings, earned run, walk, hit by pitch, 12 strikeouts. LP — Dominic Rivellino (2-2) 6-plus innings, 3 runs, 3 earned, 9 hits, 3 walks, strikeout. Medina (14-7, 7-3) — Cade Pipoly double; Dillon Munoz single, home run, 2 RBIs; Trace Peterson 2 singles; Justin Alfano 2 singles. Brunswick (6-8, 4-5) — Mike Williams double.