High school baseball: Buckeye downfall starts in fourth inning in loss to Bay

YORK TWP. — A pair of innings spelled doom for the Buckeye baseball team in a 7-6 Cleveland West Conference loss to Bay on Monday. The Bucks (7-3, 2-1) were leading 2-0 after three innings with senior ace Tyler Heers dealing, having struck out seven of the first nine hitters. However, an error, an infield hit and a walk to start the top of the fourth set the stage for the Rockets (5-2, 1-0) and Chase Prudhoe took full advantage, hitting a ball over the right-field fence for a grand slam. "I was rolling," Heers said. "I was feeling good, but it just kind of got a little out of my hand in the fourth. I made some bad pitches, and they made me regret those." The Bucks responded, scoring two runs in the fifth to tie. A sacrifice fly by Logan Brown that plated Zach Seeley, who had doubled and moved to third on a wild pitch, was followed by a Jeff Costigan single that brought in Shane Metter, who had walked. "My guys are never going to lay down," Buckeye coach Aaron Dolata said. "They're going to fight back every chance they get. I believe in them. They believe in themselves. We've worked far too hard this offseason to roll over for anybody." Bay retook the lead with three more runs in the sixth, as Prudhoe again had the big hit, this time an RBI single. RBI singles from Ryan Rothman and Ryan Egan made it 7-4. Heers went six innings, allowing seven runs (6 earned) on seven hits while striking out 11. Buckeye, however, wasn't going away without a fight and loaded the bases to start the bottom of the sixth, as Cole Burtzlaff singled, Zach Stough walked and Aaron Hamman was hit by a pitch. After Burtzlaff scored on a wild pitch, Rees Perkins lifted a fly ball to left center that was misplayed, scoring Stough. Unfortunately for Buckeye, that's when the scoring stopped, as Andrew Liatti set down the next three Bucks in order. Colton Price shut down the Rockets in order in the seventh to set the stage for the Bucks in the home half of the inning. Costigan led off with a fly ball to left field that looked like it had a chance to get out of the park, but he just missed for the first out. "I wish I could have come up there at the end," Costigan said. "I was just under it. I've been hitting the ball pretty hard, I had two home runs last week. I wanted it back, but the wind wasn't helping either." The Bucks don't have to wait long for their next shot at the Rockets, as the teams face each other again today at Bay. "We have to take a step back, breathe," Dolata said. "We're going to get a workout in tonight, and we're going to come back tomorrow ready to go. It's a new day. Today we can think about it for the next 30 minutes, and that's it, and then we move on." The players were already thinking about the rematch as soon as they walked out of the postgame huddle. "I think we're going to come out hot tomorrow," Costigan said. We are going to put this behind us and we're definitely looking forward to it." Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com. Bay 7, Buckeye 6 BAY&emsp;000 403 0 — 7 7 1 BUCKEYE&emsp;110 022 0 — 6 6 1 WP — Andrew Liatti (1-0) 2 2/3 innings, 2 runs, 1 earned, 2 hits, walk, 2 strikeouts. LP — Travis Heers (3-1) 6 innings, 7 runs, 6 earned, 7 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts. Bay (5-2, 1-0) — Chase Prudhoe single, home run, 5 RBIs, 2 runs; Ethan Sedivec double, walk, 2 runs. Buckeye (7-3, 2-1) — Jeff Costigan 2 singles, 2 RBI; Zach Stough 2 runs.