High school baseball: Joey Johnson's homer highlights hot start for Medina in win over Strongsville

STRONGSVILLE — The Medina baseball team wasted no time taking out its frustration Tuesday in a 12-2 win over Strongsville to split the Greater Cleveland Conference series. A day after falling 7-5 to the Mustangs (8-2, 2-1), the Bees (9-2, 3-1) came out on fire offensively, scoring three runs in the first inning and three more in the second. Brian Wuchter and Lance Morgan started off by drawing walks, which led to an RBI double by Joey Johnson. Luka Pagura followed with a double to score Morgan and Johnson, giving Medina a 3-0 lead after four hitters. "When we score first, it's hard to stop us," Johnson said. "The bats just keep coming, one through nine, we have everyone. Once we score first, we don't stop." In the second inning, Ethan Tourek led off with a double and moved to third on an infield single by Wuchter. Morgan drove in Tourek with a sacrifice fly. That's when Johnson stepped to the plate again and delivered. The reigning Gazette MVP thought he hit a home run down the right-field line, but it was called just foul. Three pitches later, he left no doubt by hitting a ball that cleared the fence in right center and hit off the scoreboard for a two-run homer. "After I missed that first one, it's like, 'Ah, I let that one get away from me,"' Johnson said. "But then I got another a swing off, and it was just gone from there." Morgan led off the fifth inning with a double and scored on Johnson's third hit, a single. Two hitters later, River Blomquist hit a no-doubt, two-run homer to right field to give Medina a 9-0 lead. "I got ahead with a 2-1 count, and I just got my pitch," Blomquist said. "That was probably one of the farthest ones I have ever hit. The Bees tacked on a three more runs in the in the seventh on a single by Maximus Lewis that scored Pagula, as well as a two-run single by Toerek. "Today we got our momentum, starting from the first inning, we were all getting hits," Blomquist said. "We were playing great as a team, and everything just kept going."Meanwhile, Jake Rimke (2-1) was cruising on the bump, as he went six innings and allowed just four hits and two hit batters while striking out seven. "I know our offense is going to go out there and do their thing, so my job is just to get them back in the dugout," he said. "I know they're going to keep putting up runs." The junior was in such a groove that he didn't realize he struck out five in a row in the middle of the game, fanning the side in the fourth and the first two hitters in the fifth. "I'm just trying to throw strikes," Rimke said. "I think the strikeouts will come if you just throw strikes and just try and let your defense work for you." The only runs the Mustangs scored came when Medina was already leading 9-0 in the sixth inning, as back-to-back singles for Evan Gyurko and Evan Baker set the table. Both scored on groundouts to shortstop Alex Rossetti. Earlier in the game, Strongsville tried to cut into a 6-0 lead when Grant LePage and Joey Cancilla led off with back-to-back singles, but Evan Hartman ripped a line drive that was caught by Rossetti, who then dove to second base for an unassisted double play. "I just saw line drive and I saw him running towards third," Rossetti said. "I knew as soon as I caught it, I could get the double play." After the game, the Bees said goodbye to one of their assistant coaches, as Andrew Czech is leaving to rejoin the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League. "He's one of the best guys I've been around, best hitting guys, most knowledgeable," Johnson said. "Losing him is going to be big, but we carry that on so we can see him June 14 in the state championship." Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com. Medina 12, Strongsville 2 MEDINA&emsp;330 030 1 — 12 9 1 STRONGSVILLE&emsp;000 002 0 — 2 4 2 WP — Jake Rimke (2-1) 6 innings, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts. LP — Johnathan Payne (2-1) 1 2/3 innings, 6 runs, 3 earned runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts. Medina (9-2, 3-1) — Joe Johnson single, double, home run, 4 RBIs , 3 runs; Luka Pagura single, walk, 2 RBIs, run; Ethan Toerek single, double, 2 RBIs, run; Brian Wuchter 2 runs; Lance Morgan double, walk, RBI, 2 runs; River Blomquist home run, 2 RBIs, run. Strongsville (8-2, 2-1).