District baseball: Season comes to a close for Cloverleaf

BRIMFIELD TWP. — The Cloverleaf baseball team's seniors shared a final moment together in left field after a 6-2 Division IV, Northeast 2 District semifinal loss to Field on Tuesday, bringing tears to the eyes of the players and coaches. Logan Knapp, Noah Lindenmuth, Gehrig Miller, Walker Smith and Clinton Fauss stood together with arms around one another after the team shared its postgame handshake. "I have played with this group of boys my entire life, since I was 4 or 5 years old, and it kind of sucks," Knapp said. "I'm still playing ball, but I'm not going to play ball with those guys ever again, and so it's emotional." Seventh-seeded Field (19-5) scored first on an RBI single in the first inning by Caden Kolesar. The 13th-seeded Colts (14-14) answered with a run in the second, as Jimmy Tolley singled to lead off, moved to third on a single by Austin Sustersic and scored on a fielder's choice by Vincent Hinderman. However, Field added two runs in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Kole Siedler and a sacrifice fly by Joey Conroy. That lead was never surrendered despite the best efforts of the Colts. Cloverleaf got a run back in the third when Isaac Smith led off with a bunt single and eventually scored on a single by Knapp, but Field added a run in the fourth and two more in the sixth. "I really think we never left the game," Knapp said. "Our nature is we usually battle back, and we just couldn't get it done today, but I would say our faith never wavered." Miller got the start on the mound, going three innings and allowing three earned runs on six hits, one walk and one hit by pitch. Walker Smith tossed 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits, four walks and a hit by pitch while striking out one and Jason Matheny recorded the final out. Walker Smith got help behind him defensively, notably in the fifth inning when Fauss made two sliding plays at shortstop and tagged out a runner trying to steal on a throw by catcher Carson Baltic. "I wanted it so bad. Our team wanted it so bad," Fauss said. "I can't let my guys down, and this team trusts me to be who I am. I love this team, and that was for them. That was them building me up to do that." For the Falcons, James Roberts went the first 4 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while hitting one and striking out three and Kolesar went the final 2 2/3 innings, allowing just two hits. Once the game was over, the Cloverleaf seniors had a chance to reflect. "Every year we just get closer and closer, and this year I feel like we truly had a bond like no other," Fauss said. "We've been through it all — different coaches, different everything — but we've always managed to stick close. There's never been any beef between any of the guys." The new coaches included Aaron DeBord, who took over after 12 years at Stow. His impact was immediate. When asked how quickly the team adapted to DeBord, his shortstop never hesitated. "First day," Fauss said. "Credit to him. He made me the player that I got to be this year. Last year I was in a terrible mental spot, and I wasn't the player that I think I could have been and this year, he really shaped me to be the guy that I could be for my team, and I'm forever thankful for him." That feeling went both ways, as DeBord felt the dedication from the players, including when Fauss showed up to help with youth camps before the team had even taken the field together. "(Clinton) was the guy — not that everybody wasn't — but from Day 1 he's showing up," DeBord said. "I've met him once, and he's showing up and spending seven hours of me helping with 8-year-old tryouts. "I couldn't have asked for a better group of senior boys to be the leaders of our team. Without their buy-in, it gets really hard for new coaching staff to do it, and they made that transition easy and fun, and I'm going to miss them." Those seniors also paved the way for the future. "I think they know the expectation and what we want to do and how we want to do it," DeBord said of his juniors, sophomores and freshmen. "To their credit, every single one of them has been supportive and buying into the process, and I think while it didn't end how we wanted, I'm really proud of the first year we had, and I think we're building something that other people are going to continue to notice as we go forward." Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com. Field 6, Cloverleaf 2 Division IV, Northeast 2 District Semifinal CLOVERLEAF&emsp;011 000 0 — 2 7 1 FIELD&emsp;120 102 x — 6 9 2 WP — James Roberts (5-3) 4 1/3 innings, 2 runs, 2 earned, 5 hits, hit batter, 3 strikeouts. LP — Gehrig Miller (2-1) 3 innings, 3 runs, 3 earned, 6 hits, walk, hit batter, 0 strikeouts. S — Caden Kolesar (3) 2 2/3 innings, 2 hits. Cloverleaf (14-14). Field (19-5) — Joey Conroy single, walk, RBI, 2 runs; Kolesar single, walk, 2 RBIs; Sam Confer single, 2 walks.