Wheels fall off as SCA loses in 8th to Lancers
FRANKLIN TWP. — Having to rally back from a sloppy first inning of play, Southern Columbia nearly pulled off the come-from-behind win.
Instead, Loyalsock, which had been putting the ball in play all afternoon, waited patiently as the Tigers dug themselves in too far of a hole they couldn’t get out of.
The Lancers got the first five batters of the eighth inning on base, four via a walk, plating three runs to get out with a 10-7 win.
Jacob Cambria, having pitched 21/3innings before the start of the inning had his hands full with leadoff hitter Moxen Cotter. Cambria worked ahead, 1-2, but then saw Cotter either foul off or take the next six pitches to work a leadoff walk. He advanced to third on Cooper Larson’s single to left one pitch later.
The Tigers opted to intentionally walk the Lancers’ No. 3 hitter, Nick Barone — who was in for Matt Worth after he was ejected from the game for yelling profanities as he scored to the tie the game in the sixth — to load the bases. That’s when the wheels fell for Cambria, who threw eight straight balls to walk in two runs. The Lancers scored the game’s final run on a fielder’s choice.
“Jake did pitch great in relief, but I think he maybe got a little bit tired, but you have to throw strikes,” Southern Columbia coach Mike Myers said. “He was throwing so well, and it was frustrating to see that happen after throwing so well up to that point. But that’s the game sometimes.”
Loyalsock’s Ethan Nagy had no such issue with finding the strike zone. Entering the game after Owen Sosnoski worked a leadoff walk in the seventh, Nagy struck out all six hitters he faced to get credited with the pitching win. Southern had eight strikeouts altogether up to that point.
But to be in position to nearly come away with a win after surrendering five runs in the opening frame is something Myers hopes the team takes away more than they do from the overall result.
“The main thing is we battled back. That shows a lot of character that we have,” he said. “That’s the thing — we have to keep finding those bright spots. Nobody likes committing errors or striking out, but if we look at the fight this team has, it should keep their heads up.”
The Tigers committed errors on the first two plays of the game, and short of Nagy hitting a double to right-center field, Myers didn’t see the Lancers making much hard contact off starting pitcher Gatlin Hovenstine. Because of that, he opted to stick to the senior on the mound.
The move paid off as Hovenstine, much like the Tigers, calmed down as the game went on. He threw 100 pitches in 4 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking two. Only three of the Lancers’ six runs were earned with the Tigers committing all four errors in the first three innings.
“We came out flat and against a good team like that, we can’t come out like that because we’ll give up a five-spot,” Myers said. “Gatlin battled and they didn’t hit the ball hard. They had some hits, but he wasn’t giving up hard contact. After the first inning, I think everyone woke up.”
That included the bats, as Southern showed its lineup can hurt no matter who’s batting. With runners on first and third, No. 8 hitter Hunter Sharrow doubled to deep left to score Hovenstine. The Tigers had to settle for one as Ethan Roughton thought the ball was far enough for a home run and started to stroll.
No to worry, though, as No. 9 hitter Conner Dunkelberger singled him and Sharrow in to cut the deficit down to 5-3.
The Lancers got one of those runs back, but the Tigers continued to chip away and eventually took the lead with a four-run fourth inning.
Dunkelberger, again, was a catalyst, singling in Louden Murphy. Sharrow also scored on an error getting the ball back in.
Dunkelberger was the only Tiger with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs.
Cambria tied the game with a sac-fly to left to score Dunkelberger, and Southern gained the lead as Mike Zsido doubled to right and scored on a single by Owen Sosnoski. The No. 3 hitter didn’t make an out at the plate, working three walks to go with the single.
“Conner has been hitting the ball well and that is nice,” Myers said. “But as a team, we are striking out a lot and not being aggressive as I’d like. But we kept battling and got those early runs back and woke up and realized we can battle back. It’s just unfortunate we came out like that and allowed the five spot to start with.”
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