Canton, OH- Single-elimination tournaments are fickle things. In a matter of an hour or two, a season of dreams can come to a screeching halt. A bus ride with your brothers that you have been in the trenches with since February can be the last time the team in its current structure ever rides together. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best when he said "It's not the destination, it's the journey". For the Field Falcons, the final destination was Thursday evening at Thurman Munson Stadium. The journey, however, included a school-record win total of 23, a District Championship, and still playing baseball in the month of June.
The Field Baseball Team huddles following their 6-4 Defeat on Thursday evening in Canton.
As for the game itself, Notre Dame Cathedral Latin didn't waste any time with jumping out to a lead, scoring 3 runs in the bottom half of the 1st inning. The Lions took a page out of the Cleveland Guardians 2022 book, stringing together 3 singles and swiping a few bases.
It didn't take the Falcons long to answer, however, with DH Caden Kolesar leading off the inning with a single. 2nd baseman Logan Lonzrick followed with a walk. After a Drexal McAmis flyout, Gavin Greene had a single of his own. Garit Greene added a single himself before Braxton Baumberger added another. Kayden Smith hit a sac fly to bring the total runs scored for the Falcons to 4 on the inning, giving them a 4-3 lead headed to the 3rd.
NDCL was quick to knot the game at 4, with Gianni Spetic hitting a 1-out single to get a rally started for the Lions. Following a Nick Dietrich walk, Spetic stole third on a double steal. The ball got away from Baumberger down the left field line enabling him to go home, Dietrich however was thrown out trying to advance to 3rd on a nice throw from McAmis. The game headed to the 4th, knotted at 4.
Field was unable to get much going on the offensive side in the 4th, with Baumberger getting a 2-out single, his third single in as many bats on the evening, but no further damage taking place. In the bottom half of the 4th, Field Manager Joe Peterson opted to go with Baumberger on the mound after Caleb Gartner labored through 3 innings of work, amassing 80 pitches. The Lions got to Baumberger rather swiftly, tagging on 2 in the bottom of the 4th, aided by free passes and fielding blunders.
With the score 6-4 heading to the 5th, the pace of the game hastened, with both teams not able to get much going in terms of offense. The Falcons threatened in the 7th, but after getting two runners on, NDCL brought in Gianni Spetic from right field to slam the door, and he did just that in quick order.
NDCL advances to take on the Kenston Bombers on Friday evening from Thurman Munson Stadium for a chance to advance to the State Final 4 next week at Canal Park in Akron.