CANTON — One bad inning is all it takes to end a promising postseason run. That was the unfortunate story for the Central Catholic High School baseball team in a 5-4 loss to Youngstown Cardinal Mooney in a Division IV regional final Thursday, June 4 at Thurman Munson Stadium.
A four-run fourth inning for Mooney was the difference in the game. The Cardinals got triples in the inning from Vince Gentile, Ford Stacy and Luke Kollar. Stacy and Kollar each drove in a run on their hits. Taco Verroco singled to drive in the first run of the inning and Kaden Reese walked and scored on a wild pitch to round out the scoring in the fourth.
The big inning couldn’t have come at a worse time. Central had just taken the lead in the top of the fourth with a two-out, two-run single by Joseph Meyer. Things looked to be trending the Crusaders’ way after the line drive by Meyer fell out of the glove of the Mooney left fielder during a sliding catch attempt.
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“One bad inning is all it takes sometimes,” Central head coach Dan Massarelli said. “Baseball can be a cruel game and it was today for us. They had an opportunity to score runs and took advantage of it.”
Central wasn’t done fighting. The Crusaders scored twice in the top of the fifth to pull within a run. Joe Stevens walked with the bases loaded to force in a run and the Crusaders added a second run on a wild pitch.
“That’s what these kids are known for,” Massarelli said. “They don’t give up and they kept working. We just couldn’t get the big hit we needed to drop for us.”
Central held Mooney scoreless the rest of the way and got the tying run to second base in the sixth and seventh. The Cardinals managed to get out of trouble both times. A pop out to center field ended the sixth and a long fly ball to the outfield in the seventh ended the game.
Gavin McCune was 3-for-4 with three singles for Central, while Dylan Minnie was 2-for-3 with two singles and a walk. The Crusaders end the season at 22-6-1.
“We had a tremendous group of seniors,” Massarelli said. “They worked their tails off. I told them after the game and I’ll tell you that I take the blame for this loss. I’m disappointed I wasn’t able to help these kids get to the next level.”
Stacy was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run for Mooney. Johnny Brenner was 3-for-3 with a double for the Cardinals. Stacy was the winning pitcher and Andrew Bushey pitched the seventh and got the save. The Cardinals are now 24-3 and advance to a state semifinal against Perkins at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 13, at 7 17 Credit Union Park in Akron.
Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com
On X: @chickmanREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Central Catholic baseball shows fight but can’t overcome bad inning
Reporting by Cliff Hickman, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cliff Hickman, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
