LOGAN — Westfall put together two big innings to advance past Logan Elm 7-2 Tuesday afternoon in a Southeast District Division IV semifinal.
With a steady rain falling throughout the game, the wet baseball was a bit of challenge at times for the pitchers.
Starting the game, Westfall’s Noah Stonerock hit LE’s first batter – Kelton Bennington – and then walked Josh Hunter. A sacrifice bunt from Cam Ebert advanced the baserunners and Mason Gentry followed with an RBI single. Stonerock was able to get out of the inning without any more damage by recording a strikeout and getting the third out on a fly ball.
That was the only run Stonerock would allow until the seventh.
“Noah has thrown well all year long. Noah can beat anybody we play,” Westfall coach Eric Corzatt said. “I know when he’s on the mound we have a great chance to win.
“He struggled a little bit in the first trying to get a feel for the wet baseball and after that it was just smooth sailing for him. Our lineup stepped up big for him.”
The score stayed at 1-0 until the bottom of the third.
Nate Wolfe led off the inning for the Mustangs with a single and Rick Hanley followed with a walk.
The wet turf and a couple of hard-hit balls contributed to Westfall cracking the scoreboard.
Brenden Tuttle and AJ Pluta each hit infield ground balls that were misplayed by the Braves and each brought in a run to put Westfall up 2-1.
After a popup to shortstop for the first out of the inning, Mason Wright drew a walk to load the bases and then Brendan Biegler walked, which brought in Tuttle.
At that point, LE coach Drew McGlone made the decision to replace starter Grant Cline on the mound.
“We had our ace on the hill and I wish things were a little different weather wise because he’s probably one of the best lefties around here when it’s dry,” McGlone said. “We knew he is not a weather pitcher, I would say. We were going to have to try and coax him through it the whole way. He got into trouble in the third and I gave him a quick hook. But I’m super proud of him.
“He’s been the ace for three years now, he’s given us everything he’s got.”
Zane Seimer took over on the mound.
The second out came on a sacrifice fly from Connor Green that scored Pluta. A dropped third strike and throw to first brought the inning to a close with Westfall up 4-1.
“I knew coming in here we were probably going to get their No. 1. I told them to just stick in there and fight through at-bats,” Corzatt said. “I had heard that if we made him battle, got in his head a little bit, he was going to struggle to throw strikes and that’s exactly what we did.
“We only had one hit in that inning, and we scored four runs because we had great at-bats, great long at-bats. We battled through, got runners on and got them in.”
Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the fourth. Logan Elm got a baserunner in the fifth when Bennington was hit by a pitch and Westfall had two when Mason Wright and Biegler walked, but neither team could add to their score.
Ebert led off the sixth with a single for LE and Seimer and Keegan Diehl each drew two-out walks to load the bases, but a fly ball ended the inning with Westfall still up 4-1.
Green opened Westfall’s part of the sixth with a single and moved up on a sacrifice bunt from Trent Gardner. Wolfe then singled to put runners on the corners.
Hanley hit a single to left to score Green. Tuttle followed that by smacking a double to centerfield that made it to the wall, allowing Hanley and Wolfe to score for a 7-1 Westfall lead.
“The three-spot in the sixth was just absolutely massive,” Corzatt said. “That was so huge to give our pitcher a little more confidence there in the seventh, to have a little more insurance.”
Lucas Bialy started the top of the seventh drawing a walk on four straight pitches. That brought about a pitching change as Stonerock’s day was done and Green took over on the mound.
Green walked Bennington on a 3-2 pitch before recording a strikeout. Ebert and Gentry followed with walks for the Braves, the second forcing in Bialy. Green then caught a batter looking for the second out and a fly ball caught by Jaden Towler in center field brought the game to an end.
After a rough 1-16 start, McGlone said his Braves showed a lot of toughness at the end of the season, winning four of their last six contests.
“For them to fight and not give up – we only have five wins all year – for them to come out and battle like this in the tournament, that means everything,” he said. “For the underclassman to do that for their seniors, that just shows how much those older guys mean to them. I’m super proud of everybody in my dugout.
“We didn’t have any quit. I was proud of our guys.”
Stonerock got the win as he pitched six-plus innings, struck out four, walked six, gave up three hits and two earned runs. Green pitched an inning in relief with two strikeouts and three walks.
Cline took the loss for the Braves as he pitched 2.1 innings, struck out one, walked four, gave up one hit and four earned runs. Seimer worked three innings in relief. He struck out two, walked three, allowed three hits and three earned runs. Bennington pitched two-thirds of an inning giving up two hits.
The Mustangs (14-11) will be in Athens Thursday afternoon to take on No. 1 seed Unioto in the district championship game. The Mustangs dropped their league contests to the Shermans 6-1 and 3-2 this season.
It will be Westfall’s first district title game appearance since 2019 – a game in which Corzatt pitched the Mustangs to a 2-1 win over Wheelersburg.
“I told these guys we lost to Unioto twice in the regular season; I said we’ll see them in the district championship,” Corzatt said. “That game means a lot more. It’s hard to beat a team three times and we’re hungry.”
First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
