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South Range ace Deal shuts out Girard
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South Range outfielder Greg Dunham (9) catches a fly ball during a Division III district semifinal against Girard on Tuesday night at Cene Park in Struthers. South Range won, 3-0, and will meet Ursuline in a district final tonight at Cene Park.
By Steve Wilaj
STRUTHERS
In Tuesday’s Division III district semifinal at Cene Park, Girard starting pitcher Kyle Harris came out of the gates firing, retiring the first eight South Range batters he faced. However, not once did a feeling of worry creep into the mind of Raiders coach Jim Hanek.
The reason? His own starting pitcher, Cory Deal.
“When your pitcher throws as well as Cory did and the defense is working, it keeps you in the game,” Hanek said. “You can weather the storm.”
Behind a complete-game shutout from Deal and some late offense, South Range defeated the Indians, 3-0, to advance to a Division III district final against Ursuline today at Cene Park.
The Raiders (22-5) earned revenge in the victory, as they were ousted by Girard in the same round last season.
“We pitched it better this year,” Hanek said. “We hit a couple balls hard last year and didn’t catch any breaks. But they earned it last year and I think we did this year.”
As good as Harris was early, Deal matched the sophomore pitch for pitch. He allowed a single to Indians third baseman Christian Bello in the third inning. The senior pitcher didn’t surrender another hit until the seventh.
“I was getting ahead with the first pitch fastball and mixing in the curve,” Deal said. “That’s nice because once you get ahead, then you get a feel for it and it’s much easier on the defense.”
An RBI single by Ryan Miller brought home the first run in the fourth inning. The Raiders added two more in the fifth on consecutive errors by Girard’s middle infield.
“A couple of solid defensive players behind them didn’t get the job done there that they usually do,” said Indians coach Aaron Alejars. “We have confidence in them, but that’s the game – you gotta make the plays.”
The three-run lead was more than enough for Deal (9-0), who allowed only three hits — two of them coming in the seventh inning. He struck out three batters and walked one.
“Tremendous defense today,” Deal said. “It wasn’t any one person. It was the whole team on defense.”
With less-than perfect defense behind him, Harris (4-4) was the tough-luck loser. In six innings, he allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits while striking out four and walking four.
“He was definitely our top pitcher after a couple of weeks into the season,” Alejars said. “And he was a bulldog today.”
With the loss, the Indians finished 11-18. They were led by two hits from Bello.
“We were right here last year and this year,” Alejars said. “Our goal is to bounce right back.”
Ryan Miller had a hit and an RBI for South Range. Deal also had a hit and scored a run. As for their matchup with top-seeded Ursuline, Hanek said the Raiders are up for the challenge.
“We’re ready,” he said. “It’s a district final and anything can happen. We want that bus trip to Massillon.”