Western Reserve runs into Mapleton buzz saw to fall by the wayside

The Blue Devils suffered a 13-0 loss in a regional semifinal game.
By KURT SNYDER
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
ELYRIA -- The Western Reserve High baseball team's district championship season came to a quick end in Friday's Division IV regional baseball semifinal, as the Blue Devils lost, 13-0, in five innings to Ashland Mapleton at George Day Field.
Western Reserve senior right-hander Jake Zatchok lost his control as fast as the Blue Devils did the game. Zatchok walked the first three batters in the bottom of the first before Ashland Mapleton shortstop Tom Pummell began the onslaught with a two-run single up the middle.
The Mounties had three runs in the inning before sophomore third baseman Andy Ambrose capped the inning with a two-run home run to right.
Mapleton coach Bob Hagner said Ambrose's home run was the key hit of the game.
"When that one went over the fence out there, that was the game," Hagner said. "Their heads were down; our heads were up."
Rally is squelched
After the Mounties added two runs in the second, the Blue Devils built their only threat of the game. Three singles to begin the third loaded the bases with the heart of the order coming up. But Mounties' right-handed starter Steve Roberts struck out Adam Myers and forced Luke Srock and Nick Sanders to pop out.
Western Reserve coach Paul Henderson said momentum looked to be shifting ever so slightly in that third inning, but the big hit never came.
"We couldn't have asked for a better situation of bases loaded and our 3-4-5 hitters," he said. "But you know Myers and Srock and Sanders, time and time again all year long they have come through with that hit -- just not today."
With the Blue Devils further deflated after the top of the third, the Mounties scored six more runs in the bottom of the third. Pummell had three hits in the game, and Ambrose added another hit in the third.
Maplewood is next
The Mounties will play Maplewood for the regional championship today at 1 p.m.
The Blue Devils now say good-bye to eight seniors. Henderson spoke to the seniors for several minutes in left field after the game. He said the Blue Devils should remember their strong, late-season run to win the district. He also said they walked off the field proudly even in defeat.
"I told them I was proud of how they handled themselves today," he said. "Obviously, I'm not proud of a 13-0 score, but I'm proud of how they carried themselves in spite of that.
"We talked about there are three ways you can handle yourselves," he said. "You could become poor sports, or you can put your tail between your legs and pout about it, or you can play hard. And they kept playing hard."
ksnyder@vindy.com