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Raiders clip Clippers
By Joe Scalzo
COLUMBIANA
In the second inning of Friday’s game, South Range senior Jack McDonald jumped back to first base safely on a pick-off attempt, drawing this comment from one of his fans in the stands: “Way to go, speed.”
McDonald isn’t going to make anyone forget Rickey Henderson — or even teammate Phil Arsuffi — but after struggling with shoulder and back injuries last season, McDonald spent the offseason working out and entered this spring noticeably slimmer and fitter.
So, yes, he has a little more speed.
“I worked out a lot to get in better shape because that’s why I got injured so much last year,” he said.
So he has a beach body now?
“Well, not yet,” he said, laughing. “But it’s going to be there. Maybe.”
McDonald’s healthy spring has paid dividends on the mound and in the standings for the Raiders. The ace pitcher tossed a three-hitter with nine strikeouts as South Range moved within one game of a share of the conference title with a 7-2 win over Columbiana at Firestone Park.
The Raiders will play the Clippers again at 10 a.m. today.
With a win, South Range (18-4, 11-2) would share the Inter Tri-County League Tier One title with Springfield.
“We’re really happy because it’s been awhile since we’ve been in this position,” said junior first baseman Mike Thorpe, who had two doubles and three RBIs. “We just need to go out there and take care of business.”
Although the Raiders showed off the depth in their lineup — seven of the nine hitters reached base — McDonald was the biggest reason for the victory, holding Columbiana scoreless for the first 61/3 innings as the Raiders rolled up a 7-0 lead.
“I didn’t have the pop I usually do [but] I hit my spots for the most part,” he said. “My changeup was working pretty good and that had them off-balance.
“We heard they were a pretty good fastball hitting team so it’s good I was able to get that working because I haven’t used it a lot.”
McDonald (6-0) retired 11 straight hitters over the middle innings as he was egged on with shouts of “Don’t get cute; just throw the ball!” and “There you go; that was manly!” from his cheering section.
“That’s a senior stepping up,” said Raiders coach Jim Hanek. “He delivered a great performance for us on the hill.”
Columbiana sophomore Hank Schlueter (3-3) matched him through the first three innings. Then Thorpe — who earned the nickname “Thorpedo” in little league because of his strong arm — hit a two-run double in the fourth and added another RBI double in the Raiders’ five-run sixth inning.
Cleanup hitter Vince Miller, a senior, added two hits and scored twice.
“It took us a little bit but it was a whole team effort and we did a good job,” said McDonald. “I’m glad we got this one in the books.”
South Range is the top seed in next week’s tournament but with a league title in sight, the Raiders aren’t looking ahead. South Range split its series with Springfield and also lost to Crestview, while the Tigers’ other loss was to Mineral Ridge.
“We know we’ve got one more,” said Hanek. “Columbiana is a well-coached team and we know they’re going to come out ready to play ball.”
Senior Jay Williamson hit a two-run homer to the opposite field in the seventh inning for Columbiana (14-10, 9-4). Junior Andrew Burdick added two hits.