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Grand Valley stings Irish in 7th inning of D-3 finals
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By Greg Gulas
MASSILLON
In 15 seasons as Ursuline High baseball coach, Sean Durkin was making his sixth regional appearance, having never lost the championship game in five previous attempts.
Grand Valley, ranked number two in Division III, had never made it to regional play — before this season, the Mustangs’ best finish was a district title in 1971.
Uncharted territory didn’t seem to faze the Mustangs as they rallied to score two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, registering Friday’s 12-11 win over the Fighting Irish for the Division III regional title and a first trip to the state final four.
In a game that featured more twists and turns than a Perry Mason mystery novel, each team rallied twice to take the lead, only to see it fall by the wayside with the next team’s at bat.
Trailing 10-8 in the top of the seventh inning, Ursuline’s Joel Hake and Paul Pegues each had RBIs to key a three-run inning for an 11-10 lead.
Sam Donko, who pitched nine innings and struck out 13 in Thursday’s 3-2 semifinal win over Keystone, pitched the final inning allowing two runs, including the game-winning single to Stanley Sirrine.
“I have never been involved in a game where the momentum over the final three innings kept swinging to the other side,” Durkin said. “Grand Valley hits the ball up and down their line-up and they kept the pressure on us every inning.
“We were pretty much out of options in the final inning, yet everything fell right for us when we put Sam in to pitch in the seventh inning,” Durkin said. “Once again, he gave us a great effort but it just wasn’t to be.”
Pegues led off the game with a double and then scored the game’s first run on a double play as Ursuline (20-6) took the early advantage.
The Mustangs (30-1) took a 2-1 lead in their half of the first on a run-scoring double by A.J. Henson and RBI single by Mason Berkey.
Berkey finished with five singles with three runs batted in while scoring the game-winning run.
The Mustangs built a 6-1 lead by adding a run in the third inning and three more in the fourth, but the Irish sent 12 batters to the plate in the fifth inning, scoring six times to take a 7-6 advantage.
Grand Valley followed with four runs in the fifth inning for a 10-7 lead, but the Irish cut the Mustangs’ margin to 10-8 in the sixth inning.
The Mustangs’ Adam Moodt led off the seventh with a triple and came home on a bases-loaded walk to Joe Satterfield.
“We made some great plays today but not at the right time,” Pegues said. “Grand Valley kept the pressure on us and we in turn kept the pressure on them the entire game.”
Russ Bell, Mustangs head coach, called his team incredible as they registered the school’s first 30-win season.
“These kids are truly a great bunch,” Bell said. “Their resolve all season has been fantastic with each player picking their teammates up when necessary.
“I told Stanley {Sirrine] before he got into the box that we need you now, and he responded followed by delivering the game-winning hit,” Bell said.