Springfield baseball returns to regionals

May 25, 2013 at 12:05a.m.

Tigers take 3rd straight

district title

Struthers

It wasn’t the prettiest of its 18 victories, but Springfield Local isn’t really concerned about style points at this point of the baseball season.

Dalton Donachie scattered three hits, struck out six and shrugged off a second-inning sprained ankle as he helped lead the Tigers to a 10-6 victory over McDonald in a Division IV district final Friday at Cene Park.

It was the third consecutive district championship for the Tigers (18-7) and their fourth in the past five seasons. Springfield will meet either Attica Seneca East or North Robinson Colonel Crawford in a regional semifinal at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“In the second inning while I was running to first base, the first baseman missed the ball, my foot got caught in the dirt and I felt a pop in my ankle,” Donachie said. “It was sprained, but I knew that I had to suck it up and continue to pitch.

“McDonald is an excellent hitting team so I used my slider a little more than I normally would in order to keep them off-balance. All I did was stick to the basics on the mound.”

After a scoreless first inning, the Tigers struck for four runs in the bottom of the second without the benefit of an RBI.

The Blue Devils cut into the deficit in their half of the third frame, sending eight batters to the plate while aided by three walks and a dropped third strike to make it a 4-2 contest.

But the momentum shifted back to the Tigers in their half of the third as they scored four unearned runs without the aid of a hit to make it 8-2.

“Good teams find a way to win when things aren’t exactly going their way and we did just that tonight,” Springfield coach Matt Weymer said. “My first two Tigers teams rolled through district play, but this year it has been a real struggle for us at times. We lost four very experienced seniors from last season and we’re still mostly a sophomore experienced group of players.

“Baseball isn’t easy to play on the high school level and I’m not exactly an easy coach to play for, however, this team responded to my coaching methods and always showed up to play.”

As if on cue, McDonald matched the Tigers’ two, four-run innings with a four-run outburst of its own in the fourth inning, keyed by three Springfield miscues as the Blue Devils pulled within two, 8-6.

The Tigers’ Joey Wrask, who led off the fourth frame with his second single of the game, later scored to increase the lead to 9-6. Springfield added its final run in the fifth on a single by Ryan Kohler.

“The two keys were that we got an excellent pitching performance from Dalton and we were able to cash in on our opportunities in both the second and third innings,” Wrask said.

Despite the loss, first-year Blue Devils coach Matt Vukovic called the season a success.

“Neither team executed today like they were capable of and the weather played a part in that for both team,” he said. “I’m very pleased with our season because every player worked hard the entire year and that really was the reason for our success. We had a dedicated group of players.”

McDonald ended its season 20-5.