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Western Reserve clinches first state berth
Blue Devils going to state
for first time
By CURTIS PULLIAM
LORAIN
Western Reserve head coach Ed Anthony should buy a lottery ticket and play the number 5.
That was the number of runs Anthony told his players that they would need to win a Division IV regional final Friday. Additionally, it was in the fifth inning which the Blue Devils scored five runs to capture their first state berth in baseball with an 8-4 victory over Cuyahoga Heights.
“In the locker room before we came on this bus, I said it was going to take five runs, I thought, to win this game,” Anthony said. “ Honestly, when it was 4-0, I got them together and said. ‘Remember what I told you. It’s going to take five.’ ”
Westen Reserve (20-5) trailed, 4-3, in the fifth. Junior John Clegg started the frame with a single. After one out and the tying run scoring on an error, senior shortstop Tristan Bova lined a sharp RBI single to give the Blue Devils a 5-4 lead. A second run would come home on the play, pushing the Blue Devils lead to three. An RBI groundout by Jon Timko made it 7-4. Senior center fielder Dan Rosati would add an RBI single and cap Western Reserve’s rally.
Bova only had one thing in mind during his at-bat.
“Put the ball in play,” Bova said. “Only one out, runner on third, just put the ball in play. Anything I could do to get him home.”
The Redskins stuck first, scoring two runs off of Western Reserve senior starter Nick Allison.
Allison, who was scheduled to pitch Thursday’s semifinal, but due to elbow soreness, Bova stepped into his spot.
But it was Bova’s hitting providing a spark for the Blue Devils this time.
“It’s the senior mentality,” said Bova, who drove in the first run of the game for the Blue Devils. “Be a leader on the team and set that tone, not just for the game but for our team.”
The Redskins tagged Allison for two more runs in the fourth, making the score 4-0. The senior didn’t make it out of the inning.
“We were able to come with Nick Allison, who’s our No. 1,” Anthony said. “But he wasn’t the same as he’s been early in the season, and we knew that. We thought if we could get four or five innings out of him — or even three — we would be OK.”
After Allison’s departure, Clegg came on and shut down the Redskins, surrendering one hit over the last 31/3 innings.
“Relying on my team was the biggest thing,” said Clegg, who had three strikeouts. “I know I have a great defense behind me and that’s what did it.”
Contributing to the great defense was Bova, who had a long throw from deep in the hole at short, getting the first Redskins’ hitter in the seventh inning.
“That was a great play, a key play,” Anthony said. “I think it fired our kids up.”
The season-ending loss was a tough one Cuyahoga Heights (17-7).
“They have high expectations,” Redskins coach Marc Lowther said. “The kids don’t set the goal as winning the conference. Conference to us is just a tune-up for the state tournament. That’s what our ultimate goal is to get back down to Columbus.”
After a great regional, Bova can’t wait to go to Columbus next week.
“This is the greatest feeling I think I’ve ever felt,” Bova said. “Our senior class has been dreaming about this since eighth grade. We wanted this senior class and junior class to get here. And we got it.”
Anthony, who’s been coaching 28 years, knows it’s a moment you can’t take for granted.
“You got to savor this because you don’t know how many times you’ll get back here,” Anthony said. “I want them to play loose and have fun. You know what? We’re going to have fun.”