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Six errors take fight out of Irish
Orrville rallies to ‘Schley’ Ursuline,
end Red Riders’ long state drought
By Greg Gulas
MASSILLON
The last time an Orrville High School baseball team made it to the state Final Four, gas was $1.25 a gallon, first-class stamps cost .15 cents and Jimmy Carter was our nation’s President.
Red Riders coach Scott Marshall, who was two years old in 1979, said he’s glad the wait is finally over after 35 years of trying.
Stuart Schley pitched 41/3 innings of relief to pick up his second win in as many days as the Red Riders (18-12) defeated the Ursuline Fighting Irish, 8-7 in the Division III regional final at Washington High School’s Ducky Schroeder Field.
Orrville will meet Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (28-2) at 4 p.m. on Thursday at Huntington Park in Columbus.
The teams combined for 10 errors, including six by the usually slick-fielding Fighting Irish (11-11) whose defense was a strength over the course of a somewhat trying season.
“Errors certainly upset our day defensively and that gave them some extra scoring opportunities. You cannot do that against a good team like Orrville if you expect to win,” Ursuline coach Sean Durkin said. “When we were up 5-1 with Dion [Felger] on the mound, we were feeling really good. They hit the ball hard, it was no surprise to us to see Schley and it was more them taking the game than us giving it away.”
Schley helped Orrville defeat Independence, 1-0 in 12 innings on Thursday by pitching the final four innings, picked up his second win in as many days, this time in relief of starter J.T Perez.
He scattered eight hits, allowed just two runs and struck out six Fighting Irish batters.
“My motive today was to just go out and throw strikes because my arm was a little tired after Thursday night,” Schley said. “We have an excellent defense and while errors are frustrating, we’re a family and we pick each other up; choosing not to get down or worried when they are made.”
“Columbus is going to be a fun trip for all of us.”
Orrville took a 1-0 lead when Chandler Smith led off the second inning with a double and later raced home on the first of Ursuline’s six miscues with two outs in the inning.
The Irish then sent 10 batters to the plate in their half of the third inning, scoring five times on the strength of two-run singles off the bats of Drew Potesta and Logan Pullin for a 5-1 advantage.
The Red Riders cut into the Ursuline lead in the fifth inning, scoring three times on a two-run double by Austin Domer and run-scoring single by Perez to make it to make it 5-4.
The Fighting Irish countered with two runs in their half of the fifth, keyed by Zach Patton’s infield grounder as they forged a 7-4 advantage.
The Red Riders wasted no time in their half of the sixth inning, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring four times with Perez’s bases clearing double the big blow which enabled them to take an 8-7 lead.
“These guys have a refuse to lose attitude and mentality and it showed time and again today,” Marshall said. “When we were down 5-1, I thought we were done but we were able to cut into the lead and then when we pulled to within a run in the fifth inning, I really felt like we had a chance.
“We still had a sour taste left over from last year’s loss to them in the regional finals, but timely hitting was big today. I really wanted this team to experience Columbus because they have worked so hard the entire year.”
Felger went the distance and absorbed the loss. He was 2-for-2 — both singles — against Schley.
“I felt good all day, even to the last out,” Felger said. “We got in some trouble. Errors hurt, but credit both teams because they fought hard the entire game.”