Friday, May 24, 2019
Mustangs advance
to Strongsville regional
By BOB ETTINGER
sports @vindy.com
FAIRPORT HARBOR
Jared Terlecky was a freshman third baseman when Mathews won its last district baseball championship on its way to an appearance in a regional final. He never again made it out of the district as a player.
Despite coaching the Mustangs to four district title games, Terlecky hadn’t been able to punch that ticket again, either.
In his fifth trip to the district final the Mathews skipper, Terlecky was shown the magic once again as his Mustangs toppled Northeastern Athletic Conference rival Bristol, 4-2, on Thursday.
“You think as a freshman, sophomore and junior, you’ll go back every year,” Terlecky said. “After that magical run, we never had that chance again. The years start to add up. I finally got one with these guys. I can’t say how proud I am.”
Mathews (20-3) will play Springfield in a Division IV regional semifinal at Strongsville High School at 2 p.m. Thursday. The Tigers beat Warren JFK 8- 7 Thursday to win the Struthers district.
“Springfield has ended our season twice and JFK did another time or two. If you advance far enough in the postseason, you’re going to play one of those teams,” Terlecky said.
The Mustangs scored all four of their runs in the first inning and had to hold off the Panthers all afternoon.
“Five district finals and we’re finally victorious,” Terlecky said. “One of our goals when we started coaching here was to win a district title. A lot of special young men had to give everything they had to get a district title and we always fell short. The opportunities slipped from our grasp.
“I watched a group of young men stand out there through a lot of adversity. I should probably see a cardiologist. We made the championship plays we needed.”
The Panthers (17-8) made their first appearance in a district final and, after a rough start, settled in but couldn’t break through.
“As disappointed as I am in the loss, the future of this program looks bright,” Bristol coach Jeff Thompson said. “With as many of our kids as we’ll have back, we’re headed in the right direction. Because I coach multiple sports and they play multiple sports, they know what’s expected from one season to the next.
“Bristol has always been known as a basketball school. We want to change that. Seven of the 10 players who played today are basketball players. They know what winning is about. It’s time we change the culture and that’s what they’re trying to do.”
Of the four runs the Mustangs plated in the first, just one was earned as two batters were walked and two more reached on errors.
“As I’ve told the boys all year, it’s not a complicated game,” Thompson said. “You have to throw strikes, make the routiners and get the timely hits. In the first inning, we couldn’t throw strikes, we didn’t make the routine plays and we couldn’t get the knock we needed.
“After the first inning, we played a great game. Mathews is a great team. I told the boys if they wanted to win, they’d have to take it. Mathews wasn’t going to give it to us. Give them credit. They capitalized on our mistakes and they made the plays.”
Adam Wibert singled in a run, Jake Miller and Jackson Iceman each scored on errors and Wibert tallied on a wild pitch.
Seth Mooney singled in a pair for Bristol in the third, but the Panthers failed to score in any other inning despite having at least two runners on in five four other innings. They left bases loaded in the fourth and stranded runners at second and third in the first.
Iceman used his defense to get out of trouble to get the win.
“It definitely gives me relief [to have the early lead],” Iceman said. “I trust my defense. Today wasn’t an on day, but I’m thankful they were there. I wouldn’t want anyone else behind me.”
Zach Rhodanz worked the final two innings for the save.
“I’ve never really shown emotion in a game whether I’m giving up a bunch of runs or striking out everybody,” Rhodanz said. “After that last out, I let it go. I was screaming.”