J-M’s Lay pitches well in return to Class B

By Dan Hiner

dhiner@vindy.com

Struthers

Sebastian Lay’s first two pitches in his warmup prior to the first inning found the backstop. The first went over catcher Nick Stutz and the second bounced in the dirt.

However, Lay’s year in junior college provided a little clarity. The Jackson-Milton graduate realized how to improve in a short amount of time.

“I have to be smarter with what I do on the mound,” Lay said. “I can’t get away with that much stuff in college that I was able to get away with in high school.

“College helped me understand that I can always be a better pitcher.”

Lay allowed one hit and two walks in four scoreless innings pitched for Creekside in the season opener for the 18-U Class B season.

“Once those two sailed I knew what I did wrong,” Lay said. “I was trying to correct it, and eventually I did correct it in the second inning. I had a really good inning [in the second]. Those two pitches helped me realize what I was messing up on.”

The game was suspended at the end of the fourth inning after a brief rain delay. The time and date of the continuation will be determined later.

Creekside jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Warren Harding’s BJ Arnold had an RBI single and Cardinal Mooney graduate Jake Fonderlin had a two-run single.

Boardman’s Luke Stauffer scored on a wild pitch in the fourth to increase the lead to 7-0.

The lead set up Terry Landis for his first win as Creeekside’s 18-U coach. Landis was an assistant under Bob “Bubba” Boughner, who took over the 16-U team this season.

“First time out there, first game, you don’t know what to expect. Well, I thought we did an excellent job,” Landis said. “Kids came out to play, swung the bat, played good defense, my pitcher threw a good game. Very good.”

Cardinal Mooney’s Ethan Shaw hit a lead-off single to right field in the first for Roth Brothers. Shaw was picked off first base later in the inning. Christian Gabriel and Marshall Wheeler walked.

Slippery Rock pitcher Ricky Mineo allowed seven runs — six earned — on seven hits and three walks. Mineo struck out four in three innings.

Mineo appeared in seven games for Slippery Rock, finishing with an 0-1 record.

Girard’s Matt Miles relieved Mineo to start the fourth. He allowed two hits and struck out one.

“No disrespect to the other team, [Mineo] didn’t have his legs,” Roth Brothers head coach Mike Cefalde said. “And that’s why he stayed out there because he had to continue to pitch.

“And [the scoreboard] doesn’t have five up there, but you can’t play with five errors against a pretty good baseball team. That was it. We made mistakes — we didn’t hit cuts, we weren’t in position. When you got new kids coming it’s a tough way to go.”

Lay committed to Owens Community College as a senior in May 2018. It was Lays first start since Owens’ last game on May 9.

“I feel good with my performance. I had some great fielders,” Lay said. “The bats were great too so there wasn’t too much pressure on me to pitch a good game. It was just go out there and throw the ball.”