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Lehman’s
Greg Spearman beats out a throw at first in the first inning
as Arcanum’s Dalton Summers stretches
to make the catch. It was a day
when very few things went right for Arcanum as the Trojans dropped a
6-2 decision
to the Cavaliers at Newton Friday. CNO Photos by Dylan
Knoop
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Arcanum
eliminated in district final
By George Starks
Pleasant Hill- Going into its district title game with Arcanum, the
Lehman Cavaliers had been forced to play in a come back to win role.
On the other side of the field, Arcanum had been winning by decent
margins before having to fight Tri-Village for a 2-1 sectional win.
Friday at Newton, the Trojans and Cavs squared off and it was Sidney
Lehman that jumped out to the early lead, holding on for a 6-2 victory.
Arcanum had more than its share of chances to put multiple runs on the
board.
Leaving the bases juiced in the first, sixth and seventh, the Trojans
were never able to take advantage of the opportunities as the table was
set for big innings.
“They (Lehman) hit the ball real well and we didn’t,” said Arcanum
coach Randy Baker. “We left the bases loaded two or three times and
didn’t take advantage of those situations. You can’t do that and expect
to move on. It was a bug-a-boo today for us.”
The Trojans had a golden opportunity in their very first at bat. With
the bases full and two down, a ground ball to third ended any thought
of scoring.
In the bottom of the frame, Lehman put a run across, and then plated
three more in the second.
By the end of the third, the Cavaliers held a 5-0 lead.
Arcanum would finally dent the plate in the sixth when Shae Kramer
would draw a lead-off walk.
That would be followed by Jacob Albaugh reaching on an error. Two outs
later, Austin Ripple would drive Kramer home with a single to left
before Matt Albright would go down swinging to end the Arcanum threat
with the bases loaded.
Lehman would counter with a run in the bottom of the frame but Arcanum
would get a run in the top of the seventh.
With two down and the bases loaded, Cody Stone would get a run home
with a base hit.
But as had been the Trojan story on this day, Ripple would pop out to
second, ending the game and end the Arcanum season with a 23-3 record.
Lehman starter Ben Weber kept the Trojans swinging most of the game.
“He kept us off-balance,” said Baker. We were swinging at a lot of high
pitches. We were excited and we didn’t settle down quick enough.”
When the game started, Lehman’s plan was to jump on Trojan starter
Isaac Meyers and the Cavaliers did exactly that.
By the middle of the third, Meyers had been knocked off the mound and
was gone, giving way to Albaugh.
Meyers pitched 2.2 innings, allowed five runs, four earned, striking
out one and allowing seven of the eight Lehman hits.
“Lehman hit the ball hard and they hit the holes,” Baker pointed out.
“They are a good hitting team and we knew that going into the game. We
went inside then outside on them and they just did the job.”
Down 5-0 in the third, Albaugh did exactly what Baker and the Trojans
needed.
“Jacob held them down and that allowed us to stay within striking
distance,” Baker admitted. “We gave up that run late but Jacob did a
good job.”
Although the season ended prematurely, it was a good season for Trojan
baseball.
“It was a great season for us and I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
said Baker. “We had high expectations going into the tournament and we
are disappointed but give us a couple of days to get over it and we’ll
be back next year.”
Arcanum’s season ends with a 23-3 mark.
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Lehman
second baseman Cole Proffitt makes a snow cone catch at second.
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