OHIO CITY, OH - The first week of baseball for the Cats featured some ups and downs to start the season, and it ultimately ended in a 1-1 record after the first week of action. The Cats were originally slated to play University School on Wednesday as well before heading south, but Mother Nature had other plans. Still, the Cats have lessons to take away from their first two games of the season: an away game against Upper Arlington and a home game against Lakewood, both very challenging opponents.
Saturday against Upper Arlington started strong for the Cats, as they got on the board at the top of the first courtesy of a
Jackson Anthony single, which drove in
Ryan Whelan. However, the bats went cold after this, and the Cats wouldn't score again until the fifth inning. In the meantime,
Trey Powers got the start for the Cats and did an excellent job throughout his outing, missing barrels, getting whiffs, and inducing weak contact.
However, Upper Arlington hitters did make him work, and a few free passes along with the long at-bats ran up the pitch count before a walk, and a hit by pitch ended the day for Powers, who gave way to
Sam LoParo. An RBI single and a fielder's choice plated the two Golden Bears who reached on the walk and HBP from Powers in the third. Upper Arlington added one more in the third frame on a classic first and third play in which the runner at first took off for second and enabled the runner from third to score in the process on the throw down. Upper Arlington added another run in the fourth on an RBI double, and the Cats suddenly trailed by three and hadn't recorded a hit since the first inning.
This changed when
Max Hirsch reached with an infield single to the right side, and
Brayden Colleran doubled him home with a shot off the base of the wall in right center. However, UA continued to slowly but surely add to their lead with a pair of RBI singles in the fifth and sixth innings, making it a 6-2 ballgame.
Upper Arlington was led on the mound by right-hander Cam Croci, who is set to pitch at the D1 level next year at George Mason. Croci shut down the Wildcat offense; however, problems arose when he left the game, and the bullpen took over.
Patience was the name of the game for the Cats down the stretch. Down by four in the seventh, four Wildcats walked in a row, cutting into the deficit.
Jackson Anthony further lessened the deficit with a sac fly, which made it a two-run ballgame. Ultimately, it came down to
Jacob Merheb, who found a way to come through after being hitless in the game up to that point. A two-run single made it a 6-6 ballgame. While the Cats had a chance to take the lead after that, they failed to capitalize. Still, it was a whole new ballgame.
Logan Hrabak, who entered in the sixth inning and surrendered an insurance run to Upper Arlington, was now tasked with keeping it a tie ballgame after the huge rally from the Cats.
Hrabak did just that, setting down Upper Arlington 1, 2, 3, and getting the bats right back up there. The Wildcats carried their seventh-inning momentum into the eighth and took the lead.
Marcus Tekancic, in a way, found a way to manufacture the go-ahead run by himself by singling to right, stealing second, and advancing to third and ultimately scoring on a pair of miscues from Upper Arlington, as a passed ball moved Tekancic up to third, and he ended up scoring on a wild pitch. Hrabak pitched another quick 1, 2, 3 frame in the eighth and shut it down, and the Cats secured an Opening Day victory. Not the prettiest game of baseball in the world, but a tough, gritty, come-from-behind win for the Cats to put them at 1-0 to start the year.
Monday ended up being a tough day at the plate for the Cats.
Luke Creech started for the Cats and had solid stuff throughout. However, timely hitting and elite pitching from Lakewood gave them an early advantage, and they didn't look back. The Rangers took advantage of a Wildcat miscue in the first inning on a dropped third, giving them an extra out that ultimately came back to hurt the Cats. Riley Verderber tripled for Lakewood in the first and drove in Drew Jones, who reached on the dropped third, and gave Lakewood an early 1-0 lead.
Nick Hart, a Marietta commit, was on the mound for Lakewood, and he was untouchable after he settled in. Early on, he had troubles with the strike zone and walked three in the first two innings; however, all three, Tekancic, Whelan, and Anthony, got picked off or caught stealing second, which thwarted any chance the Cats had at scoring early on. Lakewood added on with a sac fly in the second inning, as the bottom of the order created a spark and set the table for the inning. However, Creech did a great job limiting the damage to only a run, and the game stayed 2-0 until the fourth.
Wildcat pitchers did a good job shutting down the meat of the Lakewood order outside of Verderber. However, the bottom of the order for the Rangers put in great at-bats and produced a couple of runs for Lakewood. Creech gave way in the fourth to
Aaron Poretsky for his first varsity appearance. Poretsky looked sharp overall, but Lakewood was very opportunistic and tagged Poretsky for two runs in two innings.
First in the fourth with an RBI single from Connor Sefchick, the Rangers' nine hitter, who had two hits in the ballgame, and Riley Verderber, who added on to his hot start to the season with another extra base hit, this time a home run over the wall in center to give Lakewood a 4-0 lead after five.
The Cats had a couple of hard-hit balls, but no luck in the hit column until the sixth inning, when
Matthew McKee recorded the first hit of the ballgame for the Cats. But the game stayed 4-0 as the Cats couldn't make anything out of it.
Ben Olack relieved Porestky in the sixth inning, tasked with keeping the game exactly where it is and, hopefully, giving the Cats a couple of innings of length. Olack faced six batters and set down all six, including a pair of punch outs in the sixth inning. Similar to Saturday, the Cats trailed by four down to their last three outs. ?
The seventh inning got off to a good start for the Cats as
Brayden Colleran, who had a great pair of games offensively for the Cats, snuck one over the wall in right field for a solo shot, which made it a 4-1 game. Nick Hart's day was done after a masterful performance for Lakewood. However, it didn't get much easier for the Cats as Riley Verderber replaced Hart on the bump to try and lock down a Lakewood victory.
While Anthony reached on an error against Verderber following the Colleran home run, the Cats went quietly after that, with a pair of strikeouts and a line out from Merheb putting an end to the game and the Cats' comeback hopes. The Cats dropped the Home Opener to Lakewood by a final score of 4-1.
While the Cats had a tough go of it offensively, especially against Lakewood, there are certainly some positives to take away from the week. First, the Cats had some guys who had good weeks offensively, notably
Jackson Anthony and
Brayden Colleran, guys who the Cats are going to lean on all year. In addition, the Cats had to battle against some very good pitchers, as both Upper Arlington and Lakewood threw their "Ace" against the Wildcats this week. Furthermore, the Wildcat pitching staff did a good job against Lakewood, limiting a very talented lineup and shutting down some very good hitters in the top and middle of the Ranger order. So overall, some positives from the week, but also some areas the Cats want to be better in, which is expected.
While these early-season contests were tough, it's not getting any easier for the Cats. As a matter of fact, it gets more challenging in terms of the caliber of teams they are set to face next. The Cats are set to leave Friday and play four games down in Tampa Bay, starting Monday, including two nationally ranked squads: Tampa Jesuit and IMG Academy. This will be a good early-season test for the Cats that should ultimately help them in the long run. The Cats' next in-state matchup will be on April 14 when they take on Jesuit rival Walsh Jesuit at home.
