Jeeps win fifth straight with 11-1 win over SOC II Champ Mohawks

Along with Barnard, McGraw went 2-for-2 in the contest with his first-inning RBI single and two runs scored from the six-hole to also contribute in a dynamic offensive display.

“Hunter’s been in the three-hole the last couple of years,” McClintic said when asked about Barnard’s efforts. “He hadn’t been the leadoff hitter ever, really. We put him there this year to get him more at-bats, honestly. He can bat anywhere. We don’t really have a lot of guys that fit certain roles. We have nine guys that are similar. We just wanted to get him more at-bats and get him started. He’s had a slow start to the season, but I’m so proud of the way that he’s kept his head and never shown his frustrations and never let it wear off on his teammates and kept working.”

The South Webster defense also did its job. Playing behind the effective pitching of Jeep freshman Easton Large, who added to what has been a strong year with a complete game two-hitter, the Jeeps didn’t do anything fancy but made all the routine plays while not committing an error in the contest.

Northwest put Chase Kingrey on in the top half of the first inning after Kingrey singled with one gone, and put Wesyn Lang on base after a two-out walk, but both players were picked off by Large.

Adding onto his effective pitching and pickoffs, Large also enjoyed a tremendous outing at the dish, going 3-for-4 himself with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in the game.

“Clean defense,” McClintic said. “That’s big time for our pitchers, and they can just go in there and attack hitters. That’s more likely to get you into pitcher’s counts and you don’t have to nibble. You can pitch to weak contact and let the defense work, and that’s what Easton did. He’s been fantastic for us as a freshman and definitely doesn’t look like one.”

South Webster then broke things open with a four-run third inning where Large’s leadoff double, an error and a hit batter were followed by a two-RBI single by Jeep freshman Pierce Kreischer. Then, following an RBI sac fly by South Webster’s Sam Murphy, Brayden Barnard roped another well-hit baseball that dropped in left field for an RBI single.

By the time the third inning was completed, the Jeeps had sent eight batters to the plate in both the first and third frames, and had built a 7-0 advantage.

“We weren’t playing good baseball early in the year,” McClintic said. “I said, ‘The only thing that’s going to change it is to keep on working.’ Work is the only thing that will change it. These guys have worked really hard every single day. I’m just really happy for them.”

“When we play our ball, we’re as good as anyone,” Nelson said. “We’ve shown that time and time again. I can’t blame our setback (Thursday) on physical ability. The guys can play and compete with anybody. It’s just more about mental preparation there and just making mistakes that you can’t make in a baseball game, especially against good teams.”

South Webster, who got singles from Large and McGraw in the fourth inning, then plated two more runs in the fourth on a passed ball and an RBI single by Murphy respectively to make it a 9-0 ballgame through four innings of work.

But Northwest junior Aidden Armbrister gave the Mohawks a jolt in the top of the fifth. Up as the leadoff batter in the inning, Armbrister swatted a big fly to left field on a 1-1 count to put Northwest on the board, cutting the deficit to a 9-1 margin.

“The kid can absolutely smoke a baseball,” Nelson said. “I told him, ‘Congratulations, kid.’ He took a year off last year, came back, fell back in love with the game of baseball and has been an amazing addition for us this year. He leads the team and is batting over .500. Hat’s off to the way he works and how much tenacity he shows when he plays. When everybody plays that way, good things happen, and when we don’t, the results that we saw are the ones we get. You’re going to win some and lose some, but we do it together.”

The homer proved to be of little consequence in the final result, however, as after giving up the homer, Large fanned the next three Northwest batters, two by way of the strikeout variety, to rack up seven punchouts in the game.

With the top of the order back up in the bottom of the fifth frame, Hunter Barnard led off the fifth with a single to center field again, stole second, and scored on an error. Then, following a hit batter, Large fittingly concluded matters with a double that banged off the right center field fence, scoring Andrews to finish matters off.

The win improved South Webster’s record to 11-6 ahead of what was the Jeeps’ final SOC III contest on Friday — a road bout at 16-2 Minford, the state’s No. 3 team in the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association’s (OHSBCA) Division V realm.

“We’re not worried about the stuff with the SOC,” McClintic said. “We know there’s stuff on the line, and we were in that situation last year. We’re just trying to keep playing good baseball and keep building. I know that there are probably going to be some people paying attention to that game (on Friday). We’re just going up there trying to play Jeep baseball and trying to win the next ballgame. It’s the biggest one because it’s the next one.”

Northwest (13-8) will turn its attention to a nonconference matchup vs. Piketon at home on Monday before traveling to Portsmouth for its final regular season contest on Wednesday.

“We’re proud of the boys,” Nelson said. “I’m always proud to see them progress and to win the SOC two years in a row is a big deal. We’re aspiring to do more than that.”