Hawken wasted very little time getting ahead in its 6-3 win over its host, Chagrin Falls, April 17 in a Chagrin Valley Conference crossover tilt.
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Hawken wasted very little time getting ahead in its 6-3 win over its host, Chagrin Falls, April 17 in a Chagrin Valley Conference crossover tilt.
The Hawks plated three runs in the first and two in the third for a 5-0 lead before holding off the Tigers down the line.
“Getting ahead in high school baseball is a huge part of the game,” Hawken Head Coach Aaron Brandt said. “Getting those three runs in the first was big. I know they were throwing a young pitcher who settled in after that. So to get those early was great, and then obviously (to) tack on a few more later was huge.”
The Hawks drew first blood with an Eli Mester two-run single, and Ethan Gipson ripped an RBI single to center for a 3-0 lead after one inning of play.
Hawken added two runs in the third with a Graham Shaheen bases-loaded walk, followed by a Rees Mitchell sacrifice fly that drove Mester in for a 5-0 lead.
Chagrin Falls finally got on the board with an Ash Martin blistered RBI single to dead center that scored Henry Cimperma and cut the deficit to 5-1.
The Tigers then added a second run on a steal of home by Martin, aided by a throwing error, for a 5-2 deficit after six frames.
For his team’s final run, Hawken’s Tanner Brandt had a hit followed by a defensive error, allowing Twardokus to score and make it 6-2.
Martin plated the final run for Chagrin Falls with a single in the seventh.
“It was good that we battled back,” Chagrin Falls Head Coach Michael Sweeney said. “We don’t want to see ourselves go 1-2-3 and call it a day. So the fact that we competed and got a couple of guys in scoring position was good to see.
“We just need to hit more. It’s a struggle right, now getting guys to hit, especially toward the bottom of the order consistently. If we can get healthy, it could be a productive lineup.”
Despite Hawken’s solid offensive output of six runs — plus a combined 23 runs in two games, previously against Lutheran West at the beginning of the week — the Hawks’ offense still hasn’t been able to stay hot one through nine.
“I think these guys will tell you that we’re ready to break out,” Coach Brandt said. “We had a couple of really good offensive performances against Lutheran West, and it felt like we were breaking out a little bit. Today was a little less of that, but we were productive, so I was very happy with what happened.”
Mester paced the offense, going two-for-four with two RBIs and runs scored, while Twardokus went one-for-one with three runs scored as well as two walks.
Gipson went one-for-three with an RBI, Kevin Oster went one-for-four, and Shaheen and Mitchell each drove a run in.
Tanner Brandt tossed a complete game and earned a win, allowing two hits on three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.
Now falling to 6-6, Coach Sweeney’s youthful team still has some catching up to do halfway through the year.
“I mean, we just don’t have a lot of room for error,” he said. “We kind of talked about it, whether it’s a pitcher walking a guy or we make one error, it just seems that one mistake every single time kind of leads to a run or two, and then we lose.
“We’ve had three one-run losses. We just don’t have a lot of margin for error, and until we start hitting the ball consistently, that’s going to remain that way.”
Martin paced the Tigers, going two-for-four with two RBIs, and Dylan Pribanic added the only other hit for Chagrin Falls.
Jackson Raleigh took the loss after four innings, allowing five runs on six hits with three walks and one strikeout.
Robbie Quinn worked an inning and a third with two walks and strikeouts, while Rice Johnson allowed an unearned run with one walk and a strikeout.
