SPRINGFIELD — Benjamin Logan’s baseball team was undone by some out of character sloppy play in a Division III district championship game here Thursday.
The Raiders, who came in as the top-ranked Division III team in Ohio, committed a pair of costly errors and their offense mustered just three hits while striking out 11 times in a 5-2 loss to Cincinnati McNicholas at Kenton Ridge High School.
“The errors were the difference late in the game,” said Ben Logan head coach Scott Wilson. “We didn’t execute offensively or defensively. Blake (Peterson) was throwing a gem, but we didn’t give him much help.”
The loss resulted in the end of two impressive streaks by the Raiders. They saw their 19-game winning streak stopped, as well as a run of five straight shutouts.
Ben Logan had not given up a run since a 7-2 victory over Graham on May 6.
“We knew they had some good hitters,” said Wilson. “We just tried to compete and battle. We just came up short.”
It didn’t take long for the Rockets (17-10) to end the Raiders’ run of scoreless innings.
McNicholas put two runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first frame on the strength of two hits, an RBI groundout and a passed ball that allowed a run to score.
“That’s not typical for us,” said Wilson. “We normally start fast and get ahead. We haven’t played from behind much.”
The Raiders showed grit by battling back to tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the third.
With one out in the Ben Logan third, Brady Burrey singled and was able to take second after the ball was mishandled in the outfield. Burrey later scored on an RBI single by Trey Allen and the Raiders tacked on another run on a McNicholas error.
The score stayed tied at 2-2 until the bottom of the fifth, when the Rockets went up 3-2 on a two-out RBI single by pitcher Clay Badylak.
McNicholas then landed a crushing blow in the bottom of the sixth with two more runs. The Rockets only had one hit in the inning, Ben Logan hit a pair of batters, committed an error an allowed a bases loaded walk.
The Raiders were retired in order in the top of the seventh by Badylak, who threw 121 pitches in getting the win.
It was only the second loss of the season for the Raiders, who finish with a sparkling record of 27-2.
“These guys changed the culture of the program,” said Wilson. “We have 16 eighth-graders coming out for baseball next year. Going deep in the tournament is becoming an expectation, not just a want.”
Making the loss even more difficult to swallow was that it marked the final game for a stellar group of 10 Ben Logan seniors.
“It’s tough to say good bye,” said an emotional Wilson. “I’ve been around these kids for the last nine years. They have made a tremendous impact on the school and the community.”
McNicholas advances to face Cincinnati Country Day in the regional semifinals next
Thursday at Wright State University.
MCNICHOLAS 5,
Ben Logan 2
Raiders 002 000 0 — 2 3 2
Rockets 200 012 X — 5 5 4
WP—Badylak; LP—Peterson.