Perrysburg relief pitcher Will Rettig, right, celebrates with catcher Jacob Zilles at the conclusion of a game against Anthony Wayne Wednesday at Perrysburg High School. Visit www.sent-trib.com to view a photo gallery.
Scott W. Grau | Sentinel-Tribune
PERRYSBURG — Perrysburg again proved to be the Kardiac Yellow Jackets, if there is such a thing, in a 2-1 Northern Lakes League win over Anthony Wayne at Jim Leyland Field Wednesday.
With the game tied at 1-1 in the top of the sixth, Perrysburg senior Kanyon Gagich reached on a two-out walk. And with junior T.J. Takats at the plate, coach Dave Hall gave the hit-and-run sign on a 2-and-2 count.
Takats lined a base hit to right and, as AW junior right fielder Mitch Harder went to field the ball, it rolled under his glove, allowing Gagich to score what proved to be the winning run.
It was more than what the Jackets were hoping for.
“On a 2-and-2 pitch we wanted to go with the hit and run because we wanted Gagich to run, and we thought if he pulls it, he’d score. But I’m actually hoping he hits it in the gap, and we score,” Hall said.
“But that kid was just trying to throw Gagich out at third and he didn’t get his glove down and that was big.
“But if he’s not moving, we’re at first and third and still trying to get a run. On a full count we’re going, so we might as well have run on 2-and-2. That’s a big play,” continued Hall.
One night earlier, Perrysburg had to come from behind to defeat Wauseon, 10-5, in a non-league game at Leyland Field. Coming back to win games has been Perrysburg’s modus operandi this season.
“When we go down, we don’t give up. We battle because we always know we are in the game with our bats,” said Perrysburg senior Ben Robeson.
The Yellow Jackets remain unbeaten at 9-0 while AW, the defending league champions, fall to 1-6 without a conference win.
“Their record doesn’t indicate how good they are. The teams that they’ve played — it’s unbelievable,” Hall said.
Robeson added, “We always know that AW is a good team, and we want to beat them every time. We just have to go out there and play a clean game, keep a lid on the mistakes, and challenge them.”
Most of the game was a pitching showdown between Robeson and AW senior southpaw Noah Sample.
Robeson struck out seven, walked three, and allowed five hits and one run over five innings, getting the win.
He threw 95 pitches, including 58 for strikes, but loaded the bases with three walks in the fourth before he got AW junior Haydryn Nowicki to fly out to center for the final out.
Perrysburg senior Will Rettig closed, striking out one, walking none and allowing one hit but keeping the Generals off the board in the sixth and seventh to get the save.
“He (Robeson) was wavering a little bit, so we made the decision to go with Will,” Hall said. “Will pitched in our first five games and he hasn’t thrown in a week, but he’s been our closer and has been really good.
“I think he came out and threw strikes right by them. We think we’ve got a pretty good closer at the end.”
Without Robeson’s bat, however, Perrysburg would not have scored it’s first run. Robeson teed off on a 2-and-0 pitch, sending it to the left field fence, hitting halfway up the wall on the fly.
“It felt great. I haven’t hit a ball that well this year, but it was so close to going out,” Robeson said.
Robeson ended up on second with a two-base hit, and junior Andrew Hunt’s infield single advanced Robeson to third.
Robeson scored on a perfectly placed squeeze bunt by sophomore Jack Losee, putting the Jackets up 1-0 in the bottom of the second.
“The big thing was we got the squeeze down to get the lead. That helped. It made it easier to play a little bit,” Hall said.
Sample, who was 2-for-4 at the plate, did all he could for the Generals offensively and defensively..
On the mound, Sample struck out seven, walked three, allowed just three hits and one earned run. He threw 100 pitches, 63 for strikes.
Offensively, he reached in the fifth with a one-out base hit to right, advanced on a base hit to left by senior Chase Saneholtz and scored on a base hit to left by junior Jack Behnfeldt, tying the game at 1-1 in the top of the fifth.
Down 2-1 in the top of the seventh, Sample hit a two-out double to center field, but Rettig struck out Saneholtz for the game’s final out.
“Noah Sample, what an effort he gave,” AW first-year coach Ryan Donley said. “He went all six innings and really gave us a chance.
“I’m just real confident in him and what he can bring. He gives us a chance to win every time he’s out there.
“Even offensively there in the top of the seventh, he gets a double to center field. Again, it’s a guy in scoring position and it gives us a chance to tie it up. I’m real proud of his individual effort there,” Donley added.
Ultimately, three errors by the Generals doomed their chances of getting their first NLL win while the Jackets fielded 1.000 on the new artificial turf at Leyland Field. The Generals also stranded eight base runners.
“We just didn’t make enough plays and we squandered a couple scoring opportunities — bases loaded in one of the innings and we had guys on first and second and we didn’t cash in,” Donley said.
“We had opportunities and when you are playing a good ballclub like Perrysburg is, you have to cash in,” Donley continued.
“They took advantage of a couple mistakes we made, and you can’t have a few errors and beat a good team is pretty much what it boiled down to.”
