KIRTLAND—Kirtland scored a pair of runs in the sixth inning to upend visiting Jefferson on Wednesday, 7-6.
The Hornets overcame four lead changes in the back-and-forth affair in improving to 2-0 on the season.
“We want games like this,” said Kirtland coach Luke Smrdel. “This is what gets us ready for the rest of the year. These are the games that will push us over the top. We have a young team, and learning in these situations is important, especially early in the year. I think this will help us down the road, and we love these games.”
Jefferson got the early jump on Kirtland when Devin Salines hit a leadoff single and stole second.
Wyatt Hanson pinch ran for Salinas and quickly moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
With Jefferson leading 1-0, the Falcons looked to do more damage when Logan Saksa drew a two-out walk and Tate Hudson singled to center. Braden Dietrich then reached on an error that allowed Saksa to score.
Kirtland’s Max Paul retired the next batter and minimized the damage to just two runs.
The Hornets cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the first when Trip Thaler drew a leadoff walk and scored on Tyler Turk’s RBI double.
Jefferson’s Luke Lambert struck out the next two batters to preserve Jefferson’s lead, 2-1.
“The big thing was not to lose focus,” Smrdel said of the early deficit. “It was putting the bat on the ball and making things happen. We put the ball in play and moved a couple of runners around. Getting a run or two in each inning will win you a lot of games. Just put the ball in play, and good things happen.”
Kirtland tied the game in the bottom of the second when Carter Luzar and Jack Turk drew back-to-back walks to start the frame and Paul sacrificed himself to advance the runners to second and third with one out.
Luzar then scored on a wild pitch and Nate Chuko hit a two-out RBI single that gave the Hornets a 3-2 advantage.
Kirtland added an insurance run in the third when Tyler Turk drew a walk and stole his way to third. Gino Blasini’s sacrifice fly pushed Kirtland’s lead to 4-2.
Paul retired the Falcons in order for the second straight inning and notched his seventh strikeout in the top of the fourth.
Thaler sparked another Kirtland rally with a triple and scored on a passed ball.
Will Bates and Tyler Turk reached after being hit by a pitch and Blasini singled to load the bases, but Jefferson relief pitcher Braden Dietrick pitched out of the jam.
Jefferson pulled to within 5-4 in the top of the fifth.
Toby Dickson singled to start the rally and Lambert drew a walk. Both runners moved up a base on a passed ball and Dickson scored on Saksa’s sacrifice fly. Lambert moved to third on a throwing error and then scored on a groundout.
Paul struck out his eighth batter of the game to retire the Falcons.
The Falcons tied the game in the sixth when Michael McGraw drew a walk and Michael Riffle roped a single to center field.
Giovanni Matticola hit an RBI single to knot the score at 5-5.
Dickson then was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Lambert hit a lead-changing sacrifice fly that left Jefferson on top, 6-5.
The Jefferson lead didn’t last long as Tyler Turk reached on an error in the sixh and Lucci Cantini doubled to left. Turk scored on a wild pitch and then Noah Conner, who pitch ran for Cantini, scored on a passed ball to close out the scoring.
Chuko recorded back-to-back strikeouts to start the Jefferson seventh and coaxed a McGraw flyout to end the game.
Chuko threw two innings of relief to earn the win. He allowed two unearned runs on one hit and he fanned three.
“The hard part of high school baseball is you can’t get these guys 100 percent loose all the time,” Smrdel said. “He’s playing second base and batting second. He wasn’t ready to go, but then he got loose during his first inning; in his second inning, he was where he should have been when he started. That’s the hard part: guys are playing all over the play. What can you do?”
Paul earned a no-decision after allowing two earned runs on four hits with eight strikeouts in five innings.
“Max, in the first inning, I don’t think he was right on right away, but man, he settled in after the first,” Smrdel. “He threw great from that point on. He got up there in pitch count, he was at 97 (pitches thrown). We’re early in the year, so we went on to make the right choice to protect his arm. Everything was working, too. His slider was working. He kept guys off balance; that’s what he does. He’s a very good pitcher, and as long as he hits his corners and works the zone, his ball moves a lot.”
Chuko, Blasini, and Tyler Turk each went 1-for-3 with an RBI to lead the Hornet offense.
Thaler was 1-for-3 from the dish, scoring two runs, and Cantini finished 1-for-4 to round out the Kirtland offense.
Lambert and Saksa both went 0-for-2 with one run scored and one RBI each on sacrifice flies.
Tate Hudson led the offense with a 1-for-3 outing and an RBI, Riffle went 1-for-1 with a run scored, and Matticola pitched in with a 1-for-3 performance at the plate.
Lambert pitched 2 2/3 innings with four earned runs, six walks, and five strikeouts in the start.
Dietrich took the loss in 3 1/3 innings of relief, surrendering three hits, one earned run, two walks, and two strikeouts.
