The Kirtland baseball team shook off an early punch and answered with steady, situational baseball on Wednesday, rallying past Berkshire baseball 6-4 to open Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division play.
After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, Kirtland chipped away and took control with a three-run third and a two-run fourth before adding an insurance run in the sixth to seal the win.
“It was a nice win for us,” said Kirtland head coach Luke Smrdel. “We had to battle, and we faced some adversity early on. They jumped out to the lead and got up on us, so we had to come back. We scored a few runs here and there and did all the little things we needed to do to get the win.”
Berkshire struck first behind Patrick Brancel‘s three-run homer in the opening inning, putting immediate pressure on Kirtland starter Sebastian Becker.
“Berkshire came out ready to play,” Smrdel said. “Brancel hit a nice shot, a big three-run home run, and I said it might not happen right away, but we’ve got to work our way back into this game and keep them at three runs.”
Kirtland did exactly that.
Becker settled in after the first and gave his team a chance, while the Hornets’ offense slowly turned the momentum. They broke through with three runs in the third inning to tie the game, then added two more in the fourth to take their first lead.
“It was a huge win, first towards our record, and towards our conference,” said Becker. “Our conference is not at all an easy schedule, so every single win counts. Facing a team of this caliber at the start of your season just helps us to get better and figure out the little things that we can fix.”
Becker worked four innings, allowing four runs while striking out five, before handing things over to Xavier Lasecki — who slammed the door.
“Xavier is our No. 2 starter, but he had four saves for us last year, so he’s a guy who I can count on to come in and get the job done,” Smrdel said. “He’s a change of pace guy, so he keeps the hitters way off balance.”
Lasecki delivered, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out four to earn the save.
At the plate, Kirtland’s lineup produced throughout.
Becker helped his own cause, going 2-for-2 with a double, RBI, and two runs scored. Chase Gron added two hits and two runs, while Lasecki contributed two hits, two RBIs, and reached base three times. Lucci Cantini and Ben DiFranco each drove in a run as part of the balanced attack.
“I was just really thinking about hitting it over the second baseman,” Becker said of his approach. “My first at-bat was a little iffy, and I squeaked out an infield single, but that was because I was too fidgety up there. I fixed it in my next plate appearance, thought about exaggerating swinging backside, and ripped a double in the right-center gap. I am super satisfied with my approach today and how I could adapt and fix it the next at-bat.”
Berkshire was led by Sam Barcikoski, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored, and Brancel, who drove in three runs on his first-inning blast.
Kirtland improves to 2-0 and will host VASJ on Thursday, while Berkshire falls to 0-2 and will look to bounce back when the teams meet again on Friday.
Top Players
- Sebastian Becker, Kirtland — 2-2, 2R, RBI, 2B; 4 IP, 5 K (W)
- Xavier Lasecki, Kirtland — 2-2, 2 RBI, BB; 3 IP, 0 R, 4 K (SV)
- Chase Gron, Kirtland — 2-3, 2 R
- Sam Barcikoski, Berkshire — 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI
- Patrick Brancel, Berkshire — HR, 3 RBI
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