by Dan Timmerman
With a full week to wait before their 3rd round tournament game against Elder on Thursday, the Loveland Tigers added a tune-up game with New Richmond High School for Tuesday and came away with a 5-4 extra inning victory over the Lions at Loveland’s Evans Field. The game fit nicely in the week for both teams as the Lions are still alive in the Div. II tournament with a 3rd round game on Thursday of their own against CNE. New Richmond finished the season ranked #4 in The Cincinnati Enquirer Div. II-IV poll and Loveland finished #6 in the Div. I poll. What may have been an interesting match-up during the regular season, the game played at this time certainly did not carry the same atmosphere of the games over the past few weeks. What it did do though was allow for the Tigers hitters to get some at bats and 8 Loveland pitchers, 1 each inning, to stay sharp all in a game setting against a quality opponent. Plus adding another victory in the “win column”. In the end the Tigers got a comeback win, scoring 5 runs highlighted by an RBI single by Dylan Bodley, an RBI single by Ryne Terry 2 innings later which scored Bodley. That run was followed by Aaron Malloy scampering home on a wild pitch with the tying run in the 6th. Neither team scored in the 7th, nor did NR score in the top of the 8th with Malloy (W, 1-0) pitching. In the bottom of the 8th Malloy hit a 2 out single, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on the throwing error and again scored on a wild pitch, this time with the winning run.
Hitting leaders in the game for Loveland include: Malloy 3-3, 2R; Bodley 2-3, R, RBI; Terry 1-2, S, RBI.
State Tournament Loss to Elder
The Loveland Tigers Varsity Baseball season came to an end Thursday as the Elder Panthers, trailing 7-4, scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 7th for a heartbreaking 8-7 victory over the Tigers advancing to the 4th round of the OHSSA Division I State District Tournament and eliminating the Tigers. For the 3rd consecutive season the Tigers made it to the 3rd round game to face a higher ranked GCL opponent. In the previous 2 years, 2010 against LaSalle and last year against Moeller, the Tigers were unable to provide much of a challenge with losses of 6-1 and 10-0, respectively.
After the 1st inning of this game one couldn’t help but think this may be a replay of last year’s Moeller loss as, after Loveland was retired quietly in the top of the 1st inning, the Panther’s jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on the Tigers and their best pitcher, Michael Louis. But from the last out in the 1st inning through the final out in the 6th Louis would settle down to be the pitcher he’s been for most of his high school career retiring 16 of the next 18 batters and allowing just a, 2 out single in each of the 3rd and 6th innings.
As Elder’s bats were being silenced by the Tigers the Loveland bats began to wake up. After being held to a 1 hit through the first 3 innings, a line drive single by Darren Sackett in the 2nd, Sackett crushed another Panther offering this time to the base of the right field fence for a 2 run double scoring Jacob Meyer, having been hit by a pitch, and Mitch Lendenski, who had reached on an error. The Loveland bench and crowd all erupted on the play with Sackett firing everyone up twirling his hand above his head on 2nd base seemingly letting the Panthers know the Tigers would not be going down quietly today.
Next up was the hot hitting Aaron Malloy who followed with a double of his own deep into the left-center field power alley bringing home Sackett to close the scoring gap to 1 at 4-3.
In the 6th inning the Tigers rallied to take the lead beginning with a 1 out single by Malloy. Senior Dylan Bodley was called on to pinch hit for Ryne Terry and delivered by scorching a shot down the left field line for a double, putting runners at 2nd and 3rd. Reid Waddell then dropped a bunt to the right side of the infield with Malloy coming home for a perfectly executed suicide squeeze play to tie the score at 4 with Bodley moving to 3rd. Austen Funk came in to run for Bodley. Reed Schlesner then raced down the 1st base line to beat out a groundball for an infield single, scoring Funk for a 5-4 Tiger lead. After Ryan Altman was hit by a pitch to put runners on 1st and 2nd, Joe Moran brought both home on a double to put Loveland up 7-4.
Neither team scored in their next at bat, which brought the game to the fateful bottom of the 7th. Louis went back to the mound for the 7th and started the inning giving up a groundball up the middle, which shortstop Waddell was able to keep in the infield, but went a single. The next batter hit groundball to third which was fielded and thrown to second for the force out but the turning throw for a possible double play glanced off of the runners helmet, out of play, with the batter awarded second base on the throw. The next batter reached on a HBP putting Elder runners on 1st and 2nd. The next batter hit another groundball, this one through the infield for an RBI single and putting the tying run on base.
Louis was replaced on the mound by Sam Timmerman who walked the first batter he faced loading the bases and putting the winning run on first. Elder hit another groundball, this one again kept in the infield on another excellent effort by shortstop Waddell, which went for a hit but allowed only 1 run to score and maintaining a 1 run Loveland lead, 7-6. Timmerman then struck out the next batter on 4 pitches for the second out. Kevin Helmers then came to the plate for the Panthers and Timmerman quickly got 2 strikes on him. A ball and 2 foul balls later Timmerman threw a 4th 2 strike pitch, which seemingly had everyone in attendance holding their collective breath, as the pitch was taken by the batter and received by the catcher with what looked like little movement of the glove from where the catcher had placed his target. The umpire called the pitch a ball for a 2-2 count. Helmers then turned what was already a great at bat, into a game winning performance by lining the next pitch down the left field line scoring the tying and winning runs for the 8-7 Elder victory.
Hitting leaders in the game for Loveland include: Sackett 2-4, R, 2B, 2RBI; Malloy 2-4, 2B, RBI; Bodley 1-1, 2B, R*; Waddell 1-2, S, RBI; Moran 1-4, 2B, 2RBI; Schlesner 1-4, R, RBI.
* PR-Funk
Loveland completes their 2012 season with a fine 20-8 overall record, 12-4 in the FAVC.

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