Take a hike, geese: GlenOak Golden Eagles soar in Federal League baseball win at Green

GREEN — Northeast Ohio weather this spring has been ill-suited for high school baseball players.

Now for waterfowl, the good times are rolling.

"The one day we had six geese swimming around second base there was so much water on the field," GlenOak head coach Ray Frisbee said with a shake of his head.

Tuesday — with temperatures in the 70s and sun soaking the field for a change — the Golden Eagles could spread their wings and soar.

GlenOak was aggressive at the plate and much sharper in the field than host Green in pulling away for a 13-2 win.

It took until April 16, but the defending Federal League co-champions have their first league win of the season. Of course, Tuesday was only their second completed league game thanks to this rainy April.

"The weather stinks, but you can't do anything about that," said junior Bryce Broom, GlenOak's leadoff hitter and center fielder. "We've been practicing in the gym and hitting a lot. We're getting hot right now. Two wins in a row against two good teams."

GlenOak (4-5, 1-1) earned a 6-4 extra-inning win at Louisville on Saturday, and the good vibes continued Tuesday.

Broom totaled three hits (including a bunt single to start the game), two runs scored and an RBI. At the opposite end of the order, sophomore No. 9 hitter Kyle Moff had a pair of RBI singles.

Senior right fielder Jackson Boles singled once, walked three times and scored three runs. Junior left fielder Quincy Mazeke, a University of Cincinnati recruit, walked twice and boomed a double off the left field fence.

GlenOak built a 4-0 lead by the middle of the third inning, saw Green cut its deficit in half after five, then put the game away with a seven-run sixth inning that included 13 Golden Eagles going to the plate.

GlenOak returns just one starter (senior third baseman Jerry Alexander) in its infield, which is a major reason Frisbee has focused hard on defense with this group.

"The talent is there to contend for the top of the league," Frisbee said. "But in the league you can't compound mistakes. ... We've been preaching technique and fundamentals. The hitting will take care of itself. Pitching, we just have to pound the zone. The biggest thing for us will be to limit the mistakes on defense."

They did that Tuesday, committing just one error. Junior shortstop Ethan Krum and Moff at second base keyed a nifty 6-4-3 double play that ended Green's fourth inning.

The story was much different for Green.

After going three straight games without recording an error, the Bulldogs made six of them Tuesday.

"They put the ball in play and put a lot of pressure on our defense," Green head coach Jon Wallace said. "Our defense obviously let us down."

Green (4-5, 2-2), which had a five-error performance that cost it a game against McKinley early in the season, will try to gain a series split at GlenOak on Wednesday.

"The skeletons came out of the closet today," Wallace said. "It was unfortunate. It's one of those games you're just going to have to throw the tape away and go back to work. You don't have to wait a week like football. Twenty-four hours later you got to get in the right frame of mind."

Senior right-hander Luke Jansen, on a pitch count as he works his way back from a minor injury, only pitched two innings and took the loss to fall to 1-2. Green pitching issued nine walks overall.

Dominic Salomone drove in both Green runs with a single and a sacrifice fly. Ohio State recruit Brady Rollyson led the Bulldogs at the plate with a pair of singles.

Senior Johnathan Birchler was solid on the mound for GlenOak. The lanky right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits, struck out four and walked just one in six innings to improve to 1-2.

"I think we've got some guys going in the right direction now," Frisbee said. "Guys are locked in. Bryce is doing well. We have some young guys that now are nine games in and they're no longer young guys. They've been able to see some competition and face great players like Rollyson.

"The more times out we can get against quality opponents like them, the better off we'll be come tournament time."

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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio high school baseball, GlenOak vs. Green in Federal League