Long memory motivates Heath baseball in victory against Newark Catholic
HEATH — The Heath baseball team won Licking County League-Cardinal Division and Division III district and regional championships last season, but the Bulldogs still had some old business left on their agenda Tuesday.
Heath gained a measure of revenge with a 7-4 victory against visiting Newark Catholic in Cardinal play, The Bulldogs played the Green Wave at Dave Klontz Field for the first time since NC's 11-2 victory last May, a jarring defeat before the Bulldogs regrouped and made their sprint to the state tournament.
"We talked about it before the game we still had that bad taste from last year," Heath senior Riley Baum said. "We knew we had that chip on our shoulder. We had to get the job done."
Baum was busy in right field Tuesday, making five putouts behind senior right-hander Hayden Woodward, who had a hiccup in the third and fourth innings when NC (3-3, 1-2) erased a 3-0 deficit and tied the game.
Woodward's own two-run single helped the Bulldogs (5-1, 2-0) regain their three-run lead at 6-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning. He then went the rest of the way despite his pitch count sitting at 106 entering the seventh.
"(Assistant coach Mike Saalfield) looked me in the eye and said, 'If you want to finish, show me.' I knew I just had to go out there and throw strikes because we have such a good defense," said Woodward, who induced a line drive to sophomore first baseman Carter Mason to end the game with a runner at second base. "I was definitely tired. I am still tired. I am about to go home and go to bed."
NC made Woodward work, going in order just once in the top of the first and totaling 10 hits.
Sophomore Kane Stephey's RBI hit scored senior Ethan Urban with two outs in the third inning. Back-to-back RBI hits by sophomore Cooper Leibas and Urban tied the game in the fourth.
"That's the first time Ethan's batted in the lineup this year. He has been playing in the outfield, but I would DH for him," said NC coach Ron Graves, whose team also received an RBI single from senior Nate Willis in his only at-bat. "We had three hits out of the nine hole with guys who don't typically hit. We have been looking for that one more hitter."
NC, however, was undone by its own self-inflicted wounds as three consecutive walks for Heath opened the bottom of the fourth. After the go-ahead run scored on a wild pitch, Woodward bounced a two-run single through the left side.
"It was really helpful for my mental side. It got me calmer when I went out to the mound," Woodward said. "I really work hard on my two-strike approach. I just wanted to make contact, and it worked out for the team."
Heath's Nos. 1 and 2 hitters junior Connor Corbett and Tannar Patterson each were hitless but scored two runs apiece. Senior Kaden Green matched Woodward's two RBIs with a sacrifice fly in the second inning and a pop up that fell just beyond the drawn-in infielders, going for a single in the sixth.
"We really need to execute on offense, make sure we know what our job is whether its bunts, hit-and-runs, anything that (coach Tom Warren) wants us to do," Baum said.
Warren added, "You have to win games early to play meaningful games late. I am pleased with how we played. Woody threw the ball over the plate. They had a good hitting lineup, but we were able to limit their runs."
Leibas and junior Mikey Hess each matched Urban with two hits to lead NC. Leibas scored twice, and senior Rocco Capretta added a hit and an RBI.
NC is playing from behind in the Cardinal Division after previously losing to Lakewood last Friday. The Green Wave must clean up their play as the Bulldogs benefitted from four walks and five hit batters issued by junior Miller Hutchison and sophomore Owen Przymierski in addition to the wild pitch and two errors, which each led to an unearned run.
"We have to be on the plate and can't give up free bases," Graves said. "With a team like that as good as they are with their speed, they are going to take advantage."
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Heath Bulldogs baseball beats Newark Catholic Green Wave
