Mashin' McGuire: Wynford to play for district championship after win over Margaretta
SHELBY - All week leading up to Thursday's Division III district semifinal against Wynford, Margaretta coach Joe Smith repeated one thing over and over to his players.
"We're not going to let Grant McGuire beat us."
Easier said than done.
McGuire — the Northern 10 Player, District 9 Player of the Year, soon-to-be three-time first team All-Ohioan, and University of South Carolina Upstate commit — set the tone with a three-run homer in the top of the first and executed small ball to perfection his next at-bat scoring another run as the Royals advanced to the district championship for the first time since 2018.
"We made a mistake on a pitch in the first inning and he put it where Grant McGuire can put it," Joe Smith said. "We even talked about walking him every time this week, but we didn't do that. Second time up we could have walked him, but he got a base hit, stole second, goes to third on a wild pitch, and scores on a sac fly."
He finished 2-for-3 at the plate with three runs, three RBIs, and three stolen bases.
"I was looking for it. He hung a curveball after I was just late on the fastball first pitch," McGuire said. "I don't know why he didn't throw another one, but he hung a curveball and I was ready for it.
"We don't need big hits to score runs, just get a small hit and people do their job — speed kills."
Luckily for the Royals he was able to mix a big hit with some speed on the bases accounting for five of the team's seven runs. That early lead gave Spencer Miller some peace of mind on the mound needing just 49 pitches to cruise through the first five innings which would've allowed him to pitch again in Saturday's district championship.
But that wasn't the reasoning behind pulling him after five with a 7-0 lead.
"The plan was to throw him approximately 50 pitches," Wynford coach Tom Smith said. "We thought that would be about four innings, then bring Drew (Johnson) in because his arm's been a little sore. (Miller) said he was good to keep going … he said, he'd throw as much as we needed him to, but we're just trying to keep his arm healthy."
Johnson came in and got a groundout right away before allowing a hit and walking a pair to load the bases. A two RBI double from Tyson Bailey was followed by a sac fly from Robbie LaCourse to make it 7-3. Memphis McKenzie would go down swinging to get out of the jam.
A 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth for Wynford sent Johnson back out on the mound for the seventh. Bren Smith opened with a double before Jordan Luzader popped up in foul territory. Zach Gray singled, Kellen Moore doubled scoring Smith and Gray, then Tom Smith put the ball back in Miller's hands to close out.
Six pitches was all he needed to end it.
"We fell apart again there late in the game," Tom Smith said. "Spencer got a win and a save both in the same game, so that was weird … but he pitched great. Drew was a little pressured there, but he'll be all right."
Having been bounced by Sandusky Bay Conference opponents in the district semifinals the last two years — to state runner-up Edison in 2022 and Oak Harbor in 2023 — that was undoubtedly in the back of their minds coming into the matchup with Margaretta.
But Tom Smith knew there was something different about this year's squad.
"We felt good coming in and this group is relaxed," he said. "Before the game I even made the comment that we had 15 minutes before we were supposed to take the field and guys were like — I'm gonna go to the bathroom. They just stay relaxed.
"We had a couple of them get tight late today, but other than that, they were really loose."
And when it was all said and done, a weight was lifted off the shoulders of these juniors and seniors.
"We lost in district semis the past two years, and we were just ready to get past it," McGuire said. "We got over that hump and we're excited."
The focus now shifts to Saturday's district championship against a familiar opponent — Oak Harbor. The Rockets beat top-seed Edison 5-4 in the first semifinal of the day.
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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Wynford baseball beats Margaretta in Division III district semifinal
