Under the radar Utica bumps off Valley, hitting stride at right time
HANOVER ― The record says .500, but Utica has been playing anything but average baseball recently.
After Wednesday, Licking County League-Buckeye Division leader Licking Valley can attest to that.
The Panthers came into their LCL crossover game riding an 11-game winning streak, but the visiting Redskins never trailed in a 5-3 victory that came just at the right time, as Utica readies for the Division III district tournament.
"We had a slow start and we've had good games and bad games this season," said crafty senior lefthander Roman Gamble, who pitched a six-hitter with four strikeouts, no walks and just one earned run. "But the energy has really picked up these last three games. We came back to beat Newark Catholic on Monday, took a ranked Division I Marysville team down to the wire Tuesday, and then today."
Added Gamble: "We've always had chemistry but it feels like we're growing even closer together. About halfway through the season, the coaches told us to just go out, play the best we can and have fun, and that's what we've been doing."
With such a veteran, senior-dominated team, first-year coach Tyler Keith is not surprised. The Redskins (10-10, 8-5) have lost four games by just one run against a demanding schedule.
"We're hitting our stride at the right time," he said. "This is our third game this week, and we've played every single game as hard as we can. Our record does not show how well we've played this year, against a lot of bigger schools. We've played a lot of them hard, and we're playing with a lot of confidence."
Utica never trailed after a two-out RBI hit in the first by senior catcher Aidyn Burgess scored Chase Bennett, who led off with a single and was bunted to second by Gavin Tussey. After Valley (16-2, 10-2) tied it in the second on Zane Hancock's safety squeeze, scoring Aidan Harrold who had singled, the Redskins answered with a decisive third.
Gavin Chinn was hit by a pitch, Bennett reached on an error and Tussing again got down a sacrifice bunt. Gamble and Burgess then came through with RBI singles and freshman Gaige Spray's groundout got home another run for a 4-1 lead.
Losing pitcher Evan Lichtenauer had a sacrifice fly in the third, scoring Brody Rodgers to make it 4-2, but Gamble then retired 11 of the next 13 batters. Tussing's big two-out RBI single in the seventh plated Chinn, who was again hit by a pitch. Thanks to consecutive Utica errors, the Panthers got within 5-3 when Lichtenauer singled home Brody Lambert, but Gamble finished things out. He threw 68 of his 97 pitches for strikes,
"I learned about them the first time around," Gamble said. "The coaches did a great job calling pitches, and I started feeling good and got into a rhythm."
Keith said Gamble has been very good all season. Last week, he shut Newark Catholic out 2-0 in eight innings.
"He has so much confidence out there on the mound, and he has such command of his breaking ball," he said. "He throws it for strikes, and that's a key. You can have a 2-0 count and he can still come in with a curveball. He was able to get a lot of popups and fly ball outs."
The Redskins were somehow able to overcome an uncharacteristic five errors.
"Once we got the lead, we were going to stay ahead, no matter what was happening," Burgess said. "We've lost to some teams this year that we shouldn't have lost to. We know if that if we come in, show up and play like we're capable, we can beat anyone."
You won't get an argument from Panthers' coach Adam Arcuri.
"The record doesn't always reflect how good a team is, and they are a good team," he said. "We've gotten to know some of their players over the years, and they weren't going to be intimidated by us, even though we're in first place."
Despite the loss, Valley clinched at least a share of its first LCL-Buckeye championship since 2018 when Heath rallied to win 5-4 at second-place Watkins Memorial. The Panthers can win it outright by beating visiting Johnstown Thursday in the continuation of a game tied 1-1 in the second inning.
"Before that, it was 2014," Arcuri said. "We've talked about it, and we don't want to share it. We want to go out and make this thing our own."
Lichtenauer allowed two earned runs and five hits over five innings to take the loss, striking out three with no walks. Harrold and Gunner Bowman had two singles apiece, in a game with no extra base hits
"We still have not peaked, and that's not a bad thing," Arcuri said. "We're still working on our plate approach. We have 10 days until the tournament, and if we start playing our brand of baseball, we're going to be fine."
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Under the radar Utica bumps off Valley, hitting stride at right time
