Heath baseball busts loose in romp against Newark Catholic
NEWARK ― It was a beautiful day on Monday, but Heath was still able to create the perfect storm.
The fired-up Bulldogs blew into Newark Catholic, combined clutch hitting with 10 errors, eight walks and three hit batsmen by the Green Wave, and rumbled away with a surprisingly lopsided 19-7 Licking County League-Cardinal Division victory.
“Obviously, they’re one of the best teams in the league, and there’s definitely a different energy against them,” said junior left fielder and leadoff hitter Connor Corbett, who went 5 for 6, scored five runs and stole four bases. “Everyone came out ready to go.”
Added junior shortstop Kaden Green, who knocked in four runs with two hits: “They’re always winning the league or finishing runner-up, so it’s a game we circle on the calendar.”
Heath (3-3, 2-0) trailed 4-3 in the fifth inning before it sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring six times for a 9-4 advantage. Hayden Woodward doubled, Conner Toomey walked and the pitcher threw away Riley Baum’s bunt single, allowing Woodward to score. After Jacob Bunn walked and Cooper Bradley had a sacrifice fly, then Corbett delivered the hit of the game, a two-out, two-run double down the left field line. He took third on the throw, then stole home as part of a double steal with Tannar Patterson, who then scored on Green’s hit to left.
“We had been struggling in the past with getting two-out hits, but once we got them, there was a lot of energy and we were psyched, and kept staying alive,” Green said. “It was one inning at a time and piecing things together.”
Said Corbett: “We got the two-out hits today, and when we hit the ball, there’s not many teams who can play with us.”
The Bulldogs weren’t done. During a nightmarish seventh inning for NC (3-2, 1-1), the Green Wave committed seven errors, Heath sent 13 more to the plate and scored nine runs. Corbett had two infield singles. Patterson also reached twice and both scored two runs. Green delivered the biggest blow, a two-out, three-run double.
“I’ve been telling them for two weeks, it’s gonna come, it’s gonna come, just be patient, and we’ll get better when it counts,” coach Tom Warren said. “We lost 4-2 on Saturday to a tough Jonathan Alder team, and 5-2 to a tough Watterson team at VA Stadium. We had chances in both, but couldn’t get the key hits like we did today. When we get our speed guys on base, we can make a lot happen.”
Woodward went 3 for 4 and had a sacrifice fly and RBI single in the 13-hit attack. Baum went 3 for 4 with a run-scoring hit and got the win with 3⅓ innings in relief of starter Patterson, striking out seven, allowing three hits and two earned runs. Patterson was twice hit by pitches and drew two walks, scoring three runs, while Toomey walked three times and scored three runs.
Leadoff man Mikey Hess tripled and singled, scoring three runs for Newark Catholic. Grant Moore had two bunt singles and a sacrifice fly, scoring twice, while Bryan McAnally and Eli Morris added RBI singles and Nate Ferrell a sacrifice fly. Freshman Cooper Leibas took the loss for the Green Wave, giving up six runs in relief of Braylon Bates, but none of the runs were earned.
“Ten errors and about as many walks and hit batters. That’s a lot of free stuff we gave them,” lamented NC coach John Cannizzaro. “They put the bat on the ball much more than we did, either bunting or swinging. They put a lot of pressure on you with their speed. They did their job today, and we didn’t. Hopefully, we will never have a game like this again, against anyone.”
With nice weather projected for the rest of the week, Monday kicked off six consecutive games for the Bulldogs and five for the Green Wave.
“It gave us some momentum, with some tough teams ahead, including Johnstown on Friday,” Green said.
“To get to where we want to be, they (NC) were one of the teams we had to beat,” said Warren. “I know it will be a dogfight when we play them again.”
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