Huron rallies for 5 runs in 6th to knock off Oak Harbor

HURON -- Huron didn't score after loading the bases in the bottom of the fifth Monday against Oak Harbor. With more runners in scoring position an inning later, Kaden Staley changed the narrative. Staley lined a 3-2 pitch into left field for a solid single with runners on second and third and nobody out. The ball scooted past the Rockets' left fielder, and Aiden Kastor and pinch-runner Abram Fortune scored to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead over Oak Harbor. "I just wanted to at least put the ball in play," said Staley. "It was a full count so I knew I had to swing if it was a good pitch. I put the ball in play and the left fielder made a little error and we took advantage of that." Huron scored two more runs in the pivotal inning and rode Chris Hand's complete game on the mound to a 6-3 victory at Campbell-Klein Field. Staley's key hit was part of a solid showing by the bottom of the Tigers' order. Aiden Kastor, batting seventh, had an infield hit in Huron's big sixth inning. Kadyn Yates added two singles and was hit by a pitch in the sixth. "They came up big at the end of the game with Yates and Staley and Kastor," Huron coach Dan Lindsley said. "That was a big deal to get the 7, 8 and 9 guys going. "That's what we've been waiting for — somebody unexpected to get a big hit. Both Yates and Staley had some nice hits and good at-bats and that's when we become a pretty good team." The Tigers improved to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division. Oak Harbor, which got a strong outing from hard-throwing starter Ashton Schroeder, dropped to 4-5, 2-1. Hand, a steady senior, kept Huron in the game, scattering six hits and allowing only three unearned runs. He ended up with nine strikeouts — including three in the seventh — as his curveball gained more bite as the game wore on. "I gotta give Chris Hand a lot of credit. He threw a complete game Wednesday and comes back tonight and throws a complete game," Lindsley said. "We had an inning where we booted the ball around and got them going. We talked about resiliency and we finally showed some of it." It took awhile, but Huron's offense got the job done late. The Tigers' offense had scored only four runs in its first 18 inning of Bay Division play before its five-run sixth. Trailing 3-1 in the fifth, Yates led off with a sharp single to left. Staley moved pinch-runner Abram Fortune to second on a sacrifice bunt that Lindsley credited with getting Huron's offense going. Cody Mamere's single moved Fortune to third before Zach Murray's RBI single. The Tigers left the bases loaded — Oak Harbor did the same in the top of the fifth — before taking control in the sixth. Tyler Adams led off the sixth with a single and advanced to second on an error. Kastor followed with an infield hit before Yates was hit in the shoulder to load the bases. Adams scored on a wild pitch before Staley's clutch hit gave Huron the lead and finished Schroeder's outing at more than 100 pitches. "We just didn't get much help behind him," Oak Harbor coach Nick Lance said. "When we're making errors and making him throw extra pitches, that's why his pitch count got up. He's being forced to throw to extra hitters when he doesn't have to." Murray's sacrifice fly brought home Staley. Adams, batting for the second time in the inning, was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to account for the final score. Adams and Mamere joined Yates with two hits for Huron. Hand gave up an infield single to Grant Belcher to lead off the seventh. Belcher, the Rockets' leadoff hitter, had three hits, reached on an error and scored on Gunner Gregg's double in the fifth to give OH a 3-1 lead. Hayden Craig's two-run, two-out single in the fourth scored Gregg, who reached on an infield hit, and Justin Meloche, who reached on an error. After Belcher reached in the seventh, Hand responded with three straight strikeouts. "His curve ball was really on those last couple of innings," said Staley, who had a good view from center field. Hand got through seven innings with an even 100 pitches. "Chris Hand has pitched a lot of innings for us," Lindsley said. "To me, that's the best overall game I've seen him pitch. He was tired. He wanted one more inning and he got it. He battled through adversity. "He could've got down on himself, but he wanted to be on the mound and got the job done for us." Oak Harbor 000 210 0 -- 3 6 3Huron 000 015 x -- 6 8 3 WP: Chris Hand. LP: Ashton Schroeder 2B: (OH) Gunner Gregg