Oak Harbor plays spoiler, ensures Edison outright SBC Bay title

CASTALIA — As a fly ball traveled toward Oak Harbor left fielder Keegan Witt, the SBC Bay Division race was still up in the air, too. Margaretta's Ben Palomo tagged from third base, trying to score the tying run in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Witt reeled the ball in. Witt, knowing his own arm, released a quick throw to the cutoff, shortstop Michael LaLonde. LaLonde unleashed a bullet from the edge of the infield to catcher Brayden Butzin for a tag, the third out and the play that essentially ended the league title drama. "Keegan would be the first to tell you, he does not have the strongest arm," Oak Harbor acting head coach AJ Cecil said. "What I'm so proud of is that he knew that in that moment. He made a selfless team play." Oak Harbor (8-12, 3-5 SBC Bay) held on to that 4-3 advantage for three more outs to knock off Margaretta (16-4, 5-3) on Wednesday night at Lions Park. The Rockets were led by sophomore starting pitcher Tim Marquette, who had a no-hitter through five innings along with two hits of his own, and the freshman Butzin, who delivered a pair of run-scoring singles. "We wanted to win badly," Butzin said. "Really badly." The Rockets pulled off the victory without head coach Nick Lance, who wasn't present following the recent birth of his daughter, Blair Margaret. Blair is 1-0. "That was our best game all year," Cecil said. "I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that. We put it all together." The Margaretta loss secured the outright SBC Bay Division title for Edison (8-1 Bay) before those teams meet Thursday in Milan. "We've won a lot of one-run games this year," Margaretta coach Ray Neill said, "and unfortunately tonight we weren't able to win that one-run game... We've got to go to Edison tomorrow and play for a little pride, and we'll see if we can find some of that." Marquette limited the Polar Bears with a steady diet of fastballs — Cecil said he called just a couple breaking pitches. But spotting the outside corner at the knees enabled Marquette to get groundball outs to a sure-handed infield. In the first four innings, Marquette put up three 1-2-3 frames, including a five-pitch first. "He was fantastic," Cecil said. "All year, we've been telling him, you have a good fastball. Trust your fastball." Margaretta scratched a run across in the second as a leadoff walk by Palomo turned into a run on a wild pitch. Palomo had moved to second on another walk and then to third on a Ben Millis sacrifice. Oak Harbor had the immediate response. LaLonde walked leading off the third. After a passed ball and a wild pitch, LaLonde's freshman classmate Butzin lined a single up the middle to tie the game. "For a freshman, throwing him in the 3-hole, (Butzin has) been seeing junk all year," Cecil said. "There's been times where it's gotten to him, it's been frustrating. But today, a good approach, staying within himself." Marquette's 1-2-3 third was the ideal shutdown for the Rockets, and it included a strikeout swinging on one of the few curveballs he threw. "From the very beginning, I could see he was super confident today," Cecil said. "He really battled. That was good stuff." Butzin gave Oak Harbor the lead, too, going the other way on a 2-2 count to score TJ Shadoan, who singled with two outs to extend the fourth inning. "(Butzin) came down to first, and was like, 'Coach, I inside-outed the ball,'" Cecil said. "Like he's never done it before, and he really might never have. That was pretty cool." LaLonde, who had been intentionally walked in a 2-0 count, then scored on a passed ball for a 3-1 lead. The Rockets added their final run in the fifth when Shadoan lined a single to left to score Marquette, who had doubled leading off the frame. Marquette kept Margaretta hitless through five, but trouble started in the sixth with two walks to the top of Margaretta's order. Kellen Moore followed with a sacrifice fly to center to pull within two. Palomo launched a run-scoring double to right center, Margaretta's first hit, to make it a one-run game. Oak Harbor brought in reliever Hayden Craig and Palomo immediately moved to third when Craig's first pitch was wild. Reese Keegan worked the ensuing count to 2-2 before lifting the ball to medium left field. Palomo got down the line well. Witt, LaLonde and Butzin were just a split second faster, the kind of millisecond difference that can decide championships. "That was awesome," Butzin said. "(Witt) did his job." The seventh lacked that same suspense, as Craig worked around a two-out walk to secure the save. Oak Harbor, a young team looking to prove itself each time it takes the field, celebrated with screams and leaps and glove throws along the third-base side. The Rockets hadn't won the league, but they had decided the title race. "The opportunity to play a No. 1 team in a district, our kids stepped up," Cecil said. "They were fired up today. I'm super proud of them." Oak Harbor 001 210 0 — 4 8 0Margaretta 010 002 0 — 3 1 0 WP: Tim Marquette. LP: Ben Millis. SV: Hayden Craig 2B: (OH) Marquette; (M) Ben Palomo