Huron rallies twice, beats Perkins, 14-9

PERKINS TWP. — Sam Cox had been clamoring to pitch all year. The Huron sophomore's debut finally came Wednesday night in a game featuring a boatload of runs. Cox stands as the main reason the game isn't still going right now — he threw two scoreless frames and, in between, delivered the hit that put the Tigers ahead for good. "I was really excited to pitch," Cox said. "I was just thinking to do my best so maybe I can get another opportunity to pitch in the future… I was just trying to throw as hard as I could and throw strikes." When the dust settled, Huron had snagged an impressive 14-9 win at Perkins. The Tigers, who fell behind by five runs early on Wednesday, showed their bounce-back ability in full force, especially after a tough loss to Margaretta the night before. Huron's SBC Bay title chances hinge on wins Thursday (Port Clinton) and Monday (Vermilion), and the Tigers hope this football-score victory is just the juice they need. "It's not my type of baseball, I don't like them slugfests," Huron coach Dan Lindsley said. "But we had a tough one last night… This is where we're at. We're in Division II and have to play these types of schools. I'm just so proud of the resiliency, because it's there." Perkins started fast on its Senior Night. The Pirates plated two in the second as John Zwiesler doubled, Andrew Halbisen and Carson Speer each singled and Braylon Collier eventually walked with the bases loaded. Three more came home in the third, a frame that included a Kash Koch single, a Zwiesler double and a Nolan Thomas single. Zwiesler, a senior, pitched two no-hit innings and had four hits, including those two rocket doubles. "The last 10 games, he's probably hitting .500 or .600," Perkins coach TJ Blanton said. "He's really stepping up as a leader." Perkins pulled Zwiesler by design after two frames with a lot of action coming up, and Huron started to wake up. "John did a great job," Blanton said. "He came out and threw strikes and attacked. His two innings were really good, and that's all we were gonna give him. He's fine-tuning." The Tigers got one back in the fourth. Paul Maloney and Austin Wasily each singled, Dominic Muratori walked and then Donni Hartley walked with the bases loaded. They took the lead with a seven-run fifth, an inning that included a stretch of eight consecutive hitters reaching base. "That first (deficit), it was hard to come back from, but we all stayed positive," Cox said. "We're a really good team and have really good chemistry." Tommy Ray started the fifth with a one-out walk. Cox and Maloney each singled, then Wasily plated the first two runs with a sharp single to right-center. Landon Hohler followed with a run-scoring hit the other way to left. Muratori walked, then Hartley walked for the second time with the bases loaded to tie the game 5-5. "When people start getting on, we just start coming up and scoring and getting in their heads," Muratori said. "... We stayed positive and stuck together." Caden Peterman got ahead in the count before lacing a two-run single up the middle for the lead, and Dominic Fresch brought in another run with a groundout for an 8-5 edge. "We just said see the baseball, hit the baseball, it's a beautiful day, find a gap," Lindsley said. "They bought into that tonight." In bottom five, Perkins benefited from two hit by pitches and a walk around hits from Collier, Koch and Zwiesler to go back ahead, 9-8. Cox came in with two outs and the bases loaded and notched a strikeout to escape further damage. "We just didn't get a clutch hit with bases loaded, and they did," Blanton said. Huron couldn't score in the sixth, but neither could Perkins. The Tigers' final rally began when Muratori reached on an error leading off the seventh. Hartley was hit by a pitch, then after a strikeout, Fresch put the ball in play to score a run and reach on an error himself. With the game tied 9-9 and the bases loaded after a Ray walk, Cox didn't waste any time — he lined the first pitch he saw into center for an RBI single and the lead. "I was just thinking I didn't want to strikeout and wanted to get the run in," Cox said. Maloney and Muratori each expanded the advantage with two-run singles. "Braylon is a good pitcher, he throws harder, and I was just waiting for the fastball and just ripped it," Muratori said. Cox allowed a single and a walk to start the seventh, but then induced a pair of popups before a groundout to shortstop Cody Scroggins ended the wild game. "He's been begging to pitch," Lindsley said. "... Sam did a great job of throwing strikes there at the end. Sam is a baseball guy. He loves the game, and he knows the game, and he loves the pressure." Huron hosts PC for Senior Night on Thursday, plays non-league Oak Harbor on Friday and then hits the road to Vermilion on Monday. The Tigers might've spent 20 or so hours in a rut after a crucial loss to Margaretta, but they dug out of it and put up two touchdowns at Perkins. That's as strong a momentum boost as any for the key days ahead. "We're a young group," Lindsley said. "But we're starting to learn how to win, and that's all I can ask for as a coach." Huron 000 170 6 — 14 10 1Perkins 023 040 0 — 9 12 3WP: Cox. LP: Collier 2B: (P) Zwiesler