Edison thumped by Liberty-Benton in district semi

BLUFFTON — Edison jumped on Liberty-Benton early. The Chargers could've had a bigger first inning had it not been for a big play by the Eagles' Reid Irwin in left field. As it turned out, Edison could've used the extra runs as things fell apart in the second inning. The second-seeded Chargers committed four errors in the second, leading to five L-B runs, and never recovered in a 12-2 six-inning Division V district semifinal loss Thursday at Bluffton University. "At the end of the day, if you can't make basic defensive plays and you put extra runners on base, that's a recipe for disaster," Edison coach Sean Hoover said. "It was today." Edison, ranked No. 3 in the final state poll, finishes the season with a record of 23-4. "I told them one game doesn't define their season," Hoover said. "They played a lot of great baseball. They didn't play the best today and when it is the tournament and it is one loss and you're done, you have days like this. It doesn't diminish all of the great baseball they played." The top half of the second inning for Liberty-Benton (21-5) started with an error when two Edison fielders came together, but neither caught a towering flyball hit by Conner Hiss. After a popout, Ryan Mead reached on an error and a bunt single from Connor Barbara loaded the bases. Landen Stansbery followed with a run-scoring single and a second run scored on a fielding error. Irwin added a RBI single while a run scored on a wild pitch. A RBI groundout from Trevin Lieb gave the Eagles a 5-2 lead. "I told them we have six at-bats left," Hoover said. "We had just left the bases loaded and had a good shot down the line they made a running catch on that could've been four or five runs for us in the first inning. They made a nice play. We wanted them to stay up and stay confident." Things never changed for Edison. L-B added on with three runs in the fourth inning and three in the fifth. In the fourth, Mead singled, Barbara reached on a bunt single and Stansbery was hit by a pitch. After a fielder's choice cut down a run at home, Lieb tallied a sacrifice fly. Seth Elchert then tattooed a two-run triple to the wall to push the advantage to 8-2. In the fifth, Stansbery and Lieb recorded RBI singles. L-B wrapped up the scoring in the sixth inning when Zach Elchert roped a solo home run to left. He was hitless in three previous at-bats entering the sixth. Meanwhile, Edison was stunted by Stansbery on the mound. After laboring through 40 pitches in the first inning, Stansbery was nearly unhittable. He needed just 64 pitches the other five innings. "He plays with passion and he's been doing it the last three years," said L-B coach Matt Rader of his senior pitcher. "He dug in. It's hard after you throw 40 pitches in the first inning, but he had all kinds of gas left in the tank. We trust him. That's why we've thrown him every big game the last three years." The Chargers jumped ahead in the first inning. Bryson Wittmer walked and scored on a RBI triple from Davin Wendt. He then scored a couple batters later when Gabe Dymond singled down the right-field line. Edison loaded the bases, but Tristian Wetherill's poke to deep left was tracked down by Irwin to end the frame. Edison did have a chance in the fourth inning down 8-2. Dymond, Owen Price and Wetherill drew walks to open the inning. But Stansbery pitched to contact and got a pair of forceouts at home before a strikeout ended the threat. "They made the plays and got the plays at home when they needed to," Hoover said. "Credit to them. We put some balls in play, but they made the defensive play. They seemed to make every play they needed to." Abe Hermes (10-1) got the start on the mound for Edison over Wittmer. He went five innings, allowing 11 runs on 12 hits. He struck out three. "Abe pounds the zone and he mixes his pitches well," Hoover said. "That's the direction we were going to go. He pitched his butt off out there. We needed to do a little supporting behind him and we didn't get that done." Wendt, Hermes, Kyle Aguilar, Keegan Dingle, Dymond and Aaron Febbo are seniors for the Chargers. "From their freshman year on, they're probably the winningest class we've had go through," Hoover said. "As freshmen, they went to state. They've had a 24- and now 23-win season under their belts. They've seen and played a lot of good baseball. "They were a good example for our younger kids and we're going to miss all of them a lot." Liberty-Benton 050 331 — 12 13 1Edison 200 000 — 2 5 4 WP: Stansbery. LP: A. Hermes 3B: (L-B) S. Elchert; (E) Wendt. HR: (L-B) Z. Elchert