Shearn finishes strong in Margaretta win

CASTALIA — Of course Jaxon Shearn had to go through the heart of Woodmore's lineup. Clinging to a one-run lead in the top of the seventh inning, the Margaretta junior put his head down and went to work. After a great defensive play behind him by Zach Gray in center, Shearn retired the next two hitters as the Polar Bears topped Woodmore 6-5 in Sandusky Bay Conference crossover action Saturday at Lions Park. "He's got a little movement on his ball," said Margaretta coach Ray Neill of Shearn. "When he commands it, he does a really good job of keeping the ball down. Coming out of the bullpen on opening day and pitching in this kind of weather, Jaxson Shearn was good for us today." The Polar Bears (1-0) got tremendous defensive effort from Gray on the first batter of the inning. Woodmore's Robert Seeger rocketed a shot to center, but Gray was able to judge it and catch it for the first out of the inning. Had it went over Gray's head, it could have been either a double or triple and an immediate chance for the Wildcats (1-1). "I was ready and I knew they were in the middle of their lineup," Gray said. "It was right at me and those are the hardest. You have to judge them. I froze for a minute, saw where it was and went and got it." Shearn tallied his third strikeout of the day before a lineout to second ended the game. Shearn retired Woodmore in order in three of the four innings he pitched. "This game did put us in some situations," Neill said. "Great day to play baseball. We were fortunate enough to score one more run than they did. I thought for the most part, our pitching was good." You can argue the only inning Shearn gave up anything was the biggest inning he pitched. Margaretta led 6-4 after four innings, but Woodmore challenged in the fifth inning. Robert Seeger was hit by a pitch before Shearn walked Michael Seeger and Cole Potridge. After struggling to find the strike zone, Shearn quickly settled in. He was able to get Brian Donley to hit into a sacrifice fly to score Robert Seeger. Then, he got an easy groundout on the infield and popout to keep the Polar Bears ahead 6-5. "Coach Neill told me to throw strikes, so I just threw it," Shearn said. "I didn't have to worry about it because I knew my defense was going to help me." The Polar Bears got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. Mason Kromer singled before Hunter Heck reached on a bunt single. A walk to Carter Kelley loaded the bases and Margaretta scored when Robbie LaCourse drew a seven-pitch walk. The Polar Bears then used their speed on back-to-back pitches. Gray hit a soft grounder to short, but beat out the throw to first. That scored Heck to make it 2-0. Then, Bren Smith did the same exact thing, bringing in Kelley for a 3-0 advantage. Hunter Grahl followed with a two-run single into left, putting Margaretta up 5-0. "Sometimes you hit them where they aren't at," Neill said. "We got a couple swinging bunts, if you will. Then, our senior Hunter Grahl coming back off the injured list got a big hit for us to knock in a couple runs. Really happy for our guys." Woodmore responded in a wild top of the third inning, but it could have been bigger. Keil Almroth and Gavin Donley each singled before a run-scoring double from Calvin Lipstraw. Robert Seeger then struck out, but reached on a dropped third strike when the throw to first was errant. With the bases loaded, Michael Seeger walked to bring in a run. With Potridge at the plate, catcher Memphis McKenzie fired a rocket to second to pick off Robert Seeger. Potridge followed with a RBI single, but McKenzie's pick-off thwarted what could have been a massive inning for the Wildcats. "Memphis has that arm where he can help us get out of some innings sometimes," Neill said. "It ended up being a one-run game." Margaretta got an insurance run in the third when McKenzie was hit by a pitch, went all the way to third on a failed pick-off attempt and scored on a wild pitch. Shearn didn't allow a hit in his four innings on the mound for Margaretta. Kromer pitched the first three innings, striking out six. The win is a sight for sore eyes after a slow start to last season for the Polar Bears. "Today was huge," Gray said. "We lost that doubleheader last year at Mohawk and didn't get off to a good start. At the end of the year, we picked it up and were playing well. "To start off with a win, that's huge confidence for the whole team." Woodmore 004 010 0 — 5 6 2 Margaretta 051 000 x — 6 6 0 WP: Shearn (1-0). LP: Lipstraw (0-1). 2B: (W) Lipstraw