Kromer leads Margaretta to first league title since 1993

CASTALIA — Mason Kromer and Margaretta left no doubt. Kromer struck out 10 and threw a one-hitter to lead the Polar Bears to a 12-0 five-inning win over Willard on Tuesday at Lions Park. The victory raised Margaretta's record to 16-5 overall and 9-1 in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division. More importantly, it clinched the school's first conference baseball title since 1993. "It feels amazing," Kromer said. "We've been preaching this since March. We did it in football and now we get to do it here. It's been a historic year at Margaretta and it's been nice to be part of it." After a brief postgame meeting, the Bears huddled near home plate and showered veteran coach Ray Neill with a variety of drinks. "I wasn't expecting that at all. I'm very disappointed in my assistant coaches for not letting me know what was gonna happen," Neill joked. "There might've been about three or four flavors of Gatorade mixed in; it wasn't just water." Neill, in his seventh year leading the baseball team at his alma mater, has more than 800 combined career wins in baseball and girls basketball. "I'm real happy for that whole dugout," he said. "We were 11-18 last year and lost a lot of close games. Obviously, a big turnaround the year. Five very special seniors; couldn't be happier for that group. I want to applaud my coaching staff for their work this year." The Bears knew what was at stake and put away the game with a seven-run third inning. "We all knew if was a huge game and (Neill) hadn't won a conference championship here yet," catcher Memphis McKenzie said. "It was a team thing and we gave him a shower tonight. We all got soaked, that's for sure." Kromer faced the minimum 15 Willard (3-16, 2-8) batters. The Crimson Flashes' Roger Whetstone had his team's only hit when his one-out grounder in the fourth hit the bag at third base. Moments later, McKenzie picked him off as first baseman Hunter Heck applied the tag. "Whenever there's a guy on, I'm always looking for someone to catch sleeping," McKenzie said. "I knew he had a big lead and Hunter's someone I've grown a lot of trust with. He's done a very good job playing first base. Nothing feels better than having your team's back in a big game like this." Kromer got the last out of the game, fielding a ground ball and throwing to Heck at first. "There might've been some people wondering why Zach Gray wasn't going today, but that's why Mason Kromer was going today," said Neill after watching the junior left-hander dominate. "And I had a hunch and moved him up a couple spots in the lineup and he came up huge for us." Kromer went 3 for 3 at the plate with three runs batted in and two runs scored. "I've been struggling lately, but the coaches have worked with me to get a different approach at the plate and it was nice to get the middle-middle fastballs to rip," Kromer said. Gavin Berg got Margaretta on the board with a two-out, two-run tomahawk single in the second inning that scored Kromer and Carter Kelley. "We got a big hit by Berg with two out and two strikes, out of the strike zone, then obviously the big inning when we got multiple base hits with runners in scoring position," Neill said. Hunter Grahl led off the third with a double and the Bears sent 11 batters to the plate. Emmett Leibengood had an infield single and Kromer and Heck added a two-run singles. Gray ripped a RBI double — his second two-bagger of the game — to help Margaretta seal the win. Kromer's RBI single in the fourth gave the Bears a 10-run lead, which triggered the run rule after five innings. Senior Mason Yetter pinch-hit in the fourth and delivered a RBI single, which was followed by a robust round of applause. The Bears' other seniors are Grahl, Bren Smith, Emmett Leibengood and Teddy Woolaver. "We continue to get good pitching. We're getting better offensively," Neill said. "Mason made it somewhat easy today; we didn't have to make a lot of plays out there. "It's fun coming to practice every night, although we're gonna take tomorrow off. They're gonna get a feel-good day." The Bears host Seneca East on Thursday before playing Clyde at Bob Gray's Field of Dreams on Friday. Margaretta shared the Bay Division title with Edison. The two teams split the season series, each winning at home. "We talk about winning a conference championship and making a tournament run," Neill said. "Check goal No. 1 off and let's get ready to tackle No. 2." Willard 000 00 — 0 1 2 Margaretta 027 3x — 12 11 0 WP: Kromer. LP: Weaver. 2B: (M) Gray 2, Grahl