Lake Catholic 6th Inning Lifts Them Over Unioto In State Baseball Semi

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The Unioto Shermans looked to be on their way to a state final berth as they took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the 6th inning Friday, but that’s where Lake Catholic’s Cougars erupted to score four runs and held on for a 5-3 victory in the Division 4 State Semi at Canton’s Thurman Munson Stadium.

Unioto grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning when they manufactured runs thanks to a KB Perkins lead-off ground rule double off a 3-0 pitch. A Cougars’ error on a throw to third base as they tried to cut down Perkins on a Calloway Ratliff sacrifice bunt, allowed Perkins to score for a Unioto 1-0 lead. Later in that inning, a suicide squeeze by David Long scored Ratliff from third to lift the Shermans to a 2-0 lead.

Unioto starting pitcher KB Perkins wiggled out of a few jams in the first few innings as Lake Catholic threatened in each of those innings, but had stranded 7 runners through the first three innings.

Lake Catholic finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to a lead-off hit by Tyler Hribar, who was then sacrificed to second, and then went to third base via a ground-out. An RBI single by Caden Boyes cut the Shermans lead to 2-1 after 4 innings.

Unioto boosted their lead back to a couple of runs in the top of the sixth inning when Jack Welch started the inning with a four-pitch walk. He then stole second and while doing so was able to go on to third base on a wild pitch. Keegan Snyder followed with a walk to put runners at the corners with no outs. Following a steal of second by Snyder, KB Perkins drove in Welch with a bloop single to give the Shermans a 3-1 advantage. But a possible fourth run for Unioto was eliminated when they attempted a squeeze play, but saw the batter miss the bunt and Long was thrown out at home trying to score.

Lake Catholic’s struggle to bring runners home finally came to an end in the bottom of the sixth inning as they scored four runs. Pete Malchesky’s RBI single to center cut Unioto’s lead to 3-2. The Cougars managed to load the bases with no one out, then took a 4-3 lead when AJ Trobenter singled down the right field line to score two runners. Unioto looked like they were going to get a double-play on a grounder to end the inning, but after the force-out at second base, the Shermans fielder dropped the ball when transferring the ball out of his glove, allowing LC’s fifth run to score for a 5-3 Cougars’ lead.

Unioto was retired in order in the top of the 7th inning to end the game, with Lake Catholic taking to 5-3 victory.

Patrick Radigan was the winning pitcher, yielding only two base hits from Unioto while striking out 12 Shermans. KB Perkins suffered the loss for Unioto, giving up 10 hits.

Lake Catholic stranded 9 base runners compared to only 3 for Unioto. Both teams suffered 2 errors.

(24-8) Unioto’s season closes as unbeaten SVC Champion, Regional Champ and their first trip to the Final Four since 1994, also a loss at Canton. (25-4) Mentor Lake Catholic heads to the finals at 10am Sunday in Akron, looking for their school’s first-ever baseball state title.