The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Airport clinches Huron title with sweep of Big Reds
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 15, 2008
For the second time in as many years, the Milan baseball team entered a doubleheader against league-leading Airport with a chance to seize control of the Huron League race.
Advertisement
For the second straight year, though, it was the Jets that came out of it having clinched the conference crown.
Airport swept the homestanding Big Reds in Monday's twin bill, taking Game 1 6-3 and the nightcap 7-1 to drop Milan to 9-3 in Huron play, 14-8 overall, and wrap up the 2008 league title.
"We knew we'd have to beat them twice (to take the Huron lead) and that's pretty tough to do," said Milan head coach Adam Gilles. "We played well enough on defense, the pitching was there. They just hit the ball. We didn't beat ourselves. They beat us."
The Jets came to Milan undefeated in the league and looked the part early in Game 1, threatening in the first and reaching Big Red starter Kyle Crump for three runs in the second.
But the Big Reds responded, getting on the board when Matt Drewyor's infield single pushed Aaron Straub to third and a two-out wild pitch allowed the junior to race home with Milan's opening run.
The Big Reds would tie the game with two more in the third. Sam Rowe led off the inning with a single, moved to second when Zach McGovern was hit by a pitch, and scored when the Jets' throw to first on an attempted double play went wide. That also allowed Josh Bellers to reach, and with Demetries Love running for him Milan, drew even after singles from Lance Smith and Crump.
But with Smith on third and one out, neither Jake Hall nor Aaron Straub could bring him in, a recurring theme throughout the day for the Big Reds.
"We left four or five runners on third today," Gilles said. "We just couldn't get a key hit. That's what we've been thriving on, guys stepping up and getting that one big hit for us, and today it didn't happen."
The Jets would take the lead for good with a run in the top of the fourth. McGovern led off the bottom of the fifth with a single and advance into scoring position on Bellers' sacrifice, but he would prove to be Milan's final baserunner. Airport pushed the lead to three with a two-run home run in the sixth and the Big Reds were unable to mount a rally in either the sixth or seventh.
Game 2 started well for the home team, with starter McGovern facing the minimum through two innings — thanks in part to a Paul Irwin-turned double-play in the second — and back-to-back singles by Bellers, Smith and Crump in the bottom of the first plating Bellers for a 1-0 lead.
But again, with runners on second and third, Milan produced consecutive ground-outs to end the inning. The Big Reds would miss another opportunity in the second when Michael Craig was thrown out at home attempting to score from third on a short grounder, then another in the third when Hall grounded into a double-play with two on and one out.
While McGovern limited the visitors to one run through the first four innings, the Jets would eventually make Milan pay for the missed opportunities, plating six runs in the fifth.
A double to deep right following a single and a walk gave Airport a 2-1 lead. But the Jets did the rest of their damage without hitting the ball hard, scoring on a squeeze bunt that stopped dead on the foul line, an infield single, a balk and a bloop single that left fielder Hall made a diving attempt on only to see it wriggle out of his glove.
By the time Milan got out of the inning, the Jets had gone up 7-1.
"When it's not going for you, it's not going for you," Gilles said. "They put a couple of balls in play. Jake makes a good effort, but the ball squirts out, and you look up and they've got six runs."
Despite the disappointment of seeing the title shot slip away, Gilles was confident his team would make the most of the remainder of the season.
"The last time we lost a couple of games like this, we turned around and won seven in a row," Gilles said. "Hopefully, we can do the same thing this time. We've got four games this week and we've got to be ready to go."
Milan 12, St. Mary Catholic Central 1
Milan scored three runs in the first inning against the Falcons May 8 and blew it open with nine runs in the third.
Smith led the Big Reds' 10-hit attack with a double and three RBI, while Aaron Straub added two hits. Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit. Starter Crump held SMCC to just two hits, while striking out eight and walking one in the five-inning mercy-rule win.
Milan 5, Jefferson 1
The Big Reds gained a measure of revenge for an earlier loss to the Bears by downing Jefferson in Monroe to stretch their winning streak to seven games.
Straub improved his record to 5-3 overall on the mound, allowing just one unearned and two hits in the complete game victory. He struck out a season high 11 batters and walked three.
Hall delivered the game's biggest blow with a two-run single in the seventh, giving Milan a four-run lead going into the bottom of the seventh. Hall finished with two hits and two RBI, while Bellers also finished with a pair of hits.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
Expanded
Web
Coverage
Staff Blog, "Inside The Newsroom"
TOP JOBS
