Hawks blanked by Saints in District championship
When Hiland coach Tom Gibson first moved back to Ohio, his young neighbor Sam Fondriest was a little kid who liked playing baseball.That little kid grew into what Gibson called a “big, strong giant killer.”
Fondriest blasted a two-run home run in the first inning, and added an RBI-triple in the third to provide all the offense Tuscarawas Central Catholic would need in a 3-0 victory over the Hawks Friday in the Division IV District championship at Cambridge.
“If you got to lose, I’m glad it’s an IVC team,” Gibson said. “They’ll represent us well.”
While Fondriest did the damage with the bat, classmate Tommy Sampsel held the Hawks off the board, allowing only two hits, a single and a double by Hayden Mobley. Sampsel walked two and struck out one.
Brandon Sweet singled off Hiland starter Danny Beachy and Fondriest followed with a one-out blast to give the Saints a 2-0 lead.
Sweet started the third-inning rally with a hit and scored on a Fondriest triple.
“He hit two bombs off us and I’m glad for him,” Gibson said.
Other than that, Beachy pitched pretty well against TCC, allowing three runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out four. Hayden Mobley finished out the game for the Hawks, getting the last two outs.
The Hiland coach lamented Hiland’s myriad of mental mistakes, something that has plagued the Hawks plenty over the course of the season.
Bad base running, failed execution on bunts and other basic mistakes were disappointing.
“Those are the little things in the big games that make the difference,” Gibson said. “As you get closer to State, the games get tougher and the smaller things are more important. We didn’t execute the small things and this is what happened.”
The Hawks bow out with a 21-6 record. Central advances with a 24-3 ledger.
“I’m excited. We have some more baseball ahead of us,” said TCC coach Jeff Fondriest.