By Cort Reynolds
McCOMB–The visiting Ada High School baseball team lost 10-0 to McComb in Div. IV sectional final action Thursday evening, May 18, to end their season.
The Bulldogs finished up 9-15 following the five-inning defeat.
McComb improved to 15-8 after the run-rule shortened win. The Panthers move on to the district semifinals at Findlay May 24.
“We ran into a buzzsaw,” said Ada first-year baseball head coach Toby Smith. “Baseball is tough sometimes. They hit everything where we weren’t.
“We just could not get that important out when we needed to stop the bleeding,” he continued. “Give them credit. They hit and pitched well. They are a good team and deserve to move on.”
The Panthers plated four runs in each of the first two innings to seize command early, 8-0.
CONTINUES
Ada sophomore Levi Green singled in the top of the first frame and stole second base, but was stranded.
McComb started their first inning off by hitting five straight singles, followed by RBI doubles from Camden Glaser and Mason Holman.
In the bottom of the second a single, a hit batter and an error were capped by Thane Steinbrook’s two-run double. Glaser then legged out a two-run triple to provide an 8-0 lead.
The Ada offense went out in order in the second, fourth and fifth frames.
Bulldog first baseman Max Puerto drew a two-out walk in the top of the third, but Glaser struck out the side. He retired 13 of the last 14 Ada hitters, and faced just two over the minimum in five innings.
In the McComb third, Braydon Shoop scored on an RBI single by Steinbrook to provide a 9-0 lead.
Ada senior hurler Roman Snyder shut out the Panthers in the fourth despite a hit and an error.
In the bottom of the fifth, McComb took advantage of two Ada errors to start the inning. They then scored the final run to invoke the 10-run rule with nobody out.
Steinbrook compiled three hits, four RBI and two runs scored.
Winning pitcher Glaser struck out 11 and walked two while giving up just one hit and no runs.
Glaser aided his cause by hitting a double and triple. He collected three RBI and scored a run. Holman batted 2-2 with one RBI. Shoop and Daniel Rader each scored three runs, and Grant Dishong drove in two runs.
McComb stranded seven runners, while the Bulldogs left two on base. The Panthers out-hit Ada, 12-1.
Snyder gave up seven earned runs on 12 hits over four innings. He struck out four and walked one.
The Bulldogs committed five errors, which led to three unearned runs.
Green had the lone Bulldog hit, and Jacob Sutherly drew a walk.
“I think the season was a great step in the right direction,” Smith summed up. “These kids played hard, listened and attempted to get better every day. That is all we could have asked from them.
“I am very proud of them,” he added.
The Bulldogs won five of their last seven games.
Six Ada seniors - Spencer Wall, Snyder, Sutherly, Levi Sousley, Zach Neiswander and Lester Amos - played their final Bulldog games.
ADA 000 00x x -- 0 1 5
MCC 441 01x x -- 10 12 0
LOB--Ada 2, McComb 7.
ERR--Spencer Wall, Levi Green (2), Lester Amos, Max Puerto.
2B-- Glaser, Holman, Steinbrook.
3B-- Glaser.
HBP-- Dishong, Holman.
SB--Levi Green, Rader (2), Shoop (2).
PB--Jacob Sutherly.
BB--Jacob Sutherly, Max Puerto, Wittenmeyer.
ADA IP H R ER BB SO HR
Roman Snyder 4.0 12 10 7 1 4 0
MCCOMB
Glaser 5.0 1 0 0 2 11 0
