Karns City’s rally not enough against C-L
Per custom, Karns City swung away.
The tide-turning base knock never came for the Gremlins, however, as they bowed to visiting Clarion-Limestone by a 6-5 final Thursday evening at Michelle Krill Memorial Field at Historic Pullman Park.
In the three middle innings of the contest — with runners in scoring position — the Gremlins (7-4) went 0-6 at the plate with five strikeouts. They left five on second or third base in that span.
“We have an approach as a team for two strikes,” Karns City coach Josh Smith said. “You’re not looking to hit a ball in a gap, you’re just looking to hit a ball through a hole somewhere ... We didn’t have the hit when we needed it.”
The Gremlins almost closed a four-run gap in the home sixth thanks to RBI singles by Tyler Hutchison and Troy Nagel. The latter hit pushed Michael Neff — who reached by being hit by a pitch — to third as the game’s tying run.
Braden Grossman gave an offering by Lions reliever Logan Lutz a jolt to left, but it hung up long enough to find the fielder’s glove.
“It seems like, in all of our games, we’ve got to make it close, got to make it exciting for whatever reason,” Clarion-Limestone coach Bill Smith said. “We’ve got faith in our guys, and they got us out of the bind.”
Lions (5-4) starting pitcher Tommy Smith fanned batters to close the book on each of the three innings prior.
“Tommy’s a hard thrower,” Bill Smith said. “He’s a strikeout pitcher. He has 100-plus strikeouts in his career already as a junior. That’s why he was out there in this game.
“Big pitches, big outs right there with runners on, for sure.”
His side provided three runs of offensive support in the top of the second frame, as Nick Aaron, Kohen Kemmer, and Jake Smith notched consecutive singles to lead things off and load the bases. The former two scored on another base hit by Brayden Murray, and Smith as Jesse Siwiecki grounded into a double play.
Karns City replied with two runs in the next half-inning, courtesy of a two-RBI single through the infield by Wyatt Fleming. Then, the Lions added three more runs over their next two turns at the dish.
“We didn’t pitch well, we didn’t hit well,” Josh Smith said. “I mean, every aspect of baseball to win games, we didn’t get done tonight. We’re senior-heavy, we have leaders, they just need to show up for us.”
Lutz struck out the side to stem any momentum and slam the door on the hosts. The Gremlins left a total of 10 runners on the basepaths.
Jacob Jones pitched three scoreless frames in relief of Mallick Metcalfe, needing only 27 throws to do so.
“We need to figure out what it takes to win,” Josh Smith said. “We had situations where we could’ve got back in the game, could’ve limited some damage, and we just couldn’t make plays.
“It was just an off night.”
Karns City will host non-conference opponent Freeport on Friday.
Clarion-Limestone 031 200 0 — 6 9 1
Karns City 020 003 0 — 5 9 2
W: Tommy Smith 5IP (6K, 3BB); L: Mallick Metcalfe 4IP (2K, 3BB)
Clarion-Limestone (5-4): Logan Lutz 1B R, Tommy Smith R, Jordy Hesdon 2-1B RBI R, Nick Aaron 3-1B RBI R, Kohen Kemmer 1B R, Jake Smith 1B RBI R, Brayden Murray 1B 2RBI, Jesse Siwiecki RBI
Karns City (7-4): Jacob Jones 1B R, Tyler Hutchison 1B RBI R, Mallick Metcalfe 2B 1B, Troy Nagel 2-1B 2RBI, R, Braden Grossman 2-1B R, Wyatt Fleming 1B 2RBI, Hobie Bartoe R
Friday: Freeport at Karns City
