Harbison leads East Butler to 10-1 win over Meridian
Adam Harbison was efficient on the mound and explosive at the plate.
The right-hander tossed a complete game, drove in five runs and paced East Butler to a 10-1 victory over Meridian in a Butler County Legion elimination game Tuesday evening at Pullman Park.
East Butler (18-4), the No. 2 seed, advances to play fourth-seeded Center Township (14-7) at Pullman Park on Thursday at 8 p.m. The winner will square off with No. 3 Butler City (15-6) — which won the winner's bracket — at Highfield Park on Saturday at 6 p.m. East Butler or Center Township will have to beat Butler City twice to claim the championship.
Meridian (17-5) was the tournament's No. 1 seed, but was ousted Thursday by Harbison and the rest of East Butler.
Harbison scattered six hits over seven innings. He needed just 69 pitches through the first six frames, before Meridian broke through with its lone run in the seventh.
Nick Malis spoiled the shutout with an RBI single, scoring Drew Spangler with one out in the final inning. However, Harbison finished the game with a pop fly to second baseman Trevin Slater on his 95th pitch. He struck out three and walked two.
“A lot of people try to overpower and throw it high, but sometimes it gets crushed,” said Harbison. “Just keeping it low and trusting the defense behind me was my game plan. I tried to stick with it as long as I could and luckily we came out with the win.”
East Butler manager Steve Armahizer appreciated the effort.
“I give my hat off to Adam Harbison,” said Armahizer. “We're low on pitching this year. Everyone knows it; we're not going to hide it. When he can go the whole game, that saves us pitchers.”
East Butler jumped on top with two runs in the first inning. Jake Stoner sparked a two-out rally by fouling off several balls with two strikes and eventually drew a 10-pitch walk. Ryan McCrea followed with a single and Tyler Crawford drove in both with a single to right.
“It really helps when we come out in the first two innings and score two runs,” said Armahizer. “That's big for us.”
Meridian starting pitcher Robert Stamm settled in, though, and shut down the opposition until East Butler sent 10 batters to the plate in the sixth and broke the game open with a six-run outburst.
Ryan McCrea ripped a two-RBI double to make it 4-0, before a Crawford single and Tyler Brown walk loaded the bases for Harbison.“Coach Ron (Armahizer) told me to make contact and put it in the outfield and that's all I tried to do,” said Harbison.He did that and a whole lot more.Harbison one-hopped the left-field wall with a bases-clearing, three-RBI double. He also hit a two-RBI single in the seventh to cap East Butler's scoring.The breakthrough with the bats supplied Harbison with enough breathing room to comfortably finish the game.“It was huge,” Harbison said. “Anytime you pile the runs on like that in any inning, no matter if you're down or not, it's brings huge momentum. It's really a sucker punch to the other team.”McCrea was a constant headache for Meridian. He went 3-for-3 with a walk.“McCrea is very hot. He's always hot,” said Armahizer of his cleanup hitter. “He's been stroking the ball. That's why he is where he is in the lineup.”Stamm suffered the loss and allowed eight runs — six earned — in five-plus innings. He struck out four and walked three.Spangler relieved Stamm and was charged with two runs in 1 1-3 innings. Tyler Friel finished it out for Meridian, going two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout.“It was a great season,” said Meridian coach Tanner Master, who filled in for manager Butch Master. “It was fantastic. The guys were great all year.“We kind of ran out of gas at the end, but it's tough playing this many in this many days,” he added. “All in all, it was a great season and it was a great team to coach. I had a great time doing it.”It was the final Legion game for Stamm, Spangler, Friel, Matt Dowdy and Jake Koerner.“I wish these guys the best who are leaving us,” said Master. “They've been great for four years with us and it's hard to say goodbye, but everybody has to end it.”East Butler 200 006 2 — 10 10 0Meridian 000 000 1 — 1 6 2W: Adam Harbison 7IP (3K, 2BB). L: Robert Stamm 5IP (4K, 3BB).East Butler (18-4): Dustin Kepple SB; Tanner Gilliland BB, R, SB; Jake Stoner 1B, 2-BB, 3-R, SB; Ryan McCrea 2B, 2-1B, BB, R, 2-RBI; Luke Slater 2-R; Tyler Crawford 2-1B, R, 2-RBI, SB; Tyler Brown BB, R; Adam Harbison 2B, 1B, R, 5-RBI; Kyle Oswald BB; Bobby Coyle 1B; DJ Osche 1BMeridian (17-5): Jake Campbell 1B; Matt Dowdy 1B; Robert Stamm 1B; Drew Spangler 1B, R; Jake Koerner 1B; Jake McCandless BB; Nick Malis 1B, BB, RBI, SBThursday: East Butler vs. Center Township at Pullman Park, 8 p.m.
