By Ray Sarvis
FPS Correspondent
After ending the previous week with a loss to East Liverpool, the Lions dramatically turned around their fortunes on the diamond, playing — and winning — four games this week, including back-to-back one-run wins against Eastern Buckeye Conference opponent Salem.
First up for Minerva was a nonconference home game on April 14 versus Richmond Edison. The Lions used a fifth-inning rally to come from behind and claim a 4-2 victory.
The Tigers struck first in the top of the first on an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead, but Minerva answered in the second when Devin Driggers lined a single to center field to score Owen Frazier and tie the game.
The two teams remained deadlocked until Edison broke the tie with an infield RBI single to go ahead 2-1.
Minerva’s Lance Tarbet and Braydon Wood led off the fifth inning with consecutive singles to put runners on first and second. After a groundout, Aiden Thomas drove a single to right to score Tarbet and tie the game. After Minerva’s second out, Frazier stepped to the plate and banged a single to right, scoring Wood and Thomas for a 4-2 lead — a score that would hold the rest of the way.
On the mound, Brendan Huth earned the win, giving up one earned run over six innings, while Driggers picked up the save. Speaking of relief, that was the feeling for Minerva coach Troy Richeson following the win.
“Great to get back in the win column today,” he said. “Our team came out and played a great game. Offensively, we had better approaches at the plate tonight and had some hard-hit balls go right to their defense, but we were able to break through with a big three-run fifth inning capped off by a huge two-out RBI single by Owen.”
There was no rest for the Lions as the next day, they traveled to Salem for a two-game home-and-away series. The Quakers scored in the bottom of the first on an RBI single to take an early 1-0 lead.
Minerva came back in the top of the third and tied the game on Tarbet’s line-drive single that scored Julian Dunbar, then took the lead when Tarbet scored on a Salem fielding error.
The Quakers weren’t done, however, and scored three runs in the third and two more in the fifth for a 6-2 advantage. The Lions chipped away at the lead, first scoring in the top of the sixth on a two-out, two-run single by Driggers that scored Kaden Kandel and Thomas.
In the top of the seventh, Tarbet — who reached base on a wild pitch — scored on an error to pull the Lions within one. Frazier then tied the game on an RBI single that scored Brennan Barnes, setting the stage for Jason Sivy’s two-out, two-run double to center that scored Thomas and Frazier, giving the Lions an 8-6 lead. The Quakers managed to score one run in the bottom of the seventh and had the winning run at the plate, but Driggers, who had come on in relief of Thomas, slammed the door shut for the 8-7 victory.
“I was proud of how this team kept fighting in some tough weather conditions,” said Richeson. “They never gave up and were rewarded with a huge win. It was great to see Jason come up clutch and have a huge hit for us. He has been working so hard for us, and it’s great to see him get rewarded.”
Driggers pitched 4 1/3 innings and picked up the win. The Lions ran wild on the bases, stealing 10 compared to just one for Salem.
The next day, Minerva hosted Salem, and what a difference one day makes. This game was nothing like the first bout between the Lions and Quakers. For fans of pitching duels, this was nirvana as Wood and Salem’s Bairon Exline were locked in.
Minerva did just enough offensively, scoring one run in the second and another in the fourth to defeat the Quakers 2-1 despite being outhit 5-2, allowing the Lions to even their record in the EBC at 2-2.
“Salem’s starter was excellent tonight and really did a nice job keeping us off balance, making it hard for us at the plate,” said Richeson.
Wood went the distance for the Lions, scattering five hits and one walk over seven innings while fanning seven batters. Meanwhile, Exline struck out four and issued no walks for Salem (1-9, 0-4). Neither pitcher gave up an earned run.
“Braydon pitched really well tonight, and our defense made some great plays to support him,” Richeson said. “We didn’t have a lot going tonight offensively, but we did a great job manufacturing some runs with RBI groundouts by Owen and Aiden.”
After those close one-run games, Minerva had a few days off before a nonconference game on April 19 against visiting Sandy Valley. The Lions took an early three-run lead, then stretched their advantage to 6-2 after six innings and hung on for a 6-4 win over the Cardinals.
Wood was a spark plug at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, an RBI and two runs scored, while Barnes was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored as the Lions improved to 7-4 overall. Sandy Valley fell to 2-8 with the loss.