Monroe needs help in Southwestern title chase after loss to Eaton

Monroe High School’s baseball team might still repeat as Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division champion, but help is needed.

The Hornets no longer control their own destiny after Friday’s 3-2 loss at Eaton’s Brower Field, a frustrating setback that included a combined three-hitter from Monroe pitchers Jackson Seibert and Kyle Ireton.

“Our kids didn’t quit. They kept playing to the end,” Hornets coach Bob Hunt said. “We made a couple mistakes, and they cost us. When you make mistakes, baseball humbles you, and it did today. But that’s OK. We’ll be better next time.”

Oakwood is alone on top of the Southwestern Division with a 9-2 mark. Eaton and Monroe are tied for second at 8-3, and all three teams have one league game left.

Eaton (10-7) will travel to Oakwood (14-6) on Saturday at noon. The Hornets (12-4) will be at Bellbrook (7-12) on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

“I don’t know how I feel right now. It’s a big win for us,” said Eaton junior lefty Bradley Curry, who conquered Monroe with a four-hitter. “But the work’s not done. We need to carry this momentum into tomorrow. I think we’ll get it done.”

Curry struck out two, walked three and survived a late scare from Monroe.

Hunter Collins and Bryson Taulbee drew one-out walks in the top of the seventh, and Connor Curtis’ ground out moved the runners to second and third. Reid Cable ended the game with a 5-3 grounder.

“My heart was beating pretty fast,” Curry said. “I wasn’t trying to do anything extra. I wasn’t trying to get a strikeout. I was trying to get ground balls or weak fly balls. I didn’t want them to tag anything and put it in the gap.”

The Eagles rarely hit the ball out of the infield. Indeed, all three of their hits were infield singles.

The hosts overcame a 2-1 deficit by scoring twice in the fifth inning without a hit. Ghye Wilson and Trevor Pittman walked and scored on an error and a wild pitch, respectively. Curry contributed a sacrifice bunt.

“Really, that’s our game,” Eaton coach Patrick Flanagan said. “That’s when we’re best. We’re not going to blow anybody out of the water, but if we pitch it well and play defense, we’ll find a way to scrap together a couple runs.”

Seibert took the loss, giving up three hits while striking out six and walking five in 4.1 innings. The Hornets tallied a pair of unearned runs in the fourth on RBIs by Logan Becraft (on a booted grounder) and Alex Page (on a sacrifice fly).

“We hadn’t played since Monday, so I was really worried about where we were going to be,” Hunt said. “Coming to play a team of this caliber, it was kind of scary for us.”

Monroe defeated the Eagles 4-0 on April 19. Curry played first base in that game and kept a close eye on the Hornet hitters.

“I remember they were really aggressive at the plate,” Curry said. “I think my changeup was really the difference today. They were off balance the whole game. They didn’t know I was going to throw it. I mixed in a slider, curveball, everything.

“As a team, we’ve been on a roller coaster all year. We were kind of tired of hearing everyone saying how good Monroe was. We wanted to put it to ’em. We knew we could play with them.”

Said Flanagan, “You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Bradley. He did an outstanding job on the bump, and he’s done that all year. He works hard and keeps the ball down. He gives you a chance to win.”

Flanagan said Pittman will get the mound start against Oakwood. Eaton beat the Lumberjacks 3-0 on April 13.

“We’ve had a season of ups and downs and laid a couple eggs,” Flanagan said. “It’s just kind of getting these guys to find some consistency and be locked in every single pitch. If we can do that tomorrow, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win and we’ll go from there.”

Monroe travels to Preble Shawnee for a 10 a.m. doubleheader on Saturday.

Monroe 000-200-0—2-4-2

Eaton 001-020-x—3-3-2

WP — Bradley Curry (4-0); LP — Jackson Seibert (3-1). Records: M 12-4, 8-3 SWBL Southwestern; E 10-7, 8-3 SWBL Southwestern

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