Willard falls two back with loss to Huron

WILLARD — Opportunities were there. Willard controlled the first three innings against Huron. Even after the Crimson Flashes got behind, a timely hit certainly would have helped Willard. That key knock never came and the Flashes fell, 10-4, in Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division action Monday.. "We had a couple costly mistakes and costly errors," Willard assistant coach Don Buss said. "Things plummeted. We lost all the momentum and had a hard time getting it back. It was a couple of costly plays that turned the game around." Willard (9-6, 3-3 SBC Bay) led 4-0 early, but struggled to hit Landon Hohler the rest of the game. The Flashes had runners in scoring position in four straight innings, but never added to the lead. Meanwhile, the Tigers (8-8, 4-4) finally got to Isaac Robinson in the fourth inning. Robinson didn't allow a hit over the first three innings, but Paul Maloney and Austin Wasily each singled for Huron. Ben Davis drew a walk, but Robinson tallied one of his eight strikeouts for the second out of the inning. Hohler then helped himself with a double to left field that could have been caught. Two runs scored, but a great relay throw in got Davis at home, keeping Willard up. "Isaac was doing a good job of mixing it up," Huron coach Dan Lindsley said. "Early, it was a lot of fastballs and then his breaking ball. In about the third inning, he went breaking ball and then the fastball. I knew he threw a lot of pitches Thursday or Friday night. "We thought if we could get him deeper in counts and get him tired, he would start to labor." That advantage only lasted one more inning. Caden Peterman walked with one out in the fifth inning before Tommy Ray singled. Each runner moved up an extra base on the play. Sam Cox then bounced a grounder on the infield, but Peterman was safe on the throw home. Maloney followed with a grounder on the infield, but the throw to first sailed high, allowing two more runs to score. Three runs on one hit and Willard trailed. "It's still a 4-0 game if he catches that ball in left field," Buss said. "That just goes to show you a couple plays here and there can change the game completely." The Tigers blew the game open in the sixth inning. Ethan Rodriguez was greeted in relief by a solo home run by Dom Muratori. Hohler then singled, stole second, went to third on a bunt single by Cody Scroggins, and scored when Peterman bounced into a fielder's choice. Ray then slammed the door shut with a two-run homer, giving Huron a 9-4 lead. "We had favorable wind, but we were telling our guys early to stay on top of the baseball," Lindsley said. "We got behind and that's a darn good team with good pitching. The home runs were big." Hohler got stronger for the Tigers as the game went on. Robinson singled and stole second to open the fifth inning, but that was Willard's last baserunner. Hohler retired the final nine hitters for Huron. "His breaking ball as the game went on was really effective," Buss said. "Some guys that hit him the first time around weren't able to touch that breaking ball." The Flashes opened the scoring early. Rodriguez singled in the first inning before Elijah Reed blasted a two-run home run to left field. In the second inning, Jandyel Salazar singled and went to second on a groundout. Run-scoring singles by Ian McClanahan and Rodriguez made it 4-0. "I thought Landon just settled in," Lindsley said. "I thought he got better and better as the game went on really. It looked like his velocity was a little bit better in the later innings than it was early on." Robinson allowed five runs on four hits. Ryan Fox got the final five outs for Willard, striking out two. "We have a lot of baseball to play," Buss said. "That's the thing we talked about after the game. We just have to keep moving forward and not let one game define the whole season." Huron 000 234 1 — 10 9 1Willard 220 000 0 — 4 7 1WP: Hohler. LP: Robinson2B: (H) Hohler. Muratori; HR: (H) Muratori, Ray; (W) Reed.