Big hits lead St. Paul past Edison

MILAN — Even the outs felt impactful. "You can't expect that every time out, but when it does happen, it feels good," St. Paul baseball coach Aaron Fries said. The Flyers jumped on host Edison for three runs in the top of the first and never looked back in a 9-4 non-league win over the Chargers on Saturday at Edison High School. St. Paul (6-1) had eight of its nine players record a base hit in the win. The lone player who didn't register a hit also was one of six different players to score a run. St. Paul had lost eight straight games to the Chargers dating back to April 8, 2017. During his previous five years as head coach, Fries saw the Flyers average three runs per game against Edison. That included three winnable games during the skid that saw St. Paul get enough pitching and defense but fall short on offense to earn a win against a nearby program that is also a consistent winner. "We've played Edison tough; we just haven't been able to get the key hits in the past," Fries said. "Today was just different from that perspective. We put together a good hitting game, and that's something we haven't done against them in previous years. "We've gotten good pitching and defense and played with confidence, but the hitting has been that missing component." That began from the start on Saturday. Izaac Snyder singled, and both Gabe Snyder and Alex Marsh were hit by pitches to load the bases with no outs against Weston Hoover. Landon Fries then took a 1-1 pitch with a lined shot to left field for a two-run single, and Isaac Kalizewski also followed with a base hit to keep the bases loaded with no outs. Brady Fries then also drove a single to left field to score Marsh to make it 3-0. Hoover then avoided the monster inning, however, as he got two force outs around a shallow flyout to keep the damage to three runs. Getting tune-up work before a pair of Firelands Conference games with Mapleton next week, St. Paul ace Alex Marsh then worked two quick innings against the Edison lineup. He scattered a pair of hits with four strikeouts and no walks, throwing 36 pitches (26 strikes). In the top of the third, St. Paul's Casey Fries hit a one-out double to left and advanced to third on a fly out off the bat of River Couch. The younger Fries then scored on a wild pitch for a 4-0 lead. Edison (3-3) got things going at the plate in the bottom of the third. Bryson Wittmer and Cole Leimeister drew walks off Nate Griffin, though a fielder's choice and a strikeout came next for two outs. But catcher Tristian Wetherill hit a big line drive double to left to cut the deficit in half at 4-2. After a scoreless fourth, the Flyers tacked on two more in the fifth. Friz led off with a double to left, and Casey Fries drew a walk. After both runners advanced on a passed ball, Couch hit another flyout that allowed Fritz to tag up and score from third for a 5-2 lead. With Casey Fries at third, the freshman then scored when Griffin grounded out deep in the hole at second base for a 6-2 lead. Griffin also ran into trouble in the bottom half of the fifth. Chaz Smith walked and was held at third base on a double by Eli Hermes. Wetherill then drew a four-pitch walk, and the host Chargers had the bases loaded with no outs. Ian Preston then grounded out to first, allowing pinch runner Owen Thurston to score. Weston Hoover allowed a sac fly to medium-deep center to allow pinch runner Talon Wechter to also score for a 6-4 deficit. But Griffin was able to induce a ground ball out off the bat of Brody McFadden to short, as Landon Fries threw to Fritz for the third out at first base. "We either struck out too many times or didn't move runners up or get a key base hit to break the ice when we needed them," Edison head coach Sean Hoover said. "We just had too many strikeouts in those situations. "We used four pitchers today, and a lot of our young guys are learning to throw strikes in certain situations, and they are all guys who pitch to contact," he added. "Sometimes there are days when the opponent hits it where we can't catch the ball, and the big thing that will kill you is free runners. We gave up too many of those today, too." St. Paul then added three more runs in the top of the sixth. Gabe Snyder and Landon Fries both walked, and they each advanced to second and third base after two outs were made. But Fritz came through with a single to left to score both runners for an 8-4 lead. Casey Fries was hit by a pitch, and Couch singled to load the bases again. Griffin was then hit by a pitch to force in the game's final run at 9-4. On the mound, Griffin allowed four earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts and six walks in five innings of work behind Marsh. "Nate Griffin is a very good pitcher, but sometimes Nate Griffin doesn't believe he is a very good pitcher," Coach Fries said. "As a coach, it's my responsibility to remind him he's a good pitcher. "We had a little conversation, and there were key spots there that he was able to get some outs, and I think that propelled him to be the good pitcher that we know he is." The Chargers have lost three straight games ahead of a big stretch that has them scheduled to play four SBC Bay Division games in seven days. Edison walked nine batters in a 3-2 loss at Margaretta on April 6, then didn't get a hit and made eight errors in a 6-0 loss at Oak Harbor on April 8 prior to Saturday. "It's early, but today was better with guys talking in the dugout, trying to find ways to get us runners and things we needed there at the end," Coach Hoover said. "But you can't win games doing the things we did this week at any level, so we have to do a better job of cleaning that up. "Losses only mean a lot if you let them and you don't learn anything. From Wednesday to today, these guys learned something. St. Paul has a good team once again and today showed us some more things to learn from." Fritz was 3 for 4 and drove in three for the Flyers, while Casey Fries had two hits and scored two runs, and Landon Fries had two hits and drove in a pair. The Flyers (2-0 FC) host Mapleton (0-6, 0-2) on Monday and visit the Mounties on Tuesday. "From the first batter, I felt good about our ability to hit today," Coach Fries said. "As I tell our kids, we're opportunistic offensively. We're going to gauge what we do each day, and that could be different depending on the game and opponent. "Today from the first batter, I put my card way and let these guys work counts and swing away, and that strategy worked really well." St. Paul 301 023 0 — 9 11 1 Edison 002 020 0 — 4 5 1 WP: Marsh; LP: Hoover 2B: (SP) Fritz, C. Fries