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Celina's Brady Steinbrunner waits on the ball to apply the tag on Wapakoneta's Ryan Camper during Tuesday's Western Buckeye League baseball game at Montgomery Field.
CELINA - The pitchers for Celina and Wapakoneta were on the top of their game on Tuesday.
But the Redskins were able to string hits together - four, to be exact - when it counted as those four hits in the top of the sixth brought home a pair of runs as Celina dropped its Western Buckeye League baseball opener 2-0 at Montgomery Field.
"It's no disgrace getting beat by a good team," said Celina coach John Dorner. "We gave ourselves a chance to win."
Celina starter Zach Greber and Wapakoneta starter Grant Jolly traded scoreless turns on the mound through the first five innings. Greber scattered two walks and two hits over five innings and got a big defensive play when catcher Nick Steinbrunner turned a possible wild pitch into a throw-out at second on Wapak's Ryan Camper in the third inning.
Celina's Zach Greber dives to snare the ball. Greber pitched five innings of two-hit scoreless baseball against Wapakoneta on Tuesday.
"Our pitching staff has been incredible this year and they continue to get better and better," said Dorner. "Our defense has been awesome. We have some strides we have to make offensively."
Jolly was just as potent and got stronger as the game wore on, allowing three hits through five innings and striking out eight batters through five innings.
"We battled all game long," said Dorner. "Jolly is a nice pitcher. We knew that coming in. I thought we made some good adjustments. I couldn't be happier."
Celina's Max Baumstark prepares to throw to first against Wapakoneta in a Western Buckeye League game at Montgomery Field on Tuesday.
With Greber's pitch count near his limit, Dorner brought on Max Baumstark to pitch in the sixth. Baumstark got the first two outs, the second when Landon Brandt was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single into a double, but Jolly kept the inning going with a single. Kaden Moore followed with a single of his own and a passed ball moved the runners to second and third with Austin West at the plate. West took a 1-0 offering up the middle, clearing the bases to make it 2-0.
"Those three hits in a row were up the middle," said Dorner. "That's what we preach here. They did a nice job (with all the hits) coming after two outs. They were able to find a hole."
Jolly allowed a one-out single to Zander Jones in the sixth before getting the final two outs. In the seventh, Dale Secrest led off with a walk, but Jolly then struck out two straight batters to reach 11 punchouts on the night. Wes Greber pinch-hit and went up the middle for a single to put runners on first and second for Zach Greber, who grounded to Moore at third, and Moore stepped on the bag for the game-ending forceout.
"I think we'll get better and better as the weather gets warmer and we get more reps in," said Dorner. "You have to remember, we don't have a senior on the team. We're young and we'll learn. You have to learn from games like this."
Nick Steinbrunner had two of the five Celina hits on the night. Six different Wapak batters tallied one hit apiece.
Celina will look to bounce back on Thursday with a short trip to K.C. Geiger Park to face cross-lake rival St. Marys in a Western Buckeye League matchup before returning home to Montgomery Park to host the Bulldog Classic on Saturday, featuring two other Bulldog teams in Columbus Grove and New Haven.
