Heralds rally past Mustangs, advance to districts
May 20—Staff Report
St. John broke a tie in the seventh inning, and went on to defeat Mathews 5-3 in the Division IV Faiport Sectional baseball final on Thursday afternoon at Fairport.
The Heralds, 11-9, are heading to the district tournament. They are scheduled to play at 2 p.m. against Bristol at Fairport.
North Jackson Jackson-Milton is slated to play in the second game at Fairport.
The district final is scheduled for 5 p.m. on May 26.
The Panthers, as the seventh seed, blanked Windham 11-0 for a sectional title on Thursday.
Bristol and St. John played in the regular season with each team winning.
"They're a well-disciplined team," Heralds coach Alvin Rodriguez said of the Panthers.
The Heralds, who are making their first district appearance since 2003, also played Mathews in the regular season. The Mustangs captured an 11-0.
"They're a well-coached team," Rodriguez said of the Mustangs. "We think of Mathews and Bristol, along with Pymatuning Valley, as the top teams in the NAC [Northeastern Athletic Conference). We're taking that next step."
On Thursday, with the game tied 1-1, Mathews tallied a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to go up 3-1.
But in the seventh inning, St. John scored four runs to take a 5-3 lead.
Devyn Mercilliott doubled in two runs to tie the game at 3-3.
Bryson Vennetti singled in Mercilliott and Tom Miller's sacrifice
fly produced the fifth run.
Matt Miller pitched the final 2.2 innings for the win.
He didn't allow a hit, run or walk and struck out two batters.
"We've been preaching making the routine plays, throwing stikes and playing defense," Rodriguez said. "We have an 11-man roster and nine have played baseball before."
Freshman Ryan Williams stared for St. John.
He went 4.1 innings, giving up three hits and no earned runs with four walks and five strikeouts.
"He's something else," Rodriguez said Williams, who no-hit Harvey a couple of weeks ago. "For 15, he's a leader."
At the plate, Tyler Cathcart and Mercilliott each had a pair of hits, while Mercilliott gained two RBIs.
St. John is scheduled to host Lawrence School at 4:30 p.m. today in a regular-season contest.
"We're kind of coming together," Rodriguez said. "We're playing some of our best baseball now."
