ELIDA — A seventh-inning rally fell just short as Lake saw its postseason run come to an end with a 3-2
loss to Huron in Thursday’s Division III regional semifinal at Ed Sandy Field.
Lake stranded eight in scoring position and finished 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. None of
those hits came until a two-run rally in the seventh inning. PHOTO GALLERY
The game ended with Lake leaving the bases loaded.
The Flyers, who clinched the Northern Buckeye Conference championship Wednesday, finished 27-4. Huron is
21-7.
“We just didn’t put the ball in play enough,” said Lake head coach Greg Wilker.
Huron opened the scoring with two runs in the first on a pair of heads-up plays off Lake starter Jayce
Vancena.
Jack Hufnagle, who singled to lead off the game and advanced to second on a bloop single from Zach Souter
with one out, scored on a single from Tommy Bogden by making an elusive slide around Lake catcher Nick
Walsh for the game’s first run.
Andrew Dowell nearly grounded into a 4-6-3 double play in the next at-bat, but he was safe at first.
Souter never stopped running and scored from second on the fielder’s choice to give Huron a 2-0 lead
early.
After the first, Vancena settled into a rhythm, but nothing seemed to come easy for him aside from two
1-2-3 innings.
“These kids are here for a reason,” Wilker said of Huron’s hitters. “They are tough outs.”
Vancena’s teammates, meanwhile, managed to get at least one runner on in each inning, but couldn’t push
any across until late against Huron starter Kyle Kovach, who struck out nine in the game.
In the first and fourth innings, Lake stranded a pair of runners in scoring position. In those two
innings, Lake went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts with runners on second and third.
Huron pushed across another run in the fifth on a botched run down play. With runners on the corners and
two outs, the runner from first took off.
Vancena stepped off and eventually threw to his first baseman, but the ball was dropped, which allowed
Hufnagle to score his second run of the game.
“That was frustrating because we worked on it and knew they were going to do it,” Wilker said. “We just
didn’t execute the way we usually do there. But that happens in a pressure situation.”
Lake’s Aaron Witt, who went 2-for-3 from the bottom of the lineup, opened the next half inning with a
single and stole second. However, a couple of ground balls ended the inning. In the home half of the
sixth, Vancena led off with the game’s only extra-base hit on a double to center. Kovach held strong
once again and got a fly out and two more strikeouts to end the inning.
Vancena, who struck out 10 despite not picking one up one in the first inning, retired Huron in order to
begin the seventh and set up his team’s final rally down three.
Witt lined a one-out single to left field to start the rally.
A throwing error then put two on and chased Kovach, who was replaced by Bogden on the mound. Bogden
struck out the first batter he faced before allowing back-to-back infield singles to Connor Bowen and
Vancena, which pulled Lake within 3-1. A bases-loaded walk ensued and put the tying and go-ahead runners
in scoring position, but Bogden induced a ground out to short to end the game.
“We battled all year long,” Wilker said. “That last inning, we were one hit away from winning the ball
game and we just came up one hit short. But these kids battled all year long for us and I’m very proud
of them.”
Kovach improved to 8-2 this year, while Bogden picked up the save. Vancena (8-1) took his first loss this
year after allowing six hits, three runs (two earned) and one walk over seven innings.
Vancena also helped his team out at the plate as he had four of the team’s seven hits in the game.
HURON 3, LAKE 2
HURON 200 010 0—3 6 2
LAKE 000 000 2—2 7 3
BATTING LEADERS
HITS —(H); Hufnagle 2, Bollenbacher, Souter, Bogden, Kovach; (L) Vancena 4, A. Witt 2, Bowen. 2B — (L)
Vancena. RUNS — (H) Hufnagle 2, Souter; (L) Duncan, A. Witt. RBI — (H) Bogden, Dowell; (L) Vancena,
Pratt. SB —(H) Mix, Kovach; (L) A. Witt. SAC —(L) Walsh. LOB — Huron 6, Lake 10. DP — Huron.
PITCHING SUMMARY
IP H R ER BB SO
HURON
Kovach (WP) 6 1-3 5 2 0 2 9
Bogden (SV) 2-3
2 0 0 1 1
LAKE
Vancena
7 6 3 2 1 10