In a showdown between two future Mid-American Conference pitchers, Perrysburg senior Matt Hubbard won out over Ashland pitcher Luke Bryant under the lights at Carter Park on Wednesday night.
The University of Toledo-bound Hubbard struck out eight, walked one, and allowed just two hits in pitching a complete-game 8-0 shutout over the Arrows in a Division I district semifinal.
“I mean, we played with the lead pretty much the whole game so I was just throwing it in my zone and having my catcher call the game,” Hubbard said. “He called a great game back there — just fastballs, hit spots and just get after it.”
Perrysburg, 22-7, returns to Carter Park at 5 p.m. on Friday to face off with Sylvania Southview for the district championship. Southview upset eighth-ranked Clay, 12-8, in eight innings in the first semifinal Wednesday.
For Hubbard and Perrysburg catcher Quinn Weber, this is not their first rodeo. Hubbard has the luxury of throwing to a catcher he’s been throwing to since youth baseball, and they have their system down.
“It’s been more than one year,” Hubbard said. “We’ve been at it since we were real young and Man, we just know each other so well. He calls my pitches, and I trust him every single time. It works out.”
Hubbard threw 87 pitches, including 58 strikes, to 25 batters. He had five strikeouts through the first two innings, and then was not afraid to pitch to contact after that as free passes were not an option.
“Have the other team make plays,” Hubbard said. “Don’t give them anything else — just make them hit the ball. No free walks, no hit by pitches, and do the best that we can.”
Hubbard even got six fly ball outs hit to Perrysburg outfielders, and all were deep or close to the warning track, but they still count as outs.
“We’ve got pretty good outfielders, so he’s a pitcher,” Perrysburg coach Dave Hall said. “He knows when to do what he’s got to do and he’ll get a K if he needs it.
“But he’s such a competitor. You saw him in three sports (All-Northern Lakes League in football, basketball, and baseball). You just want to jump on his back and ride him home,” continued Hall.
Meanwhile, Perrysburg hitters got to the Ohio University-bound Bryant, first with small, forcing Ashland’s defense to make mistakes in the field and forcing his pitch count to 100.
Bryant struck out seven, walked two, allowed 10 hits and eight runs, but only one run was earned thanks to five Ashland errors. Of his 100 pitches, 70 were strikes, but he had to face 34 batters over six innings.
“It was a great arm today on the mound,” Hubbard said. “That is probably what we are going to see a lot in the tournament this year. He has a really good arm.
“We were just able to start off small ball and then those liners that are usually getting caught, we finally got them through. We started hitting the ball really well and we had a really good approach at the plate today,” Hubbard continued.
Although Perrysburg had no extra base hits, Hubbard and designated hitter Abram Hire were both 2-for-4 to lead the Yellow Jackets at the plate.
Connor Kessinger, Brady Zilles, Brayden Heitmeyer, Landon Winters, Braxton Mefferd, and Weber all had base hits for the Jackets.
Perrysburg started offensively by scoring four runs in the bottom of the second inning off three hits, taking advantage of three Ashland errors.
Two innings in a row, Weber squeezed in a run with a bunt, and then throwing errors led to even more runs. Weber had two RBIs on squeeze plays, but it ultimately led to five runs put on the board by the Jackets in the second and third innings.
“When you get to this stage you have to play small ball,” Hall said. “That is what we are known for. Quinn is a good bunter, and teams panic in high school against the bunt. We panic against them, so I think when you put pressure on people it helps.
“I thought we hit the ball hard to get guys on to be able to get to that position. The last couple days we’ve been swinging the bats a little bit better so just hope it carries over for about four or five more games.”
Plus, Kessinger had two RBIs on a base hit up the middle in the second inning and Zilles had an RBI when he reached on a fielder’s choice in the third.
Mefferd had an RBI when he reached on a fielder’s choice in the sixth, and he also reached on a sacrifice bunt attempt in the second inning thanks to an error by Ashland third baseman Miles Farnsworth and ultimately scored.
Getting base hits for Ashland, which saw its tournament run end with a 19-8 record, were C.J. Cox and Tyler Holt.
