PENFIELD TWP. – There were no pyrotechnicians on hand, but Field Three sure had a lot of fireworks Tuesday when Highland met Keystone in Division II sectional baseball tournament action.
The Hornets were down by two runs with two outs in the seventh inning, but tied the game. They used that momentum to claim an 8-7 victory over the Wildcats in 13 innings.
Highland (8-13) advances to the district semifinals, where it will play Bay at Southview High School. Bay was a 20-4 winner over Firelands on Tuesday.
“We figured it was probably going to come down to one run, one base hit,” Highland interim coach Mike Weyand said. “We`re not a team that`s going to hit the ball out of the park. We`ve played small ball all year and that`s how we operate. If we`re going to win, we`ve got to do the little things.
“I think we did that in the last inning.”
“We just didn`t get timely hitting today,” Keystone coach Mark Clement said. “All of the pitchers did a good job and that made it tough. They missed a good opportunity. Everything was set up on our side for us to hopefully make some noise, but it didn`t happen.”
Highland started the 13th inning with a groundout, but quickly turned up the intensity. Anthony Petrilla and Jacob Bernhard singled to put two runners on with two out. After taking the first pitch outside, Dylan Cintula singled to right field.
Keystone`s Tyler Minnich fielded the ball cleanly and made a throw toward home. Catcher Tim Giesel was drawn up the line to field the ball and could not reach Petrilla before he touched home plate.
“I felt I was swinging the bat well all day,” Cintula said. “I tried to get a good pitch that last at-bat and I did. I put a good swing on it and it worked out. I like the pressure. I enjoy trying to get the big hit or helping the team out to win any way that I can.”
A victory looked like a pipe dream for Highland in the bottom of the 11th. Keystone loaded the bases with one out and Minnich at the plate, but Jerry Scholle struck out Minnich and induced a groundball to second base, ending Keystone`s last true threat.
“We`ve struggled at times defensively this year,” Weyand said. “We instill that we have confidence in our fielders. Our pitchers are encouraged to pitch to contact because the only thing we can`t defend is a walk. We have confidence that our infield, which is pretty experienced, is going to make a play.
“Jerry is a freshman and has been sick for the last three days. He missed two games Friday, a doubleheader Saturday, came in and basically threw a whole game. It was a gem.”
“One out with the bases loaded and getting out with no runs scored was huge for us,” Cintula said. “Confidence is big in our baseball program with our philosophy. It played a big part in us winning this game.”
Though the final run was scored in extra innings, the true fireworks began in the sixth.
Scholle led off with an infield hit and Jordan Bialoski tried to bunt him into scoring position. Scholle drifted a little too far from first base and a snap throw appeared to beat him, but the umpire ruled him safe. On the next pitch, Bialoski popped up the bunt down the third base line.
Keystone`s Brian Rice caught the ball and fired to first for the double play. Highland coach Jeff Rollyson argued with the home plate umpire that Rice trapped the ball and was ejected.
Following the ejection, the Wildcats scored two runs.
Mike Cordy took a 1-1 pitch to left-center field for a double that drove in Jim Reid and Andrew Pearce.
Contact Matt Florjancic at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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