Fair Baseball Tournament: Ida closes out Bedford Elite in finals
Brody Lehr is the closer for Ida’s 12-and-under All-Star team.
But there wasn’t anything to save in the first three games of the 63rd annual Monroe County Fair Baseball Tournament.
Ida mercied all three opponents, winning 21-0, 17-6, and 11-1 and never trailed in any of the games. Lehr had only pitched two innings of mop-up duty.
Coach Eric Mason’s team finally was challenged Wednesday in the finals.
Ida trailed much of the afternoon before scoring twice in the top of the sixth and final inning to take a 7-5 lead.
Mason gave the ball to Lehr and he pitched like a closer.
Two strikeouts sandwiched around a grounder back to Lehr ended the game and gave Ida the championship.
“He’s been our top pitcher, our go-to guy all year,” Mason said of Lehr.
Day 1: Tournament stays on schedule despite rain
Day 2: Elite wins Battle of Bedford, advances to take on Ida
Day 3: Ash Carleton Gold and Summerfield set up rematch
Day 4: Hit batters help Ida take charge with win over Bedford
Pitching was the story for Ida.
After Bedford Elite scored five times in the first three innings, Sam Brandjord came on to close the door. He allowed just one base runner on a walk and struck out two in two scoreless innings.
“All of our pitchers did well,” Mason said. “Then our bats got going. We hit the ball the whole game, but they played good defense. Their shortstop (Brennen Pfeiffer) kept snapping up balls.”
Ida scored single runs in each of the first five innings to go into the final frame tied 5-5.
Aiden Daniel drew a one-out walk to start the winning rally then Ryan Ashcraft followed with a single. Dylan Gies singled in one and the other scored on an error.
Lehr made sure the lead stood up.
He also made major contributions with his bat, slamming a solo homer over the fence in left-centerfield and singling and coming around to score the tying run in the fifth on a single by Parker Mason.
Brandjord had a pair of singles, Jacob Costello doubled, and Ashcraft drove in a run with a sacrifice fly for Ida, which was the tournament runner-up last summer.
“We have 11 boys who are all the same age and are all going into the seventh grade at Ida this year,” Mason said. “You don’t see that very often. They are like brothers.”
Mason was grateful for the challenge from Bedford Elite.
“Kudos to them,” he said. “Our guys were not rattled even though they were behind most of the game.”
The game was very different from when the two teams met a day earlier in the winners’ bracket finals. Ida scored seven times in the opening inning of that one and cruised to an 11-1 victory.
“You could tell they were ready today,” Bedford Elite coach Dave Donovan said. “Both teams came to play.”
Pierce Buschmann doubled home a run in the first inning and Tyler Sheehan and Jackson Mitchell came through with RBI singles for Donovan’s team which pulled out a 7-6 win over Ash Carleton Gold in the semifinals earlier Wednesday.
Bedford Elite 7, Ash Carleton Gold 6
Buschmann delivered a two-run, walk-off single in the bottom of the sixth inning to settle one of the best games of the tournament.
Ash Carleton scored three times in the top of the sixth to snap a 3-3 tie, but Elite came right back.
Jaxon Swartz singled to start the sixth then David Donovan was safe on an error. Parker Williams doubled home the first run of the inning. Another scored on a wild pitch.
Buschmann came up with the bases loaded, two outs and his team trailing by a run. He drove a ball over the head of the shortstop to bring home Williams and Brennen Pfeiffer.
Buschman and Peyton Clawson had two hits each and Jackson Mitchell doubled for the winners.
Bentley Depew and Donovan each threw a pair of scoreless innings.
Ash Carleton did all of its scoring in the last two innings. Singles by Weston Cosby and Luke Wszelaki along with a double by Chase Reisig keyed a three-run fifth that tied the game. Three more in the sixth gave Gold its first lead of the game. Cosby singled and Reisig doubled in the inning.
Wszelaki, Cosby, and Reisig logged two hits each and Sam Geiger threw two scoreless innings.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Fair Baseball Tournament: Ida closes out Bedford Elite in finals
