Lexington Minutemen end magical postseason run with district semifinal loss to St. Marys Memorial
BLUFFTON — The magical run came to an end on Thursday night.
The Lexington Minutemen fell to St. Marys Memorial 4-3 during the Division II district semifinals at Bluffton University bringing an end to an improbable tournament run that saw the Minutemen knock off Kenton and Wapakoneta during the postseason.
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Lexington took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning before the Roughriders plated a pair of runs to take a late lead in the home half of the inning. The go-ahead run came on a triple and a throwing error that allowed the runner to advance home on a ball out of play.
"That is the way baseball goes," Lexington coach Jeff Strickler said. "You do the best to make plays, and it doesn't always happen. But the thing I am proud of these guys for is that they never gave up and fought. We have won one-run games and lost one-run games, but it has never been a question of effort."
The Minutemen absolutely didn't give up and made things interesting right down to the last out. After Zian Rhodes recorded a one-out single and Cole Eichorn drew a walk, Lex was in business. Braden Mumaw grounded out but advanced the runners to second and third with two outs. Markale Martin stepped to the plate fresh off a two-RBI double in the fifth.
Martin ripped a hard line drive that found the first baseman's mitt to end the threat, the game and Lexington's season.
It was Lexington's eighth one-run loss and 14th loss by less than 10 runs.
"If there is one thing these guys should have learned from this season it was that they can play with anybody," Strickler said. "That was our ninth one-run loss this year and if one thing goes differently, we win."
Michael Togliatti, Rhodes, Eichorn, Mumaw, Martin and Gage Powell all had one hit apiece while Martin had two RBIs and Mumaw had one.
Colton Murfield pitched well despite the loss allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits with two strikeouts.
"Colton did a very nice job," Strickler said. "He came back from an elbow injury that made him miss three weeks and limited his innings. He gave us what we needed from him."
Lexington (11-18) saw 10 seniors play their final game as Minutemen. Jaxon Brown, Aedan Nicol, Rhodes, Mumaw, Togliatti, Landon Hamilton, Murfield, Cooper Dreibelbis, Carter Wilson and Levi Davis all ended their careers on Thursday night.
"It is a very special group," Strickler said. "We had a great end of the season with a tournament run, but I wish we could have done more for them. They had a lot of obstacles they had to overcome, but they overcame them and helped us make a little bit of a run."
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington Minutemen lost to St. Marys Memorial Roughriders in baseball
