Prep roundup for Monday, May 27
May 27—Eastern ace Corbin Snyder fired a one-hitter to lead the Comets past Alexandria 3-0 in the Class 2A Eastern Baseball Sectional's semifinal round on Saturday.
Eastern (22-8-1) and Madison-Grant (15-10) will meet for the sectional title at 1 p.m. today. The Comets are shooting for a sectional three-peat.
Snyder (8-1) was his usual dominant self in the Comets' semifinal win. The Butler signee drew the start, faced all but one batter, and recorded all 21 outs. He struck out 15, walked two and hit two batters with pitches.
"Fifteen strikeouts are huge — your defense only has to make six plays," Eastern coach Erik Hisner said. "Now we did have some big defensive plays. In the sixth inning, we're up 2-0, they had a runner on first after we walked their leadoff hitter. Jon Warren threw him out trying to steal and we strike out the batter on the next pitch. That was big."
In the bottom of the sixth, the Comets tacked on an insurance run for a 3-0 lead.
In the top of the seventh, Alexandria (18-11) had runners on first and second with two outs. They each moved up a base following a wild pitch, but Snyder followed with a strikeout to end the game. It was Snyder's state-leading 129th strikeout of the season.
"We knew it would be a good game," Hisner said. "Their kid [Aaron Matthews] threw a really good game. He went all six innings and struck out seven. Hits were hard to come by."
The Comets finished with five hits. Ethan Acord had two singles, Colt Snyder had a double and Corbin Snyder and Trey Beachy each had a single.
The Comets manufactured two runs in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead.
With one out, Perry Kochensparger and Warren were both hit by pitches. Elijah Brassard replaced Warren as a courtesy runner. Kochensparger moved to third on Corbin Snyder's flyout to right and then scored on a double steal for a 1-0 lead. Later, with Brassard on third, Beachy's infield single scored him to make it 2-0.
"One thing Alexandria does really well is they're aggressive on the bases. Getting ahead early not only helped us win the game, but also helped take them out of some running situations," Hisner said.
The sectional final is a rematch of last year's final, which saw Eastern beat Madison-Grant 3-2. The teams also met in the 2021 and '22 sectionals.
The Argylls beat Elwood 8-1 in the second semifinal.
"They did not have to throw their best pitcher. They have their No. 1 pitcher, Xavier Yeagy, and their top relief pitcher, Teagan Yeagy, ready to go," Hisner said.
Corbin Snyder is not eligible to pitch after throwing 109 pitches in Saturday's game. The Comets will have Colt Snyder, Kochensparger and Brassard.
"We feel good about what we have," Hisner said. "No matter who we throw out there, they have to execute and we have to field the baseball as well. Our defense has been pretty solid in the last couple games. We're going to have to make some plays — I'm not anticipating striking out 15 again."
OLE MISS 2, MAC 0
Maconaquah closed the season with a 9-15 record after falling to Mississinewa in a pitchers' duel in the Class 3A Norwell Sectional's semifinal round.
Mississinewa pitcher Kaiden Campbell fired a complete game. He held the Braves to four hits, struck out nine and walked four.
Mac starter Kaleb Shelton pitched four innings, allowed four hits and two runs (one earned), struck out three and walked three. Bennett Isenburg relieved and worked the final three innings, holding the Indians to one hit, striking out four and walking none.
Braxtin Birner, Caiden Richards, Jacob Isley and Isenburg each had a single for the Braves.
TC PLAYS TODAY
The Class A Wes-Del Sectional wraps up today with three games.
In the semifinals, Tri-Central faces Cowan at 10 a.m. followed by Wes-Del vs. Southern Wells at approximately noon. The championship is at 5 p.m.
