Reed, Ross led St. John Paul II baseball to comeback win against Sturgis
HYANNIS - Ty Reed was not the starting pitcher for the St. John Paul II baseball team Wednesday against Sturgis, but he came on to save the day in relief.
The Lions trailed 6-1 in the top of the third inning when Reed came into the game with two outs for starting pitcher Tyler Ross. Reed pitched 4⅓ innings and allowed two hits, one run and struck out four, buying enough time for the Lions to rally for a 9-7 win.
“He’s (Reed) been awesome out of the bullpen all year,” JPII coach Mike Young said. “He’s been so reliable coming in for us, throwing strikes and challenging hitters. That’s who he is. He throws a good bender and fastball for strikes. It’s worked for him this year and he’s done a great job.”
More: Winning play and a 53-pitch no-hitter: Vote for the Cape Cod Baseball Player of the Week
Reed put an exclamation point on his performance, ending the day with a game-ending strikeout. As he walked off the mound, he waved goodbye to the opponent.
“I was fired up before the game, and some kids wanted to talk (trash). I’m just going to finish the job,” Reed said.
Ross is usually known for throwing strikes on the mound for the Lions. In a 5-0 win over Nantucket earlier this season, Ross didn't allow a hit over six innings, while striking out 15.
Against Sturgis, Ross didn’t have one of his best stuff as he gave up eight hits, six runs (four earned), two walks and struck out three over 2⅔ innings.
However, Ross was still key in the win. In his first plate appearance after being subbed out at pitcher, he had a clutch play.
More: Sandwich High baseball team gets contribution from everybody in win over Dennis-Yarmouth
In the bottom of the third inning, with the Lions down 6-3, Ross had a full count at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. He hit a bases-clearing double to center field that scored Tim Adams, Colin Buckley and Brady Ryan to tie the game at 6-6.
“I came in pitching today and didn’t know my stuff, but then I went up to the plate and was pretty angry, and I just smashed the ball and drove them all in. That’s all I wanted,” Ross said.
With the combination of Reed pitching and a big hit from Ross, the Lions started to roar with eight total runs in the third and fourth innings.
“It was a huge momentum shifter. They were up and had all the momentum. Having him (Reed) come in and completely shut down the game was huge for the team,” JPII catcher/outfielder Jacob Lenau said.
The Lions keep winning
The Lions have caught fire, winning five in a row to bring their record to 7-4 on the season.
“Before we went on that (win) streak, we were all playing just for ourselves,” Lenau said. “We weren’t doing what baseball is all about, which is being a team sport. We came together as a team, all had one common goal, and we are hoping to finish out the season the same way.”
The Lions have rebounded after opening the season winning just two of their first six games.
“Starting at 2-4 sucks and one big loss (11-1 to D-Y) flipped the switch. We came out to every practice and worked our butts off. We kept it going, and we’re going to keep it going the whole season,” Ross said.
More: 'Electric' freshman scores walk-off run as Falmouth baseball nets rare win over Barnstable
This is deja vu to last season when the Lions started 2-5 before breaking off a seven-game win streak. That helped them to the state tourney as the No. 15 seed in Division 5. JPII lost to Georgetown, 3-0, in the Sweet 16.
“I think we’ve come out, and just not quit,” Young said. “We’re playing complete games and when things don’t go well, we’re not hanging our heads. We understand that’s part of the process where we’re going to take our lumps and we just keep grinding. If we keep having good at bat after good at bat, we’re going to come out on top more times than not.”
The Lions will look to make it six straight in a row next week when they travel on the road to take on Carver on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
On to the next one for Sturgis
Sturgis looked like it was in control most of the game with a 4-0 lead after the first inning, and a 6-1 lead going into the bottom of the third inning.
“Maybe the team let down mentally, being that we were up by four runs, which isn’t uncommon, even though we preach for them not to do that,” JPII coach Larry Shell said. “I think we did good up until then, and we got a little too excited and we started chasing a lot, which helped them (JPII) a lot.”
More: Resurgent Rams or surging Sandwich? Who tops our first Cape Cod H.S. baseball rankings
Sturgis came into the game against JPII winning three of their last four, and is now 4-3 on the season.
“They (JPII) deserve a ton of credit. They’re a good team, well coached and have good players,” Shell said. “The key points in the game, we didn’t make plays and they did. That was the difference in the game. I am proud of the kids for hanging in there and getting another run and making it close.”
Sturgis will look to get back in the win column Friday when they travel to Fall River to take on Atlantis Charter.
“We’re set to go, and we had a good talk (after the game),” Shell said. “When we go into next week, we will take it one game at a time. As long as we improve as the season goes on, that’s our goal. Hopefully we will make the tournament and learn from all our mistakes and be ready to go when that time comes.”
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: St. John Paul II baseball rallies to defeat Sturgis
