NEW PHILADELPHIA — Visiting Mount Vernon landed the first blow in a two-game Ohio Cardinal Conference title showdown with New Philadelphia by rolling to a 12-1 five-inning baseball win over the Quakers on Tuesday at Tuscora Park.
In doing so, the Yellow Jackets gained at least a share of the OCC baseball crown, but the good news for New Philadelphia is this: The two teams turn around and play Game 2 of their series Wednesday in Mount Vernon, and if the Quakers win, they will share the league crown with the ’Jackets.
“That’s the beauty of playing back-to-back and the beauty of what we’ve done this season, we’ve got a chance tomorrow and that’s all we can ask for,” New Philadelphia coach Tyler Weisel said. “In the huddle after the postgame, it was, 'Hey, let’s get this one out of our heads, let’s get locked in tomorrow and let’s bring the juice.'”
For New Philadelphia, that helps take the sting out of Tuesday’s one-sided loss to the Yellow Jackets, which jumped on the Quakers early and never looked back. Mount Vernon, which banged out 15 hits in the game, went out to a 7-0 lead in the second inning and added two more runs in the third frame and three in the fifth to gain a share of the league crown.
“Since Day 1 that’s how they swing it,” Mount Vernon coach Nate Hunt said of his team’s offensive barrage. “They take pride in their swings and when they come into practice it’s the same thing — they get upset when they pop out in practice because it carries over into a game.”
“I think it comes down to the simple word of competitiveness,” Weisel said of Tuesday’s loss. “I just don’t think we had it early on today and that was kind of in all facets of the game. They brought it today and we didn’t. They executed and they threw a lot more strikes than we did. At the end of the day that was the deciding factor in the game.”
With the setback, New Philadelphia is now 13-5 overall and 10-3 in the OCC.
With the win, Mount Vernon is now 18-3 overall and 11-2 in the OCC. The Yellow Jackets have won 15 straight games.
Mount Vernon’s right-handed pitcher Konner Daughriety twirled a two-hitter against the Quakers. The senior standout struck out seven and walked two in securing the complete-game triumph.
“Believe it or not, he just became a pitcher this year,” Hunt said of Daughriety. “He’s been a starter for us at third base since being a freshman and he’s also been our best hitter. When you put him on the bump, he just has that sense of confidence and the ability to make adjustments.”
New Philadelphia’s two hits in the game belonged to Mason Caterina and Keaton Fausel who both recorded singles.
New Philadelphia starter Sam Rufennacht worked the first 1⅔ innings and suffered the loss. Keaton Fausel and Jackson Norris pitched in relief for the Quakers.
Leading Mount Vernon’s offensive onslaught were Jonny Askew with two doubles and three RBIs, Zac Clow with a home run and an RBI single, Ezra Kurek with a double and a two-RBI single, Kayden Packard with a double, two singles and three RBIs, and Isiah Columber with three singles and an RBI. Daughriety, Caden Thiebert and Jagger Dohn also contributed singles.
After a scoreless first inning, the Yellow Jackets plated seven runs in the second frame, with the big blows coming on a two-RBI single by Kurek and a two-RBI double to left center by Askew.
The Yellow Jackets upped their advantage to 9-0 in the top of the third on an RBI sac fly by Daughriety and an RBI double to left field off the bat of Packard.
The Quakers plated their lone run of the game and briefly cut the deficit to 9-1 in the bottom of the third inning. Caleb Crowthers drew a one-out walk, moved up to second on a wild pitch and to third on a sacrifice ground ball out by Braylon McBride. Crowthers then scrambled home to score on a wild pitch by Daughriety.
But Mount Vernon tacked on three more runs to up its advantage to 12-1 in the top of the fifth, with the big hit coming via a towering solo home run over the left field fence by Clow.
Daughriety then closed out the five-inning win for the Yellow Jackets by setting the Quakers down in order in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“The intensity both on the bases and in the box is something that we've tried to instill since Day 1,” Hunt said. "They’ve been working for this since the day after Thanksgiving, whether it’s in the weight room or the sprints, I wanted them to reap the benefits of all the hard work that they’ve put in and they did that tonight.”
Turning to Wednesday’s crucial Part 2 of the OCC championship series, Weisel will send Owen Courtney to the mound for the Quakers.
“He’s been our Wednesday guy all year long,” Weisel said. “We’re confident with him and he’s got to go out and execute and we’ve got to go out and execute offensively and bring the energy and the juice. If we go out and do our thing tomorrow, we’ll split the title.”
Meanwhile, Hunt said Mount Vernon will send junior right-hander Kayden Packard to the hill.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Mount Vernon wins first of two-game conference title showdown against New Philadelphia
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