Vermilion, Newark baseball spoil Lancaster's OCC-Buckeye title hopes

NEWARK ― Cayden Vermilion proudly identifies as a Wildcat, but "bulldog" could easily be added to his profile.

First off, Newark's senior right-hander has been sick all week. Then, the important Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division clash with visiting Lancaster started 45 minutes late Friday, with the first three innings played in the rain. Toss in the fact he hit five batters and threw 114 pitches, and it wasn't exactly a recipe for success.

However, Vermilion is not your typical ace. Not only did he still pitch a complete-game five-hitter, but the Wildcats knocked the rival Golden Gales out of a share of the league title with a 7-1 revenge win at Joe Neff Field. Lancaster had won the earlier two meetings.

"Hit-by-pitch is just a part of the game. Guys get hit every game," said Vermilion, who walked two, struck out three and stranded 11 Lancaster runners. "You have to put it behind you and focus on the next batter. It's a mental game, and I have all the confidence when I take the mound. Going in, I am not going let batters beat me, and if they do I have guys behind me that I can rely on to make the plays."

Indeed, Newark (14-7, 11-4), which won its fifth straight, played errorless baseball, with shortstop Moses Crane throwing out seven hitters at first and third baseman Seth Fish stepping on the bag to start a game-ending double play.

"You just know if the ball is hit to Moses, he's going to make the play," Fish said. "I don't even have to look. It's going to be an out."

Added Coach Michael Wheeler: "Crane has probably taken away 15 hits this year, balls that in the past would likely have been hits against us."

Lancaster dropped to 15-6, 12-3, finishing a game back of Pickerington Central (17-3, 13-2), which beat Reynoldsburg 10-0. The Gales had won five in a row to put themselves in this position.

"Vermilion has been pretty good all year, and today he made some good pitches in key situations," Coach Corey Conn said. "And their shortstop played a wonderful game."

Unlike in the earlier 2-0 and 5-3 losses, the Wildcats scored first and were able to add on.

Losing pitcher Colin Ailes walked the bases loaded in the third and Fish blooped an RBI single to right center. Austin Rose followed with an RBI groundout for a 2-0 lead. Then Newark later executed safety squeezes perfectly two times in a row.

In the fourth, Tyler Flint walked, Luke Miller was hit by a pitch and both moved up on a wild pitch by reliever Kam Griffith. Then Dakota Foltz got a bunt down, making it 3-0.

During the game-breaking, three-run fifth, the Wildcats sent nine to the plate. Crane walked for the third consecutive time and Fish singled to right again, and another wild pitch set up Aidan Hamilton's RBI safety squeeze. Flint and Blane Sturm came through with run-scoring singles and the lead grew to 6-0. Hamilton later smacked an RBI double to deep right center, scoring Rose who had been hit by a pitch.

"We had struggled early on this year putting pressure on teams, but when I got that first hit it definitely got us going," Fish said. "The last three practices, we've spent an hour working on bunting, against both the machine and live pitching, and it payed off."

Wheeler was impressed with his team's improved plate approach.

"We took walks, got bunts down, put balls in play and got hits with runners in scoring position," he said. "Getting up early on them is big, because it takes them out of what they want to do. It's taken a while, but I like where we are right now with our hitting."

Meanwhile, Vermilion was working his Houdini escape magic, leaving the bases loaded in the third and fifth innings, and two runners on in the fourth and sixth.

Kathen Hutton singled in the third with two outs and stole second, and Zach Mowder and Griffith walked, but Owen Pompey bounced to short. Vermilion hit Jackson Burke and Jakob Akers with one out in the fourth, but struck out Aiden Henson and got Carson Miller to pop up. He hit two more in the fifth, sandwiched around Pompey's single, but Burke grounded out to the ever-present Crane.

Hutton's sacrifice fly in the sixth scored Henson, who was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on Miller's single. However, Mowder lined to second.

"We just couldn't get the next hit," Conn lamented. "We got that big double play ending the second then loaded the bases, but couldn't keep the momentum."

Wheeler said Newark is confident every time Vermilion takes the mound. He earlier had lost at home to Lancaster.

"He's a really tough kid, and no matter what happens, he's not going to implode. He's still going to be that guy," Wheeler said. "He's pitched our big games all season, and if he gets that lead the kids know we have a good chance to win. We talked in the dugout about taking him out after six, but I asked him how he was, and he said, 'I feel good.' "

Despite battling illness, Vermilion had a little extra bounce to him Friday.

"Just knowing it was our last scheduled home game, in my last year, I was going to go out and do whatever it took to get this win," he said. "Especially against this team."

Pompey had two hits for Lancaster, which still has plenty to play for. Division I district pairings will be made Sunday.

"We'll shift our focus to the tournament," Conn said. "I still feel like we have a good team, and some of our goals are still in front of us."

Wheeler said it was a good win heading toward the postseason.

"It's always a big game for us, and going into it knowing they could win the league, it was a great game," he said. "It felt like a tournament game."

Fish said Newark could be a tourney threat, if it swings the bats well.

"We lost our first three games, and it wasn't looking so good," he said. "But we knew the pitching was there, and if our bats are on, we can be a tough team to beat."

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Vermilion, Newark baseball spoil Lancaster's OCC-Buckeye title hopes