West Branch Uses 8-Run 11th Inning to Drop Baseball 18-10
West Branch 18, Louisville 10, 11 Innings
After four postponements, the Louisville Leopards Varsity Baseball Team finally finished their suspended 
game with the visiting West Branch Warriors Friday Evening LHS. After a fantastic back-and-forth game earlier on March 31, the ending was disastrous for Louisville as West Branch scored 8 runs in the top of the 11th to claim an 18-10 victory. With the loss, Louisville drops to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the NBC.
The contest featured 28 runs, 35 hits, and 6 lead changes. Stephen Kerzan and Cam White led the Leopards by each batting 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs a piece. Kerzan cracked a triple in to kick-start Louisville’s 5-run third inning. White also had a pair of RBI doubles to help the Leopards build a 9-4 lead at the end of the fourth.
The Warriors rallied back with 6 runs over the next three innings to take the lead at 10-9. West Branch was led in the game by Hunter Steele who went 3-for-7 with 2 doubles, 5 RBIs, and 3 runs scored. Other key contributors for the Warriors included Jon Snyder who had 4 hits, Rylee Wallace who finished with 3 hits, and Connor Hedrick & Tyler Goode who drove in 3 runs each.
The Warriors looked to put the game away in the bottom of the seventh as they obtained two quick outs. However, Leopards Centerfielder Tyler Adams had other plans as he launched an 0-1 pitch over the Left Field wall to knot the game at 10-10.
Louisville would load the bases in the bottom of the eighth with 2 outs. The second pitch of the next at-
bat found the dirt and looked to be heading toward the backstop. But the ball eerily slowed in the grass behind home plate. West Branch Catcher Seth Schroeder alertly grabbed the ball and a pickle ensued. The Third Baseman, Goode, made the putout to end the frame and the game was called due to darkness.
An attempt to finish the game was made the next day. The teams competed in two scoreless innings before Mother Nature took over for that night, on April 8, and on April 11.
The game finally resumed Friday and the Warriors exploded for 8 runs in the top of the 11th inning. West Branch effectively used three bunts to score the go-ahead run. Steele also hit a 2-run double to lead the onslaught.
West Branch has now defeated Louisville in 3 consecutive meetings. The victory leaves the Warriors tied with Marlington for first place in the NBC. West Branch is now 8-3 overall and 5-1 in the conference.
UP NEXT: The Leopards Varsity will next travel to GlenOak for a Double Header with the Golden Eagles on Saturday, April 2 starting at 11:00 AM. JV & Freshman will be Home during the same time. Freshman will also travel to Canfield on Friday, April 1 to take on the Cardinals at 5:00 PM.
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VARSITY BOX SCORE
WARRIORS 18, LEOPARDS 10, 11 INNINGS
Team 123-456-789-(10)(11)–R-H-E
West Branch 004-014-100-08–18-21-4
Louisville 115-200-100-00–10-14-4
WEST BRANCH WARRIORS VARSITY BATTING
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Snyder | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Seth Schroeder | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Hunter Steele | 7 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyler Goode | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Trae Hillyer | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Connor Hedrick | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Rylee Wallace | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Austin Smith | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TJ DeShields | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brant Alazaus | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Josh Stahler | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gino Sabatine | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 51 | 18 | 21 | 17 | 8 | 8 |
WEST BRANCH WARRIORS VARSITY PITCHING
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | K | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Snyder | 3.0 | 69 | .565 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Gino Sabatine | 4.2 | 72 | .583 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Brant Alazaus | 3.0 | 35 | .714 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Rylee Wallace | 0.1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 11.0 | 176 | .602 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 1 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS VARSITY BATTING
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Adams | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jake Adams | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey White | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Stephen Kerzan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Cam White | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Nick Harsh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dalton Deckerd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Brock Haren | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Brody Hahn | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Reis Rankin | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Paul Howard | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tyler Croxton | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Isaac Mathie | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nathan Mongiardo | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Trevor Burk | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Carson Davis | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 46 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 7 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS VARSITY PITCHING
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | K | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Howard | 5.1 | 105 | .657 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Carson Davis | 0.0 | 11 | .273 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Stephen Kerzan | 2.2 | 40 | .600 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Brody Hahn | 2.1 | 50 | .600 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Tyler Croxton | 0.2 | 8 | .875 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 11.0 | 214 | .621 | 21 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
Records: West Branch 8-3, 5-1; Louisville 3-6, 2-4
JV: Louisville 13, West Branch 3, 6 Innings
Back on March 31, the Leopards JV Team downed the host West Branch Warriors 13-3 in 6 Innings. Louisville remains undefeated on the year so far.
Dillon Deckerd went 2-for-4 with a double and 4 RBIs to lead the Leopards. Anthony Carpico also batted 2-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in.
Louisville finished with 14 hits as a team. Also recording multiple hits were Drew Doerschuk, Brendon Hoffman, Cam Prasco, and Bryce Zuppe.
JV BOX SCORE
LEOPARDS 13, WARRIORS 3, 6 INNINGS
Team 123-456–R-H-E
Louisville 330-214–13-14-0
West Branch 101-001–3-7-3
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS JV BATTING
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Wahl | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bryce Zuppe | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Anthony Carpico | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Brendon Hoffman | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dillon Deckerd | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Davis | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Budinski | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Cam Prasco | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Drew Doerschuk | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Max Hartline | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Dillon English | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Zack Yadrnak | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 30 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 5 |
LOUISVILLE LEOPARDS JV PITCHING
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | K | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Davis | 2.0 | 53 | .453 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Eddie Budinski | 2.0 | 43 | .535 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bryce Zuppe | 2.0 | 27 | .593 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 6.0 | 123 | .512 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
WEST BRANCH WARRIORS JV BATTING
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuserta | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Walker | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Steele | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bates | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Gurney | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Metzger | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wilson | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lyons | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Harris | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Castellucci | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Crick | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ritchie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joseph | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 24 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
WEST BRANCH WARRIORS JV PITCHING
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | K | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metzger | 1.2 | 33 | .697 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Harris | 3.1 | 63 | .571 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Castellucci | 0.0 | 28 | .429 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Joseph | 1.0 | 6 | .667 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 6.0 | 130 | .577 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
Records: Louisville 3-0, 2-0
