Barton Remains Alive In OVBL Finals
Kim North Trending
CRESCENT - With its backs to the wall, things didn't start off very well for Barton Friday night, but the top-seeds didn't panic.
Wheeling led 3-0 after eight pitches in Game 3 of the Ohio Valley Baseball League championship series, but the Braves remained alive with an 8-3 decision on Henning Field inside Pramesa Park.
Game 4 of the best-of-5 format is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. on the Wheeling University diamond at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex in Elm Grove. Should Barton (15-9) win, a fifth, and deciding, game will be played Monday night in Crescent at 6.
"We knew if we won tonight we'd be getting Ben Wach back from the OVAC All-Star Football Game and Kaden Blomquist will be off afternoon shift," veteran Barton manager Billy Timko said. "We will be at full strength and that is what we are looking for."
Barton starter Gavyn Romanyak served up a pair of home runs and a single to the first three Wheeling batters as the Braves quickly found themselves playing from behind. However, the recent Buckeye Local grad settled down and went the distance, striking out six, walking two and allowing seven hits. He threw 95 pitches, with 69 being strikes.
"At that point it was just get out there and throw. I've got a whole team behind me," Romanyak offered. "There was no point in going for strikeouts and being selfish. I trust all of those guys. They can make plays for me."
Following Wheeling's early outburst which saw Jarrod Jones belt a leadoff home run, Sonny Peluchette single to center and Tyler Haskins blast a two-run homer, Barton responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first as Cooper Blackburn scored on an error and Zac Taylor singled in another.
"He's a great pitcher," Timko said. "
That allowed Romanyak to breathe a little easier.
"That gave me a lot more confidence," Romanyak added. "It gave me room to succeed. I'm not the hardest thrower out there. I have to work around everything."
Zach Winland's RBI double - Barton's first extra base hit of the championship series - drove in Aaron Marovich to tie the game in the fourth.
Kobe Hill followed with a single to center as Winland came across to put the Braves ahead, 4-3.
The Braves broke the game open with a three-run fifth, highlighted by RBI singles from Marovich and Hill. A third tally scored on an error.
Barton added an insurance marker in the sixth as Colton Coss raced home on a groundout by Taylor.
The Braves collected 11 hits, one more than they had in the first two games combined, while the Cardinals (14-10) finished with seven, three coming off the bat of Josh Schramm who singled twice and doubled.
Hill, Coss and Marovich all singled twice for Barton.
"We scored those three runs early and then our bats went dead," said Wheeling's Brian Shaw. "The good news is we still have two more games left."