Granville baseball still standing after heavyweight bout with Watkins Memorial

PATASKALA — Andrew Nemec was far from perfect Thursday, but he still had the final say in a riveting Licking County League-Buckeye Division battle.

Touched up for six runs on 11 hits by hard-hitting Watkins Memorial, following last week's perfect game at Mount Vernon, he still kept Granville in the game before reaching the pitch limit in the seventh inning. Shifting to first base, Nemec threw out the tying run at the plate just one pitch later, giving the visiting Blue Aces a pulsating 7-6 victory.

"That's the most he's ever thrown, but he wanted it," coach Brock Bolden said after Granville (14-4, 8-3) avenged a 12-6 home loss and handed the Warriors (15-3, 10-1) their first league setback of the season. "I guess he was still able to close it out in his own way."

"The energy in our dugout was unreal," Nemec said. "They got up, got active and it messes with the other team. It's a pretty good rivalry. We split with them last year, and we were able to get them today and do it again."

The LCL heavyweights traded punches through the final three innings. The Blue Aces jumped ahead 5-2 in the fifth, on Sawyer Benschoter's RBI double and a throwing error. But Cullen McFarland blasted a two-out, three-run homer, after Ethan Ryan and Nate Younker had singled, forging a 5-5 tie. Dylan Andrews beat out an infield hit in the sixth and Conner Buerkel raced all the way home from second to score as Granville led 6-5. Back came Watkins to tie it again, Caleb Wheeler doubling with two out and scoring on Alec Bennett's single.

Granville freshman Ezra Kurek ripped an RBI double in the seventh, plating Aidan Lackey who had singled, for what proved to be the winning run. "I know I'm a freshman, but I don't feel intimidated at all," Kurek said. "I'm going to put my best swing on your best pitch. I got a fastball and swung as hard as I could."

This one was far from over, however. McFarland and Liston Shroyer singled, putting Warriors at first-and-third with one out and chasing Nemec. Andrews relieved and got Michael Olson to pop out to Nemec in foul territory, just beyond first base. Nemec turned and threw a strike to catcher Buerkel, who ended the game by tagging out McFarland trying to tag up and score.

"It was a big win, especially for our seniors," Kurek said. "It means the world to them. There was a lot of trash talk on social media. It's just fun."

The Blue Aces always managed to stay just a step ahead of Watkins. Nemec singled in Benschoter in the first and Lackey doubled home Benschoter in the third for a 2-0 edge. Nemec retired the first six Warriors, extending his perfect string to 27. But in the third, Caleb Wheeler had an infield single and came all the way around on a throwing error on Bennett's bunt single. He then scored on Ryan's sacrifice fly for a 2-2 tie. Adrian Mangine's sacrifice fly put Granville up 3-2 in the fourth as they never relinquished the lead.

"Every time we scored, they had a way to respond," Watkins coach Don Schone said. "We responded too, but they did one more time than us. He (Nemec) is obviously a great pitcher, but once we got settled in, we were good. It was a great game. You hate to come out on the losing end, but I love playing good competition. We were prepared, and they were prepared."

"We've been in games like this, that go back and forth. We just had one with Johnstown," Bolden said. "You just go out and try to win each inning."

Benschoter, Lackey, Nemec and Kurek all had two hits for the winners and Dylan Kale doubled. Nemec struck out five and walked one over 6.1 innings to get the win, allowing four earned runs.

"This came at a really good time for us," Bolden said. "They're a really, really good team, and it gave us a big confidence boost going into the tournament."

McFarland and the bottom of Watkins' order (Wheeler, Bennett and Ryan) each had two hits for the Warriors, and Olson doubled. McFarland took the loss in relief of Trace Hartman, who yielded six runs, three earned, and seven hits over the first five innings, striking out three and walking two.

"They're a fantastic team, the best hitting team I've faced," Nemec said. "They were able to go deep in at bats and get my pitch count up, and that's what you want to do."

Watkins still holds a two-game lead in the LCL-Buckeye and figures to get a decent seed in Sunday's Division I tournament draw.

"We have a veteran group with a lot of talent," Schone said. "They'll bounce right back."

dweidig@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Granville still standing after heavyweight bout with Watkins Memorial