Webster Thomas uses big fifth to beat Brighton

By PAUL GOTHAM

WEBSTER, N.Y. — Webster Thomas sent nine batters to the plate in a decisive fifth inning, and Nick Olmo hurled 2.2 innings of scoreless frames relief as the host Titans (9-2) rallied to defeat Brighton (5-4) in Section V Baseball action on Monday.

Nate Hill and Shane Talbot connected on back-to-back two-out RBI hits to cap the decisive fifth.

“Very proud of the way the kids battled back,” Webster Thomas head coach Kevin Neenan said. “We didn’t play our cleanest baseball, and we had some hiccups here and there, but the kids just kept battling and finding a way.”

Hill drove in Adam Zlotkus and Josh Butka to tie the game. The senior second baseman moved to second on a throw to the plate and came around on Talbot’s base hit to right center.

“That’s what’s great about this group,” Neenan said. “They find a way. They just keep hanging in every game we’ve had. Even if we lose, we battle right to the end. They get good at-bats. They keep fighting to get it done.”

Nate Hill plates two with a two-out single to tie the score. Shane Talbot follows with a single. ⁦@TitansBBall18⁩ 9-8 in the fifth. pic.twitter.com/ta1gsdyqG1

— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 24, 2023

Olmo made the one-run lead stand. The senior reliever struck out seven for his first win of the season.

“He did a heckuva job,” Neenan said. “He came in and threw strikes and kept them off-balance. He did exactly what he needed to finish it.”

Olmo took over on the mound with runners on second and third, one out in the fifth and Thomas trailing 7-5. The right-hander induced a ground ball to the right side of the infield from the first batter he faced and then nailed down his first strike out to end the threat.

“Sometimes you bring a kid in who hasn’t had a chance to throw,” said Neenan pointing out that Olmo was playing third base before taking over as a reliever. “That’s a little harder to get loose. I thought he did a good job of getting us through that inning.

“Once he got out of that inning, we had him throw a little bit extra (on the side). He got his curve ball over, and I thought his fastball had a little bit more pop toward the end.”

The only batter to reach on Olmo came as the result of a dropped third strike to lead the sixth. He got the next hitter to pop up to his first baseman Joey Baller before fanning the next two to end the inning.

“The arm felt really good,” Olmo said. “I just pounded the zone, simple as that.”

With a straight-ahead fastball-curveball mix, he did not allow a ball out of the infield.

“They just really couldn’t catch up to the fastball, and the curveball was moving a lot today.”

At the plate, Olmo led the decisive fifth with a single, his second hit of the game, before giving way to a pinch-runner. Walks to Zlotkus and Mason Lawyer loaded the bases with one out. Butka reached on a fielder’s choice. A play that Neenan didn’t overlook.

“Josh beat out a double play to score a run. Those are the little things. We had two of those where we scored runs. Could have been double play balls, but we were running hard down the line, doing that hard-90, and it kept the inning alive.”

Nick Olmo’s one-out single scores Shane Talbot from second. ⁦@TitansBBall18⁩ 3-1 in the third. pic.twitter.com/OYWjgEqRhs

— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 24, 2023

Butka finished 2-for-5 on the day. Talbot reached base all four times he came to the plate with three walks and a hit. Lawyer, hitting out of the nine-hole, went 2-for-2 with a walk, hit by pitch and two runs scored. Zlotkus scored two runs.

Brighton’s Andrew Kotrides, Andrew Cranston and Cole Fikes connected on consecutive base hits in the fourth inning when Brighton sent 10 to the plate and scored six runs to take a 7-4 lead.

Nolan Bonnell led inning with a walk. John Ahrens singled. Will Pecor walked to load the bases, and Kotrides followed with a single to bring in the first run of the frame. Carter Sloan capped the inning with an RBI double to left field.

Andrew Cranston reaches out and singles through the right side. John Ahrens scores on the play. ⁦@BBruinsbaseball⁩ has the cut deficit to one at 4-3 with one out in the fourth. pic.twitter.com/WOILsIs3dA

— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 24, 2023

Wes Sturrup was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI for Brighton. Ahrens went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Kotrides had two hits including a double in four at-bats. Cranston was 2-for-3 with two RBI.

The same two teams meet again on Wednesday at Brighton.