LIBERTY TOWNSHIP — Reid Hemrick was dealing.
Orange’s senior right-hander scattered three hits and struck out 11 and the Pioneers handed Liberty its first loss of the season 6-2 in Ohio Capital Conference Central Division baseball action at Liberty on Monday.
An Eastern Michigan recruit, Hemrick kept the potent Liberty lineup off-balance with an arsenal of off-speed pitches. He walked just one and both runs he allowed were unearned.
“I love the fastball, but if I can throw a slider and a changeup for a strike every time, I’m going to do that,” Hemrick said. “They hunt (fastballs) every time.”
Early Offense
Orange (9-4 overall, 7-2 in the OCC Central) got to Liberty ace Parker Van Engelenhoven for a run in the top of the first. Griffin Zavislak drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on Jake Luling’s single to left. Zavislak stole third and scored on a passed ball for a 1-0 lead.
Liberty (14-1, 8-1) answered in the home half of the second.
A.J. Goldmeyer’s fly ball to left center was misplayed for a two-base error. Goldmeyer advanced to third on Drew Hauenstein’s infield single and scored on A.J. Clymer’s sacrifice bunt. Hauenstein scored on Greer Galbreath’s sharp single to center.
Big Inning
Orange scored five runs in the top of the fifth and did it on just two base hits. Van Engelenhoven was uncharacteristically erratic, hitting three batters in the inning. The Louisville recruit hit six batters in the game.
“He throws a lot of pitches away so we’re going to have to be up on the plate and if he comes (inside) we’ve got to wear it because he’s tough to get hits on,” Orange coach Tom Marker said. “We know how good he is.
“He’s an ultimate competitor and I though he carried himself like a pro tonight even in the struggles.”
Leaders
Jake and Colby Luling each had two hits for Orange. Colby Luling scored a run and drove in a run.
“Parker’s slider is kind of unhittable, so I was just trying to get a fastball,” Colby Luling said. “We got some bunts down and some timely hits and walks and it just kind of worked out in our favor.”
Hauenstein, Galbreath and Evan Thacker each had a hit for the Patriots. Clymer and Galbreath drove in runs.
Out of Character
Monday’s performance wasn’t indicative of the way Liberty played during its 14-game winning streak to open the season. The Patriots committed two errors and three pitchers combined to hit seven batters and throw four wild pitches.
“We’ve had great pitching all year,” Liberty coach Ty Brenning said. “And we’ve made nine errors all year.
“When you have two good teams playing against each other the margin of error is always going to be narrow.”
Title Chase
Liberty leads Orange by a game in the chase for the OCC’s Central Division title. The teams will complete the home-and-home series Wednesday at Orange.
“The positive is we get to play on Wednesday,” Brenning said. “And we’ll be ready.”
