According to Garfield G-Men baseball Coach Michael Paes, senior right-hander Eric Geddes needs no extra motivation when he is on the mound. In the final home game of his varsity career, Geddes tossed a complete game while striking out 16 batters, leading Garfield to a 3-2 victory in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III Northeast 2 sectional championship last Wednesday in Garrettsville.
“Eric just had a great game,” said the ninth-year coach. “Every aspect of the game revolved around him. He did something special and was doing great things all around but really we were in control because of what he did on the mound and what he did because of his bat.”
Having dominated through six innings and holding a 3-2 lead, the 6-foot-3 Geddes was three outs away from a complete game. The Blue Devils mounted a rally in the top of the seventh inning when their first two batters reached on a leadoff walk and an infield single. Geddes responded by striking out the next two batters but walked senior left fielder Chase Bonadio to load the bases.
Sophomore shortstop Frankie Bocar worked Geddes to a 2-2 count and the Garfield senior was two pitches away from hitting the OHSAA pitching limit of 125 pitches. Whether or not he retired Bocar, it would be Geddes’ last batter of the game. If he could not finish off Bocar, then Paes would bring in junior Aiden Hill to relieve Geddes.
The G-Men’s (18-5, 12-2) ace struck out Bocar swinging on his 124th pitch to win the game and send the G-Men back to the district playoffs. After striking out only four batters in the first three innings, Geddes recorded all of his final 12 outs on strikeouts.
“It is insane, especially in a one-run game,” noted Paes. “It was not like it was a 10-0 game or something like where you just blow somebody out. We are talking about a really good Wickliffe team and a quality team that has beaten good team. This was a very quality opponent, striking out 16. This was something special.”
The Ohio Dominican University commit not only dominated on the mound hut he also sparked Garfield’s offense.
In the bottom half of the first inning, he crushed a home run to left field to stake the G-Men to a 1-0 advantage. He continued supplying power when he plated sophomore shortstop Brandyn Bogucki on a RBI-double to center field in the bottom of the third frame and Aiden Hill followed his lead by also hitting a RBI-double to center field, extending Garfield’s lead to 3-0.
“He was responsible for everything that happened to us in a positive manner in this game,” Paes ackowldged. “Every single thing that went through that game went through Eric Geddes and lucky for us he is on our team.”
The Blue Devils struck in the top of the fourth inning when junior first baseman Liam Widemire blasted a two-run home run to left field, trimming Garfield’s lead to 3-2.
After Wickliffe cut into the G-Men’s lead, their offense went cold, recording no hits in the final three innings. While the top of the order went four-for-nine, scoring three runs and recording three RBIs, the bottom of the order only had one hit.
Paes acknowledged that getting every nbatter in the lineup going at the same time has been a challenge and something the G-Men need to correct if they want to advance further in the playoffs.
“The bottom of the order has to hit and has to put something together,” he added. “If you are a team that is going to win the district title, everyone will have to step up and do something, in the field or at-bat or something that can possibly affect the game. It will take all nine.”
After Wickliffe’s two-run home run in the top half of the fourth, Geddes was in complete control. Paes said the senior right-hander kept the Blue Devil hitters off balance by commanding his curveball.
Geddes finished the game by allowing only two runs on three hits, five walks and 16 strikeouts.
“His curveball is a very nice curveball,” he said. “It has a quick break and it breaks a lot in a short amount of time. He does a really good job of keeping the batters off balance and he has been overpowering a lot of kids. There are kids that throw harder than him but the way that he has been spotting and the way he utilizes his curveball has been great.”
Garfield’s post-season run continued when they came from behind to defeat Chagrin Falls 4-3 in the district semi-final on Monday, earning a trip back to the district championship. If they defeat South Range they will advance to the Division III regional semi-final on Thursday, May 30th at Massillon Washington High School.
