Getting off to an 0-7 start did not bode well for the Ravenna Ravens’ baseball team but they seemed to have turned things around. Ravenna shut out John Hay 12-0 in to run winning streak to three consecutive victories last Saturday afternoon at Ravenna Rotary Field.
“It is always good to get a streak going,” said Coach Lee Lovejoy. “This group of guys had some success last year but a lot of young guys are in the line-up so they really took it to their heads as far as losses go so it is good to get these guys going and get some wins and seeing some confidence of a young team.”
It has been a while since the Ravens (3-7, 0-5) have enjoyed a winning streak with the 2021 season being the last time the team won consecutive games. Through Ravenna’s three-game winning streak, it has outscored the opposition by a 26-11 margin, a nice difference after scoring only three runs in the previous four games.
The second-year coach acknowledged that his team is finally settling down at the plate after trying to press too much during the losing streak.
“We have a lot of young guys and are asking a lot of them but at the same time we started against Field and Woodridge, who are year in and year out the top teams in our conference so we definitely had some tough match-ups there,” he added
On Saturday, Ravenna experienced one of its best innings of the season by scoring six runs on four hits in the opening frame. Although the Ravens recorded four hits, five of their runs came courtesy of some alert baserunning.
Senior right-hander Curtis Carter and freshman catcher Chris Moore got their wires crossed by throwing six wild pitches and Moore allowing three passed balls in the first inning.
After junior third baseman Nic Brazelton plated the game’s first run on a RBI-single to center field, he took second base on the throw home and scored from second base on a wild pitch, pushing Ravenna ahead 2-0.
Sophomore first baseman Logan Hysell doubled to center field and went to third base on a wild pitch then scored on a passed ball and the cycle of taking extra bases continued throughout the inning, allowing Ravenna to build a 6-0 advantage.
Lovejoy said it would have been nice to his players have the chance to drive runs in the old-fashioned way but would not complain about scoring five runs by capitalizing on Hornet defensive miscues.
“Our guys did a good job at being and staying aggressive and staying in the game and playing the game as expected,” he said.
Sophomore right-hander Jeriah Miller settled in with a six-run cushion after the first inning and hurled five innings, surrendering zero runs while allowing only one hit, walking no one and striking out nine John Hay batters.
“Jeriah did a great job,” Lovejoy noted. “He filled up the zone in the first through fifth inning and worked ahead of batters. He was not in too many three-ball counts and never had a walk all day. He had 62 pitches and 48 of those were strikes today and he was definitely filling it up in the zone and had the confidence to keep throwing strikes and let his defense work when they needed to.”
According to Lovejoy, Miller has primarily been used as a reliever this season but got a spot start on Saturday afternoon. Based on his dominating performance, Lovejoy said Miller would be in further consideration to get more starts this season.
With a roster containing only two juniors, Ravenna’s struggles have come on the mound, with a young pitching staff consisting of junior right-hander James Evans, sophomore righty Connor Welling and Hysell receiving the bulk of the innings.
“We do have our struggles there for sure and are still learning to throw strikes and pitch to contact,” Lovejoy said. “it is hard to defend a walk. Some of our struggles have been we have had too many walks in those games that we have lost.”
Miller’s stellar performance was a nice boost for a Ravenna rotation that has strived to string quality outings.
Although Carter escaped the first inning, Ravenna continued peppering him and ended his day after three innings, having allowed 10 runs, seven earned, on nine hits while issuing two walks and striking out six batters.
The Ravens continued adding to their lead by scoring a pair of runs in the next three innings to take a commanding 12-0 advantage and ended the game early by triggering the 10-run mercy rule.
Ravenna’s winning streak extended to four games when it defeated Metro Athletic Conference foe Akron Coventry 18-11 in a road game on Monday night.
Following a home game against Akron Coventry on Tuesday and a road contest against neighborhood rival Southeast on Thursday, the Ravens will host Portage County foe Mogadore on Friday at 5 p.m.
