Kirtland vs. Grand Valley baseball: Mustangs stop Hornets’ historic postseason run

Massillon >> The Kirtland baseball team took one on the chin at Ducky Schroeder Field in Massillon on May 24.

Literally.

Michael McGovern’s chopper to third in the bottom of the seventh inning hit the cut of the grass, richocheted off the chin of Kirtland third baseman Ryan Lipps, allowing Logan Newell to score the winning run in Grand Valley’s 4-3 victory over the Hornets in the second of two regional semifinal games.

The Mustangs (17-7) advance to the regional championship game on May 25 to play South Range for the right to advance to the state tournament.

“Unbelievable. Heartbreaking,” said Kirtland coach Luke Smrdel. “It’s definitely heartbreaking. Congratulations to (Grand Valley). That’s a great team we lost to and they played a great game.

“What can you say?”

With one out in a 3-3 game, Newell was hit by a pitch by Kirtland starter Tyler McCrory. After stealing second base, Newell went to third on a grounder by Gordon Seger.

McGovern, who an inning earlier tied the game on a single to right, hit a sharp chopper to third. When it hit the cut of the grass, it skipped and hit Lipps square in the chin and shot upward. By the time Lipps corralled the ball, Newell was already across home plate and the Mustangs’ celebration was in full force.

“I saw it taking weird hops coming in,” Lipps said. “I took a step back and it took a bad hop and got me right on the chin.”

McGovern, playing baseball for the first time in six years after running track the previous three years at Grand Valley, was somewhat of an unlikely hero. He struck out in his first two at-bats and in doing so left three runs in scoring position.

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders after his last two at-bats produced RBI.

“If you hit .500, you’re a first-ballot hall-of-famer,” he said. “When I struck out twice, I was like, ‘Well, I have two more at-bats to make something happen.’”

Kirtland (14-13) scored first when McCrory singled with two outs in the first to score Mike Zeuli. But the Mustangs pulled even in the bottom of the inning when Seger’s sacrifice fly plated Robert Miller.

In the fourth, Grand Valley’s Nick Reichek tripled to deep right off the top of the glove of Kirtland’s Tyler Bratton to score Edwin Hostetler. But that lead was short-lived, because Kirtland tallied two unearned runs in the fifth when Seann McGill scored on a booted grounder and Zeuli came across on a wild pitch.

McGovern’s RBI in the sixth tied it to set up the thrilling end.

Kirtland was hurt twice, once when Bratton was caught stealing in the second and again when Joey Torok was picked off in the third. Two batters after Torok was picked off, Zeuli doubled, which would have scored Torok, since McGill was hit by a pitch immediately after Torok was out.

“Torok stole 46 bases and I never saw him get picked off,” Smrdel said. “(The pickoff move) was borderline, let’s put it that way. It cost us a run.”

Smrdel praised his players for getting the Hornets to the regional tournament for the first time in program history.

“We’ve been on a roller-coaster ride all year,” he said. “To end this way is heartbreaking for everyone involved. But it was a fantastic season for us.”

Rubbing his swollen chin and checking his gums for blood, Lipps said the Hornets had confidence to get to the state tournament.

“I think they can get back here next year,” he said, “get further and finish what we started.”

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