JOHNSONBURG — Playing four games in a row will catch up to most high school baseball teams. On Thursday, it sank the Bradford Owls.
Bradford lost its regular season finale to Johnsonburg 10-2, putting them at an even 10-10 mark to close out the 2018 campaign.
The Owls, with a lack of available arms, turned to junior Vinny Burgess on the mound for his first career start in what was also his first varsity appearance.
Burgess threw well over the game’s first four innings, allowing just three runs heading into the bottom of the fifth with his team trailing by just one.
In that inning, however, the Johnsonburg (12-4) batters figured out Burgess and broke the game wide open.
After a fielding error and a walk to begin the inning, the Rams strung together three consecutive run-scoring hits. Ben Freeburg had a two-run single, and the four-run inning was capped off by a successful suicide squeeze off the bat of Tyler Singer.
“Vinny gave us a chance,” Bradford head coach Andy Carlson said. “He let up seven and I know the numbers at the end aren’t going to look very good, but he pitched well. Four of those were in the last inning and there were some unearned along the way. He gave us a chance and that’s all we can ask from a kid in his first varsity appearance.”
Bradford’s relieving duo of Hunter Gray and Austin Davis combine to allow three more runs in the sixth inning.
“To be honest, it was a combination of trying to get younger guys some time in the field and our fourth game in a row. We had none of our top pitchers today, they were all unavailable.”
Carlson did use an array of underclassmen in the game, keeping a balance of his regular lineup and awarding playing time.
On offense, the Owls once again struggled to get any consistent hitting. For the fifth time in their last seven games, Bradford was held to two runs or less.
On Thursday, they had plenty of chances to break out of that slump.
The Owls got a run on an RBI double from Isaac Gralak in the fourth inning, but then proceeded to strand runners on second and third with just one out following Gralak’s hit. In the fifth inning, Bradford left the bases loaded without scoring a run.
“They swung the bat better today (than Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Punxsutawney), but we just didn’t get the hits with guys in scoring position,” Carlson said. “We haven’t done that for awhile and I think we’re due. We are all due. I literally told the guys verbatim after the game, ‘Everybody is due except for Dan (Manion), because he’s hitting .500.’”
Manion was held without a hit on Thursday, but has been Bradford’s best hitter of late. Catcher Caleb Nuzzo had two of the Owls’ five hits against the Rams, and added a walk.
For as much as the Owls have been struggling to hit the ball of late, they also ran into Johnsonburg’s top pitcher.
Johnny Mitchell went 4 2/3 with six strikeouts and four hits allowed. Although he struggled with his command at points with four walks, Mitchell found the strike zone before much damage could be done.
He also added two hits and two RBI to help his own cause at the plate.
Thursday’s game ends what has certainly been a bit of a roller coaster season for the Owls. Bradford has alternated wins and losses for most of the season, dealing with weather, a few injuries and this current scoring drought along the way.
“The season’s been really long but short at the same time,” Carlson said with a smile. “We’ve compressed at least over half of our season over the last three weeks. We were supposed to play on March 29th and we started on April 11.”
“We have just been behind. It’s gotten a lot of guys opportunities on the mound and it’s stretched us out a little bit. I think we’re a little bit of a better team than our record shows.”
Bradford knows the date of its first round playoff game, but not its opponent. The Owls will play either Clearfield or St. Marys next Wednesday in the Class AAAA semifinals.
As Carlson has been saying for the last several weeks, don’t count out the Owls. Especially with a roster of players who upset top-seeded St. Marys in those playoffs last year.
“I like our chances. I think they’re great because they didn’t think we were going to beat them last year and we did.”
AT JOHNSONBURG
R H E
Bradford 001 010 0 2 5 1
Johnsonburg 102 043 X 10 9 0
Vinny Burgess (2 SO, 1 BB), Hunter Gray (5) (3 BB), Austen Davis (6) (1 SO), and Caleb Nuzzo
Johnny Mitchell (6 SO, 4 BB), Austin Greene (1 SO, 1 BB), and Zack Zameroski
