ST. MARYS — Hunter Cashmer spun a gem on the mound for Elk County Catholic, and in return, his teammates rewarded him with a late rally to lift the Crusaders over Coudersport 5-3 in the opening round of the Elk County Tournament on Wednesday.
Cashmer turned in a complete game and allowed just three runs on seven hits, and ECC (6-5) overcame three errors in the field to stymie Coudy’s potent offense that had scored ten or more runs in three of its last four games.
“The composure of Hunter today was just remarkable,” said ECC coach James Slay. “And the efficiency he showed to pitch a complete game was impressive. Hunter is special, and he did a great job for us today.”
Cashmer finished the game with five strikeouts and just three walks. Of his 85 pitches during the contest, 57 were strikes.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the ace, though. Coudersport (9-3) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead after the second frame.
Jackson Glover and A.J. Redmond, the seventh and eighth batters for Coudersport, singled to lead the inning off, and then Hunter Redmond bunted the two over into scoring position to roll the lineup over.
Owen Chambers manufactured a run on a groundout, and then starting pitcher Kolby VanWhy picked up a walk to put two runners back on for the Falcons.
Then, Eli Ayers drove a pitch into the left-center gap for a two-RBI double and a 3-0 Falcon lead.
“For most of this season, I’ve been very pleased with the bottom of our lineup,” said Coudersport coach Doug McClintic. “They’ve been one of our strengths, even when the top of the lineup has struggled. They’ve been there for us this year, and in this game they were there for us.”
In the top of the fourth, Elk Catholic got things going as Alec Wehler led off with a double, one of his three hits on the night, and then Dan Wimer and Taylor Boland earned walks to load the bases with one out.
Sensing trouble, Coudersport coach Doug McClintic put A.J. Redmond on the mound in relief for VanWhy.
Redmond limited the damage to two runs, one scored on a fielder’s choice and the other on an error.
“Kolby seemed to drop off there after the third. He’s a senior that I trust immensely, though,” McClintic said. “To split hairs, I don’t think he got some calls that could have gone the other way which would’ve shortened the innings and kept him alive. But A.J. came in and as a sophomore, he’s got nothing but upside. I have complete confidence in both of those guys.”
Elk Catholic again loaded the bases in the fifth, this time with two outs, but Redmond forced Cashmer into a pop-fly to right field to retain the 3-2 lead.
The Crusaders had one final chance in the top of the seventh with bases loaded and one out, and this time, they capitalized.
Uberti and Wehler singled with one down to get on, and then an error allowed a third runner to reach to load the bases.
Then, Cashmer grounded into a fielder’s choice that drove in the tying run. Boland followed that up with a two-RBI single to give the Crusaders a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the frame, and then Cashmer slammed the door on Coudy to secure the victory.
“Of any game we’ve played, I’m most proud of this game. We were down, had adversity, but played with a lot of heart. These boys did an outstanding job,” Slay said. “Hunter with the tying score and then Will scoring two runs to cap it off was timely.”
Boland finished the game with two RBI, and Cashmer and Alex Fedus each had one. Uberti turned in a 2-for-4 performance, and in all, six different Crusaders finished with a hit on the day.
Ayers led the Falcons with two RBI on a 2-for-4 day, and Chambers added the team’s other RBI on a 1-for-4 performance.
Coudersport will look to rebound today in the consolation game against Johnsonburg at 4 p.m.
“We have to go out and compete and get the guys to go out and compete,” McClintic said. “We were on fire those first two innings and then just laid down. This team is special, but it needs to go out and compete like Elk Catholic did today.”
Elk County Catholic will play in the tournament championship against St. Marys. That game is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m.
