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Toronto Post 86 splits with Barnesville

TORONTO ­– A tale of two games resulted in a split.

The Toronto Post 86 Legion baseball team edged past Barnesville Post 168, 1-0, in a pitcher’s dual in Game 1 of a doubleheader before Barnesville came out on top, 13-6, in a wild affair in Game 2 Sunday afternoon at the Knights Baseball Complex.

The teams combined for four hits in the opener with the winning run being scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning.

There were 18 hits in the second game, but many of the 19 runs scored as a result of errors. The teams combined to committ 14 errors — 10 of which were committed by Toronto.

With the split, Toronto is now 2-3, while Barnesville is 1-5.

Coy Amis picked up the win for Post 86 in the opener. Amis struck out six, walked two and only gave up a one-out single in the first inning en route to recording the complete game shutout.

“Amis pitched a whale of a game,” Barnesville head coach Chris Hannahs said. “We could not square him up. We hit the ball off of the handle. We only had one or two hits.”

Jagger Jefferis pitched well for Post 168, but he ended up taking the loss. Jefferis struck out five, walked four and allowed three hits in his six innings of work on the mound.

“Both pitchers threw really well,” Toronto head coach Steve Sninchak said. “We were fortunate to be able to take advantage of a couple of miscues.”

Amis led off the sixth with a base hit, and he advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Connor Ramsey. Amis then advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a wild pitch to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.

Jefferis struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning.

“Jagger pitched phenomenal,” Hannahs said. “He threw 100 pitches. They only had three hits. The first one came on a bad hop, and they had one on a soft liner.

“Both pitchers pitched well. We could not square Amis up. We got beat on a wild pitch.”

Amis retired Barnesville in order in the seventh to end the game.

“He threw strikes,” Sninchak said. “He stayed ahead. He stayed out of full counts. He worked ahead. They weren’t able to barrel balls up. He kept them off-stride. They could not square up his pitches. When they put the ball in play, we made the plays.”

Nick Chetock and Jory Clapham also collected base hits for Toronto in the victory.

“He’s a good pitcher,” Sninchak said about Jefferis. “He has a good off-speed pitch, and he was able to hit his locations.”

Cody Morrison contributed the lone hit for Barnesville.

“Amis had six strikeouts,” Hannahs said. “He did a good job. We had some pop ups. They got a couple of charitable hops that went right to them. It was a well-played game. We just have to regroup for the second game.

“I know they don’t have all of the starters here from their state championship team, but they still have plenty of talented athletes.”

Post 86 had a couple of chances to score before the sixth, but Jefferis was able to bear down and keep Toronto off of the scoreboard.

“He kept us off-stride,” Sninchak said. “We took good approaches to the plate. He was just able to make pitches when he had to.”

Post 168 plated the first eight runs in Game 2 before holding on for the win.

Post 86 pulled to within 8-5 and had a runner in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the fifth, but Toronto was unable to get any closer.

Barnesville tallied five runs in the sixth to build a 13-5 advantage.

Toronto tacked on a run in the seventh.

Zach Thompson picked up the win in the second game for Barnesville. Thompson struck out three, walked three and allowed five runs on five hits in five innings of work.

Wade Stoer pitched the final two innings. Stoer did not record a strikeout, walked one and allowed one run on two hits.

Seth Kerner took the loss for Toronto. Kerner struck out one, walked four and allowed eight runs on seven hits in his 2 2/3 innings of work.

Chris Parker replaced Kerner with two outs in the third. Parker pitched the next three innings. He struck out one, walked three and allowed four runs on four hits.

Conrad Gump relieved Parker with two outs in the sixth. Gump did not record a strikeout or a walk, but he did allow a run without giving up a hit in his 1 1/3 innings on the mound.

Post 168 produced 11 hits in Game 2.

Individually, Stoer recorded four singles and an RBI, Aaron Marovich contributed three singles and an RBI and Cade Hannahs singled twice.

Also, Cody Morrison collected a single and an RBI, Jeremy Hunkler tallied a base hit and Thompson picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

Two of Toronto’s seven hits went for extra-bases. The two doubles were the only extra-base hits in the two games.

Individually, Cole Bodnar delivered a two-run single and a run-scoring double, Amis singled twice and Brandon Boyd ended up with a single and an RBI.

Also, Kobe Herrick ripped a double, and Chetock collected a base hit.

Barnesville scored one run in the first, six in the second and one in the third to take an 8-0 lead.

Toronto countered with four runs in the home half of the third and one in the fifth to pull within three.

Both teams have had a lot of games canceled so far this season.

“We were off for three weeks,” Coach Hannahs said after Game 1. “We have 16 kids on the roster, and we have not had them all play together.”

Ten players showed up for the doubleheader for Post 168.

Due to the Toronto High School baseball team winning the Ohio Division IV state championship, Post 86 is about two weeks behind other teams.

“The kids are starting to get comfortable with each other,” Sninchak said after the opener. “We are figuring out who are horses are as pitchers. We are just two weeks behind everybody.”

Barnesville is scheduled to play Moundsville Monday at John Marshall.

Toronto is slated to play Dover (Tuscarawas County) Post 205 at 6 p.m. Tuesday at home.

Game 1

Toronto 1, Barnesville 0

Barnesville 000 000 0 – 0 1 0

Toronto 000 001 X – 1 3 2

BARNESVILLE (0-5): Jefferis (LP, 6IP, 1R, 3H, 5K, 4BB) and Marovich

TORONTO (2-2): Amis (WP, 7IP, 0R, 1H, 6K, 2BB) and Gump

TWO OR MORE HITS: Barnesville none; Toronto none. DOUBLES: Barnesville none; Toronto none. TRIPLES: Barnesville none; Toronto none. HOME RUNS: Barnesville none; Toronto none. RBIs: Barnesville none; Toronto none.

Game 2

Barnesville 13, Toronto 6

Barnesville 161 005 0 – 13 11 4

Toronto 004 010 1 – 6 7 10

BARNESVILLE (1-5): Thompson (WP, 5IP, 5R, 5H, 3K, 3BB), Stoer (2IP, 1R, 2H, 0K, 1BB) and Marovich

TORONTO (2-3): Kerner (LP, 2 2/3IP, 8R, 7H, 1K, 4BB), Parker (3IP, 4R, 1H, 1K, 3BB), Gump (1 1/3IP, 1R, 0H, 0K, 0BB) and Marelli

TWO OR MORE HITS: Barnesville 3 (Stoer 4, Marovich 3, Ca. Hannahs 2); Toronto 2 (Amis 2, Bodnar 2). DOUBLES: none; Toronto 2 (Herrick, Bodnar). TRIPLES: Barnesville none; Toronto none. HOME RUNS: Barnesville none; Toronto none. RBIs: Barnesville 4 (Morrison, Marovich, Thompson, Stoer); Toronto 4 (Bodnar 3, Boyd).

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