Lions battle through busy week on diamond

The Lions spent the week bouncing between gritty conference battles, extra innings, and enough emotional whiplash to qualify as a carnival ride.

Minerva opened May 5, with a 6-1 loss to Carrollton in Eastern Buckeye Conference play. Lane Tarbet and Cole Sivy each collected two hits, but Warrior ace Brayden Swearingen kept the Lions mostly handcuffed at the plate while tossing a complete game. Sometimes you just have to tip the cap and mutter something unprintable into your glove.

The Lions answered May 6, with a dramatic 2-1 extra-inning win over Carrollton. Nick Wardle delivered a two-out RBI single in the seventh inning to tie the game before Kolton Almasy came around with the go-ahead run in the eighth. Tarbet was excellent on the mound, allowing just three hits and striking out five over seven innings, while Brendan Huth slammed the door in the eighth for the save. In baseball terms, that’s called “avoiding the series sweep and reclaiming your sanity.”

Minerva kept rolling May 8, knocking off Northwest 9-3 on the road. Braydon Wood led the charge with a single, double, and two RBI, while Brennan Barnes added two hits and scored twice for the Lions.

May 9, brought more bonus baseball, because apparently the Lions were not emotionally exhausted enough already. Tuslaw edged Minerva 7-6 in eight innings after the Lions rallied to tie the game in the seventh on Nick Wardle’s RBI single. Ray Meadows finished 2-for-4 with an RBI in the loss.

When the dust finally settled – and someone probably checked to make sure the bullpen still had functioning shoulders – Minerva’s record stood 11-11 overall and 6-4 in the EBC.

Softball

The Lady Lions only played three games during the week, but they managed to squeeze plenty of offense, strikeouts, and general softball weirdness into that stretch anyway.

Minerva dropped a tight 7-6 conference game to Carrollton May 7. The Lions pounded out nine hits in the loss, with Kylie Hannen and Adrianna Kashdan each recording two hits and two RBI. Unfortunately, the Warriors survived despite committing five errors, proving once again that spring softball occasionally operates under rules known only to the softball gods.

Saturday’s doubleheader against Tuscarawas Central Catholic featured a little bit of everything.

The Lady Lions exploded for a 14-3 win in the opener behind a monster performance from Kylie Hannen, who racked up four hits and five RBI while also striking out 12 batters in the circle, because apparently one job description simply wasn’t enough. Kayden Holcomb added three hits in the victory as Minerva rolled offensively.

Central Catholic bounced back to take the second game 6-4 despite another strong offensive effort from the Lions. Kayden Holcomb collected three more hits, while Rachel Weaver drove in three runs in the loss.

The Lady Lions closed the week 7-12 overall and 4-6 in the EBC.

Track and Field

If the Fairless Falcon Twilight Invitational had handed out points for distance dominance, Minerva might have needed a second bus just to haul its medals home from the meet.

The Lions turned in one of the strongest overall performances of the meet May 8, piling up top-six finishes all over the track and field complex.

On the girls side, Tateum Richard captured the 800-meter run in 2:21.76, while Makenzie Beavers won the 3200m in 11:30.48. The girls’ 4x800m relay team also brought home gold with a winning time of 9:52.29, while the 4x400m relay finished second in 4:12.41. Autumn Thompson added a runner-up finish in the discus with a throw of 111-2.

The rest of the girls team kept the scoring coming. Addison Keyser placed third in the 3200m, Carley Wolf took third in both the 100m and 300m hurdles, and Ivey Rettig finished fourth in the 300m hurdles. Emma Catlett placed third in high jump and fourth in long jump, Ellie Kuttie grabbed fifth in high jump, and Callie Yeagley took sixth in long jump. Lanae Walter finished fourth in shot put, while Thompson added a fifth-place finish there as well. The 4x100m relay placed fifth, and the 4x200m relay finished sixth. Gracie Momirov-Dierick and Willa Shick also finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 100m dash.

After that display, the boys side was not about to be outdone.

Rowen Hoffee placed second in the 800m with a time of 1:56.17, while Anderson Scott won the 3200m in 10:02.77. Wyatt Gonzalez cleared 6-2 to win the high jump and also added a third-place finish in the long jump. The boys 4x100m relay team took second in 44.45, while the 4x400m relay placed third.

Owen Yoder finished third in the 1600m, Fox Johnson grabbed third in the 3200m, and Caden Stewart placed fourth in the 110m hurdles and third in the 300m hurdles. Tyson Fetty added a sixth-place finish in the 1600m, while the 4x200m relay took fourth and the 4x800m relay finished sixth.

Basically, by the end of the night, Minerva athletes were collecting top-six finishes the way some people collect speeding tickets.