SHENANDOAH — With strong relief pitching, some timely hitting and a little bit of luck, Shenandoah got its first win of the District 24 Little League Tournament Tuesday at Joe “Shorty” Uholik Memorial Stadium.
Luke Matta’s two-run double in the second inning gave Shenandoah the lead, and it rode Justin Chernesky’s 5.2 innings of relief to down Ashland 7-4 in an ages 11-12 Pool 2 contest.
Chernesky gave up four hits, while striking out two and walking a pair of batters, to pick up the win.
Josh Chowansky, Shenandoah’s starter, left the game in the first with one out due to a sore arm after Ashland tagged him with four runs, three of them earned.
“Justin came in after our first pitcher left, and he did exactly what we needed him to do,” Shenandoah manager Brian Bendar said of his relief pitcher. “He threw strikes. We knew we were gonna hit the ball, we put up a good defense behind him and he definitely did his job.”
Shenandoah wasted no time getting things started after Owen Kosar took first base when he was hit by a pitch and Alex Donchak singled to left.
Both runners came around to score on a passed ball and a wild pitch, respectively, to give Shenandoah an early 2-0 lead.
Ashland answered in the bottom of the first when Jack Flynn scored on a passed ball, and Averi
Baney and Conner Groody both crossed home plate courtesy of a couple of wild pitches.
Ashland went up 4-2 when Brayden Boyer drew a walk, stole second and was brought home on Mike Reilly’s RBI single.
After the first, Chernesky silenced Ashland’s bats and pitched a trio of 1-2-3 innings to roll to his first win of the tournament.
“They just couldn’t adjust to his pitching,” Ashland manager Jack Flynn said of his team. “He didn’t throw as hard as the first pitcher and were just way ahead of him. They couldn’t do anything.”
Chernesky was aided by some clutch fielding performances, particularly from players coming off the bench.
Malacusky made a spectacular grab in left field to end the third inning, and Marquis Ratcliff made a nearly identical play in right to close out the fourth.
“The kids put in their time practicing,” Bendar said. “We had some plays get made by some kids who just came off the bench, and it was great.”
Shenandoah responded to Ashland’s four-run first inning with a four-run outburst of its own in the top of the second.
It began when Joey Vevasis struck out, but reached first on a passed ball. He then went to third on a Chowansky single and scored on a passed ball.
Donchak drew a one-out walk, and Shenandoah got its lead back on Matta’s two-run double up the middle.
Shenandoah made it a 6-4 ballgame when Brandon Tufts’ RBI single plated pinch runner Miranda Malacusky.
“I told him to sit back, relax and let the ball come to him,” Bendar said of Matta. “None of the kids let up the whole game. They kept the gas pedal down, kept the throttle down and came through.”
Ashland starter Jeff Fago allowed six runs on four hits while striking out eight and walking four over three innings.
In the fifth inning, Shenandoah picked up an insurance run thanks to an infield error that put the team on top 7-4.
Chernesky led off the fifth with a single, reached second on a passed ball and got to third on a wild pitch before scoring on the error.
“We played sloppy,” Flynn said. “They scored a couple of runs on passed balls, but so did we. We just weren’t hitting enough. We didn’t hit well in our first game, and we didn’t hit well today.
“They got the hits they needed and the runs when they need them. Our loss is on our mistakes,” he added.
Game Summary
Shen (1-1) 240 010 — 7 6 2
Ashland (0-2) 400 000 — 4 6 1
Chowansky, Chernesky (1) and Donchak; Fago, Flynn (4) and Boyer, Reilley (4). W — Chernesky. L — Fago.
HITS: Shenandoah — Chowansky, Donchak 2, Matta, Tufts, Chernesky. Ashland — Baney 3, Groody 2, Reilley.
2B — Matta.