Carson Francis, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LANCASTER — Huntington’s tournament run was nothing short of special.
As the No. 1 seed in Division VI, the Huntsmen cruised past Symmes Valley before rallying to beat Southeastern and earn the program’s second-ever district title.
Anything from that point on was simply ice on the cake.
But on Wednesday afternoon, Huntington, unfortunately, ran into a buzzsaw.
Mechanicsburg (22-3) took advantage of four Huntsmen errors and rode an 11-strikeout performance from starting pitcher Conner Eyink to a 6-0 victory at Beavers Field, marking the end of the road for Huntington this season.
“Everyone thought we were a year or two ahead of schedule, and I still think that. But we put together a pretty special run this year. Make no mistake, we showed up today to win, but we just ran into a buzzsaw,” Huntington coach Chad Carroll said. “[Eyink] was one of the best pitchers we saw all year. We battled and we tried to grind it out, but we just couldn’t get anybody across the plate.”
The Indians drew first blood in the top of the second when Drew Lawhorn laid down a bunt and reached on a fielding error. That would allow Bodee Delong to score and give Mechanicsburg an early 1-0 lead.
“[Huntington pitcher Andrew Oyer] is not a big strikeout guy. You’ve got to play defense behind him,” Carroll said. “We made some big plays behind him tonight, but we had a few errors that let them get on the board and it was hard to climb out from underneath that.”
One run at a time, the Indians continued to pull away.
With two runners on, Delong then singled in the top of the third to double the lead. The Indians continued to threaten with two runners in scoring position, but Huntington left them stranded, capped off with a diving catch in center by Junior McDonald to retire the side.
But Huntington (18-10) simply had no answer for Eyink.
The Huntsmen went the first four innings without putting a runner on base, and Mechanicsburg continued to make it hurt. An RBI double from Eli Wilson in the top half of the fourth extended the Indians’ lead to 3-0.
Huntington did find its first baserunner in the top of the fifth inning with a leadoff single from Landon Lowery. Maverick Hardesty then got on board by reaching on a fielder’s choice before moving into scoring position with two outs. But Eyink would strike out the following batter, keeping the Huntsmen off the board.
Meanwhile, Mechanicsburg ran away with the game on offense. Lawhorn drove in a run with a fifth-inning single before Hank Huffman ripped a two-run single into left field in the sixth, making it a 6-0 advantage.
And with two outs in the top of the sixth, Huntington went to its bullpen, replacing senior starter Andrew Oyer with Tucker Hopkins, who forced a groundball to retire the side.
“For four years, [Oyer] has taken the ball and he’s never asked out. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing,” Carroll said. “He’s not the kind of kid that’s going to say that he can’t throw tonight. He wants the ball and he holds you in ball games.”
Huntington put up one last fight in the bottom of the sixth when Frankie Hirsch and McDonald singled in consecutive at-bats with two outs. But Eynik once again sat down the side on strikes before slamming the door in the seventh, putting Huntington’s season in the books.
Mechanicsburg advances to Thursday’s Division VII regional final at Beavers Field in Lancaster. The Indians will square off with Berlin Hiland at 6 p.m.
After making it to the regional for just the second time in program history, the Huntsmen will say goodbye to its two seniors — Oyer and Sean Davis.
“They’re winners. They have the most career wins in Huntington history, and they show up every day to work hard,” Carroll said. “Andrew wants the ball every night. Sean will do whatever you ask of him, whether it’s play first, DH, pitch or be a bullpen catcher. He also doubles as a valedictorian, and we’re proud of them for that.”
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