CLIPPERS COME BACK TO BEAT THE DOGS
By Joe Eusebio
EAST PALESTINE OH- There were a lot of K’s and zeros filling up the scorecard as Columbiana senior Devin Daugherty and East Palestine Junior Cale Moraski each battled on the bump for eight innings on Monday as the Clippers came from behind to beat the Bulldogs, 3-1, in East Palestine.
Daugherty allowed one run on four hits, walked four and struck out 15 while Moraski gave up three runs (one earned), on six hits, two walks and had 13 strikeouts.
The Bulldogs struck first when Tommy Beatty reached on an error in the fourth and Kyler Bourne doubled to left center to send him home and East Palestine took the lead, 1-0. Columbiana fought back and tied it up in the sixth when Daugherty doubled, Alex Eusebio was intentionally walked and both runners moved up on a double steal. Daugherty then scored from third on a passed ball to tie the game at 1-1. It stayed that way until the top of the eighth when, with one out, Colin Keleman reached first on an error. Daugherty then tripled to left center to score Keleman, then Eusebio singled to right to knock in Daugherty. The two runs gave the Clippers the lead, 3-1, and while the Bulldogs threatened in the bottom of the eighth when Bourne singled, two Daugherty strikeouts sandwiched a ground out to Eusebio at third and that was the ballgame.
Daugherty dominated at the plate as well, leading the Clippers with a double and a triple, adding a RBI and scoring two runs. Eusebio had a hit and a RBI, while Ian Less, Hunter Davanzo and Reese Roush all added singles. For the Bulldogs, Bourne had two hits, including a double and a RBI. Peyton Rutledge and Josh Bland added hits for EP.
With the win, Columbiana (15-10, 11-0 EOAC) clinches the EOAC Championship, but they will put off the celebration, hoping to make it two seasons in a row without a loss in the conference. They will attempt to reach their goal on Wednesday when the Bulldogs (5-8, 5-3 EOAC) travel up Route14 to take on the Clippers in a rematch at Firestone Park.
