Ashland, OH
By DUSTY SLOAN
T-G Sports Editor
For one weekend, at least, a men's fastpitch softball tournament was played at Brookside Park.
Ashland Mets player/manager Kevin Scott, for one, couldn't have been happier.
"It felt great. It's just really nice to sleep in your own bed," Scott said after his team went 5-0 and won the ISC Regional Qualifier after a 3-2 win over Plangger's (Mich.) Sunday afternoon. "You don't have to travel. Finally, for a weekend, we got to play in Ashland."
In the title game against Plangger's, the Mets took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning thanks to a Plangger's error and an RBI single by Craig Scott. After Plangger's scored twice in the bottom of the fourth, the Mets plated what would be the game-winning run in the fifth when Justin Blair came home following Plangger's other error of the contest.
Craig Scott was 3-for-3, and Blair also scored the Mets' first run of the game.
"Justin's a great baserunner," Kevin Scott said. "He's just heads-up."
To get to the title game, the Mets had to beat the Ashland Merchants, and did so, 7-3. The Mets had 12 hits, led by Brian Culler (2-for-4), Blair (2-for-4), Jeff Wilson (2-for-2, RBI), Luke Painter (2-for-3, home run, two RBIs) and Craig Scott (3-for-4, three RBIs).
For the Merchants, Trevor Urban was 2-for-4, while Shane Flinner was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
The Mets beat the Merchants Saturday night, 6-0, in round-robin play.
"They're definitely a great rival of ours," Kevin Scott said. "They're a good team. They don't want to lose to us, and we don't want to lose to them."
In five games this weekend, the Mets gave up just six runs.
"We got just tremendous pitching from both our pitchers (Jeff Wilson and Tom Berube) the whole weekend," Kevin Scott said. "I know we have a chance to win because they're throwing strikes and they're letting us make plays."
Both the Mets and Plangger's already had bids for this year's ISC World Tournament, so the championship game basically was for pride.
The Merchants ended the weekend with a 2-3 record. In pool play, they defeated Dunkirk, N.Y. (12-9) and lost to Elkland, Pa. (5-0) and the Mets.
Sunday, they rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat Rice Creek 4-3, then lost to the Mets.
ASHLAND METS: Culler cf, 4-0-0; Blair 1b, 3-2-1; K. Scott ss, 2-0-1; Wilson p, 3-1-0; Painter c, 3-0-1; C. Scott 3b, 3-0-3; Hall lf-cr, 3-0-0; Tomasek 2b, 3-0-0; Gottfried rf, 2-0-0; Massie ph, 1-0-1. TEAM 27-3-7.
PLANGGER'S: Marrero ss, 4-0-1; Libler 2b-cr, 4-0-0; Webb cf-1b, 3-0-2; Zaborowski c, 3-1-1; Brown 3b, 3-1-2; Wiley 1b-cf, 3-0-2; Bohne rf, 3-0-0; Shattner lf, 2-0-1; Flores p, 2-0-0. TEAM 27-2-9.
Ashland Mets 000 210 0 -- 3 7 0
Plangger's 000 200 0 -- 2 9 2
RBI -- C. Scott; Zaborowski, Wiley. 2B -- Webb 2. 3B -- Wiley. HR -- Zaborowski.
METS IP H R ER BB SO
Wilson, W 7 9 2 2 1 10
PLANGGER'S IP H R ER BB SO
Flores, L 7 7 3 2 1 4
SATURDAY'S GAMES
Rice Creek, Mich. 6, Dunkirk, N.Y. 0
Elkland, Pa. 5, Ashland Merchants 0
Ashland Mets 2, Plangger's, Mich. 1
Rice Creek 5, Plangger's 3
Ashland Merchants 12, Dunkirk 9
Ashland Mets 3, Elkland 0
Plangger's 9, Dunkirk 1
Elkland 4, Rice Creek 2
Ashland Mets 6, Ashland Merchants 0
SUNDAY'S GAMES
Ashland Merchants 4, Rice Creek 3
Plangger's 11, Dunkirk 2
Plangger's 8, Elkland 4
Ashland Mets 7, Ashland Merchants 3
Championship game -- Ashland Mets 3, Plangger's 2.
