SHELBY — Although a sweep slipped away from Shelby Friday against West Michigan Conference Rivers foe Ravenna, the Tigers got the game they needed to get in order to keep alive hopes of a conference title.
The Tigers won game one of a doubleheader 8-4, scoring four sixth-inning runs after the Bulldogs rallied to tie it in the top half of the inning, before Ravenna star pitcher Dylan May (coach Brian Wright’s great-nephew) narrowly outdueled Trevor Weiss 1-0 in an exciting nightcap. The outcomes put both teams into a three-way first-place tie with North Muskegon, with each team 6-2 in the conference.
The Tigers have games left against Mason County Central and Hesperia, and if they manage to win all four, they will win at least a share of the league regardless of what happens elsewhere.
“We’re one step closer,” Shelby coach Brian Wright said. “We’ve got to take care of our business. It’s nice that we don’t have to count on somebody else. If we don’t get it done, we’ll have nobody to blame.
“We talked about the perfect scenario was to go 2-0, but at worst we want to come out of here 1-1 because just like we were before, we’ll be in first place.”
Game one was a big win for the Tigers, who grabbed the lead by scoring twice in the third inning, answering a Ravenna tally. Both runs came across on a Ravenna error. Then, in the fourth inning, Jaden Furman made it 3-1 Shelby with a line drive single, and a Ravenna error helped send pinch-runner Carsen Stark across the plate with the go-ahead run.
The Bulldogs battled back to tie the score in the fifth, with the tying run scoring on a Shelby error, but the Tigers banged out a barrage of hits in the sixth to go ahead for good. Weiss had the go-ahead RBI single, the third straight single by a Tiger. A fielder’s choice brought in another run, and Cam Smith plated a third with a RBI single. Leighton Belasco then forced another run in with an impressive sacrifice bunt.
DayDay Garcia, who pitched well throughout the game, retired the side in order in the seventh to secure the win. Garcia allowed only one earned run on six hits and struck out seven. Smith and Jaden Furman had two hits apiece.
Game two was just as dramatic, although less high-scoring. May and Weiss were both outstanding on the mound, and only a third-inning two-out throwing error by Shelby, followed by a RBI single from Ravenna’s Brody Anderson, got either team on the board.
Not only were the pitchers effective, they were efficient. They combined for only two walks in the game, both by May, and each allowed only three hits and struck out 10.
The Tigers had a couple of big scoring opportunities later in the game. In the fourth, Garcia reached on an error and stole second base with nobody out, but May was able to get out of trouble. In the sixth, Shelby got consecutive singles by Evan Waller and Chase Simon with two out, but again May escaped, inducing a groundout.
Wright was pleased with his team’s effort in the nightcap despite the outcome, and noted that it was very much a district type of atmosphere. There were many fans on hand, in part due to the between-games ceremony honoring Wright for his 45 years coaching Shelby baseball.
“I almost thought it was extra innings,” Wright said. “It felt like it was extra innings. This group, they’re playing to the end. (We didn’t) do anything offensively, but Dylan, my nephew, threw a great game. They’re competing. This could be the districts, too. It’s not going to be easy. These kinds of games, even though we came up on the short end, they’re going to help us down the road.”
Weiss knew he had pitched well in game two, but took little solace in it considering the outcome.
“I just take it down to whether the team wins or loses,” Weiss said. “That’s all that matters to me when it comes to pitching. If I give up three runs in a win, I feel better about that than tonight giving up one in a loss.
“To be in first place feels good, but to be that close to (having it to ourselves) doesn’t feel great, but we still got to first.”
