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The Chagrin Falls baseball team showed its depth and dominated from the beginning as the Tigers finished off a sweep of rival West Geauga with a 13-3 win in six innings Thursday at West Geauga High School.
The Tigers sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning as they continued their hot start to the season, improving to 10-1 and 5-0 in the Chagrin Valley Conference. The Wolverines fell to 2-8, 2-3.
Nick Paros started for the Wolverines and had a rough time as he faced only five batters. He gave up two hits, walked two and hit a batter while giving up four runs before being replaced by Jack Dorsky. The big blows were RBI singles by Erik Wilson and Colin Kennedy. Wilson finished 2-for-3.
“I got down 0-2 early (in the count) and I’ve been struggling recently,” Wilson said. “He threw a curve and hung it. It was nice to see a line drive.
“It does a lot for your confidence. When one guy swings it, the whole team swings it.”
Kennedy had an excellent game as he was 2-for-3 with two RBIs to go along with a superb start on the mound.
Chagrin Falls coach Michael Sweeney was happy to see the early lead.
“That’s our phrase, get them early and often,” Sweeney said. “We got them early, but not often.”
Kennedy (2-1) pitched all six innings, giving up three runs on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts. He faced one batter above the minimum through five innings.
“I felt very good,” Kennedy said. “I felt fresh. And I got a nice little cushion (going up 4-0). So I knew I could make a mistake.”
Kennedy was making his first start in Ohio after the Tigers returned from their annual trip down south to start the season.
“It’s been almost two weeks,” Sweeney said. “He got a little tired, but they put good swings on the ball. He got it a little up.
“He’s throwing harder and did a good job of keeping it down. He threw strikes.”
Kennedy recorded most if not all of his strikeouts with his slider.
“That’s my go-to pitch with two strikes,” Kennedy said.
Dorsky did an excellent job of putting out the fire and keeping the Wolverines in the game. He retired seven straight and 12 of 14 through the top of the fourth inning. Unfortunately for West G, the Tigers got to Dorsky in the top of the fifth.
With the score still 4-0, the Tigers again sent eight batters to the plate, scoring four more runs to push their lead out to 8-0. There were three walks in the inning along with RBI singles by Kennedy and Jack Reboul, who went 2-for-4.
Dorsky pitched five innings, giving up four runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
The Tigers have the luxury of having three star pitchers. Wilson and Kwasny are the Tigers’ No. 1 and No. 2 starters. They helped lead Chagrin Falls to the Division II regional final last season.
“Obviously, when Colin’s pitching, I play third base,” Kwasny said. “Coach Sweeney has helped a lot with that.
“You have three of us. Our depth is a huge advantage.”
Kwasny also had a big day at bat as he went 2-for-4 with a RBI.
The Tigers put the game away in the top of the sixth inning with another five runs to stretch their lead to 13-0. The Tigers used 10 batters during the inning including six straight pinch hitters to start the inning as Sweeney went to his bench.
The Wolverines clawed back for three runs in the bottom of the sixth led by Stephan Javorek’s two-run double. Max Schweiger also had a RBI ground out.
West G’s Joey Pasquale was 2-for-3 with a run scored while Charlie Koach had a double.
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