MCC baseball drops extra-inning games at Lakeview tournament

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LAKEVIEW — The Mason County Central varsity baseball team came up short in a pair of extra-inning contests Saturday at the Lakeview tournament, falling 4-3 to Howard City Tri County and 8-7 to host Lakeview.

The Spartans, who had won the tournament the previous three seasons, battled through defensive miscues and tight finishes in both games.

“We have won this tournament the past three years so to lose is kind of a bummer,” MCC coach Shaun Reed said. “We had a target on our back for sure.”

In the opener, MCC managed just two hits in a 4-3 loss to Tri County. Toby Reed and Pierce Bladzik each recorded a hit for the Spartans.

Bladzik also started on the mound and delivered a strong outing, allowing no earned runs over 4 2/3 innings.

MCC committed six errors in the game, however, which proved costly.

“It’s tough to win when you give them six extra outs,” Reed said. “Thankfully they committed some errors to keep us in the game.”

Reed credited Tri County’s starting pitcher and offense for their performance.

“They have some guys that can really hit,” he said. “The lefty they started with pitched well also and threw decently hard.”

The game was decided using an extra-innings format due to tournament time constraints.

“Coming off two brutal losses the night before, I am happy we somewhat bounced back, but we have an error bug going around that needs to be treated,” Reed said.

In the second game, MCC fell 8-7 to Lakeview in another contest decided under the extra-innings format, which began innings with a runner on second base and a 1-1 count on the batter.

Coles Cameron got the start for the Spartans, while Sawyer Sherretz came on in relief. Both pitchers are junior varsity call-ups who Reed said performed well under pressure.

“Both pitched well and with a lot of confidence,” Reed said. “Excited to see the future of our program.”

Trent Hawke closed out the game on the mound and also went 2-for-3 at the plate.

Chye, Bladzik, Ruiz, Rummer and Nate Adams each added hits for MCC.

The Spartans traded runs with Lakeview throughout the contest before eventually falling short.

“We couldn’t string any hits together and got hosed by questionable calls, but nonetheless, we should have hit the ball better,” Reed said. “No disrespect to Lakeview, but we should have been spraying balls all over the field.”

Reed said the Spartans will look to quickly move forward as they prepare for Tuesday’s home game against Shelby, which will also serve as senior night.

“We need to have amnesia and move on to Shelby on Tuesday,” he said.