H.S. Baseball: Keystone cruises past Columbia, straight to first LCL crown

COLUMBIA STATION — Winning a championship is never easy, but Keystone sure made it look that way. Behind a dominant pitching performance from Blake Moore and the hitting of Wyatt McKee, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, the Wildcats clinched their first Lorain County League title Monday with an 11-0 win at Columbia. Keystone (19-2, 12-1) scored three runs in the first inning. Drew Sivec scored on a Ryan Younglas grounder, and two more runs came in when Brendan Hagerman and Macin Padin walked with the bases loaded. Meanwhile. Moore faced the minimum nine hitters over the first three innings as the Raiders' only baserunner, Carter Duley, was caught stealing after drawing a two-out walk. The Wildcats scored in each of the first four innings to build an 8-0 lead. "This team has been working hard all year so it feels great to see them succeed," Keystone coach Bert Fitzgerald said. "They keep getting better and better. They're self-motivated hard workers." Since a 1-0 loss to Avon on May 2, Keystone has scored 10 or more runs in its last six games. In 13 Lorain County League games, the Wildcats have outscored their opponents 153-23. "We're all good hitters, we can all hit the ball," said McKee, who also stole three bases. "Winning conference is a team effort, we've been waiting for this for a long time and we got it." Moore, who pitched five innings, allowed one hit while striking out three. Younglas and Sivec combined to finish the Wildcats' fourth shutout of the season. "Last year we had a couple of tough losses that really put us behind but this year we've been playing with a lot of confidence," said Moore, who improved to 6-1. "We have a great defense and that makes a huge difference. It is a great feeling knowing I have friends I can trust behind me." Keystone's last league title came in 2019 when it won the Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division. Columbia (11-7, 7-6) didn't get its first hit until Duley singled with one out in the fourth inning. Logan Menge, Justin Smith and Andrew Sorenson also had singles for the Raiders. "Our main thing is you want to play really good teams leading into the tournament," Columbia coach Dan Durante said. "See arms like we saw today is only going to help us down the stretch. You get good looks, you learn from it and take something positive from it." One highlight for Columbia was its infield defense. Second baseman Menge barehanded a bad-hop grounder and made the throw to first to retire Alex Sayers in the fifth inning. An inning later the Raiders turned a double play to stop a potential Keystone rally. Now the Wildcats have to find a way to keep their momentum going until they begin postseason play May 28 as the No. 2 seed in the Division V district tournament. "That's something we've really been talking about," Fitzgerald said. "Guys have other things on their mind like graduation and prom and all that kind of stuff. We have to continue to challenge them to keep them motivated. We'll take a little time off and make sure we're healthy and we've got three non-conference games coming up as well." Prior to the game Columbia held its Senior Day ceremony recognizing Smith, Dan Maiorino, Ram Patel and Jacob Reust. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.