High school baseball: Amherst has to wait all day, then falls short of realizing dream of first state title with loss to Anthony Wayne

AKRON — The clock struck midnight on Amherst literally and figuratively. After the start of its Division II state final against Anthony Wayne was pushed back more than three hours due to heavy rains Saturday morning that delayed the slate of title games, the Comets didn't have an answer for junior pitcher Jackson Urenovich as they fell to the Generals 7-3 in the wee hours of this morning at Canal Park. Amherst (29-3) came in looking for the first state championship in school history but found itself trailing 5-0 in the middle of the third inning. The Generals (25-4) scored a first-inning run on a Lukas Pokanowicz RBI single that scored Eli Donawa, who led off the game with a walk. A Crue Carroll RBI single in the second made the score 2-0 and Anthony Wayne, which celebrated its first championship, scored three more runs off Comets starter Cole Charles in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead. Charles (6-1), a sophomore, left the game after allowing five runs and five hits in three innings. "They're upset and disappointed but I told them they had nothing to be ashamed of," Amherst coach Matt Rositano said of his team. "This is the most accomplished, best team that has ever played at the school. Twenty-nine wins, first state championship appearance, Southwestern Conference title, it's been a great season." Amherst had its best offensive inning in the third when junior Cole Marquez drew a one-out walk and scored on a Caleb Melendez grounder. Charles later scored on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 5-2. "This is a season we're always going to remember forever," Marquez said. "Along the way great memories were made. It's an honor to represent Amherst baseball." Cam Rios did a solid job in relief for the Comets, pitching the final four innings and allowing two unearned runs on four hits. "I said I'm comfortable going 10 deep on the pitching staff," Rositano said. "I had confidence in Cole as the starter, struggled a little bit, but we really didn't help him in the field. Cam Rios came in and did an unbelievable job of just keeping us in the game." Amherst's only other run came in the sixth inning when senior Dylan Coughlin reached base on a throwing error. Coughlin was lifted for pinch runner Spencer Leibolt, who came into score on a wild pitch to make it 7-3. Senior Jacob Schliesser and juniors Tyler Denn and Harrison Schneider had the other Amherst hits. Urenovich went six innings for the Generals, allowing four hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out seven and walking three. He never allowed the Comets to put together the big inning they had so many times in previous postseason games. "We hit the ball at them all day and they made plays," Amherst junior slugger Landon Wolf said. "They had hits in timely situations and we didn't and that's what it wound up coming down to. "We're coming back next year. We're coming with a vengeance and we're coming for it all," said Wolf, whose 54 RBIs this season set a school record. "Right now it sucks but this team has accomplished so much. Going from 15-14 last year. We worked our butts off to get here. We fell a little short, now we've got to get back to work." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.