High school baseball: Amherst claws through consolation bracket but falls in final

AMHERST — Climbing all the way back through the consolation bracket and scoring the first three runs in the championship game seemed to be a good formula for host Amherst in the annual Adrian Abrahamowicz Summer Classic on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, defending champion Rocky River had other ideas. The Pirates bounced back behind a sophomore transfer from St. Ignatius to beat the Comets 7-3 and lay claim to the championship, becoming the only school other than the Comets to win more than one. Amherst has won the crown four times, Elyria and Medina once each. The sophomore, left-handed pitcher Jake Wnukowski, didn't even have a numbered uniform when he was called on in the top of the second inning. Yet he threw scoreless inning after scoreless inning against the Comets for the rest of the game. He was efficient in striking out four, walking none and giving up just five hits through six innings. He threw just 66 pitches. "He's a transfer," Rocky River coach Ed Piazza said. "He's a Rocky River kid and started out at Ignatius. We wanted to get him some action. This week was big for us. I have one starter — our catcher (Jeffrey Maslar) — and we lost all those 10 seniors." Rocky River was undefeated in the tournament, beating Avon Lake 5-4 in the semifinals at Elyria earlier Saturday. Amherst, who lost to the Pirates to open the tournament, won the rest of its games including a 2-1 win over Avon earlier Saturday to qualify for the title game. When the Comets jumped in front 3-0 in the top of the first — Amherst was the visiting team due to coming out of the consolation bracket — it appeared the championship was within reach. A two-run double off the bat of junior Eli Toyoda fueled the three-run first, but when Rocky River starting pitcher Bryant Hurt walked Jayden Kettleman to start the second inning, Piazza called on Wnukowski. "I just went out there, trusted the defense, got some great boys behind me," Wnukowski said. "Just throw strikes, curveball was working great. We had a good starter on the mound and I was a little hesitant as to whether I'd get in or not. They called my name. I had to be ready." Rocky River's offense quickly knotted the score at three in the bottom of the second inning, then took a 6-3 lead in the third. The Pirates added an insurance run in the fourth. Maslar drove in two runs with a pair of doubles and finished with three hits. Rocky River had 12 hits to Amherst's seven. It was still a good test for Matt Rositano's young group. Most of Amherst's veterans were in an out-of-state tournament this week and weren't available to play. "This week, no matter what year it is, the wins are a bonus," said Rositano, fresh off taking the Comets to the state championship game in June. "They're learning how to play at this level and the coaches are learning something about them. Six games in six days with a small roster, with a small pitching staff, in this kind of heat ... I thought these guys did great all week." Beside Toyoda's two-run double, other hits by the Comets came from senior Zander Hopkins, juniors Christian Wolf, Gage Smith, Larry Polonkay and Gavin Ford, who had two. Polonkay made three great plays in left field for Amherst, giving Rositano something to think about next spring. "He really doesn't play the outfield," said Rositano with a grin. "Like I said, with a short roster, Polonkay's more of a second baseman. He made three great plays out there, absolutely." "I've always played everywhere," Polonkay said. "It's the best thing I've always found to do was find a spot. Catches are always a good thing. It felt good." Piazza came away with the same feeling. He was happy to see his younger guys perform. "What I appreciated the most about these guys is they gave up their summer teams to play this week," said Piazza, who had previous coaching stints at Columbia and Elyria. "They wanted to put the program first." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.