High school baseball: Brookside bounces back in big way to split doubleheader with Keystone

LAGRANGE — The games were played in the morning and afternoon, but the outcomes were night and day. Keystone and Brookside split a Lorain County League doubleheader Saturday. The first game was completely dominated by Keystone's pitching, which allowed only one hit in the 10-0 win. Brookside responded in the second game for an 8-3 victory. In a game that was resumed from a prior date, Keystone brought a 2-0 lead into the third inning Saturday morning. Those runs scored on an RBI by Ryan Younglas and a wild pitch that allowed Blake Moore to come home. Moore had started on the mound, going 2 2/3 hitless innings with six strikeouts and two walks. Keystone went with righty Tucker Webb in the resumption. He finished the game by going 3 1/3, allowing a hit and a walk with five strikeouts. Keystone (13-6) jumped on junior Robby Jackman early as Wyatt McKee drove in Younglas with a single. Moore continued his monster game in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run home run to extend the lead to 5-0. Moore added two more RBIs in the fifth with a double to make it 7-0. Brendan Hagerman and Moore came home on wild pitches to make it 9-0. Brookside's Liam Ebner broke up Keystone's no-hit bid in the sixth with a single to right. The game ended in the bottom of the sixth as Hagerman drove in Webb to reach the run rule. Younglas finished the game 3-for-3 with a walk, a run and an RBI. Moore was 2-for-three with three runs scored and four RBIs. The script completely flipped in the second game, as the Cardinals (5-5-1) took it to the Wildcats. "We decided in the sixth inning of Game 1 that we needed a good talk in between games. Last night I felt we didn't really show up the way we have been," Brookside coach Travis Baldwin said. "We talked about playing with pride and honor, and they absolutely responded to the call. I am so proud of the way they played." Leading the way for Brookside on both sides of the ball was junior Danny Fries. He pitched a complete game, surrendering three runs (two earned) on five hits with zero walks. He stuck out eight. "I felt like all my pitches were good, I didn't walk anybody and I was in the zone all game with everything today," Fries said. Not only did he contribute on the mound, Fries picked up three hits in four trips to the plate with two runs scored and two RBIs. "I love that kid. He battled today," Baldwin said. "In his last three outings he has responded and thrown strikes and has command of three pitches, and that is exactly what you need to do in high school baseball." Senior Easton Weber had a huge game at the plate for Brookside, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and a walk. Catcher Ethan Blythe also notched a multihit game. Starting for Keystone in Game 2 was Younglas, a Toledo commit. His line was four innings pitched, six runs, eight hits, four walks and eight strikeouts. Younglas was relieved by Kyle Hurley, who allowed two runs in two innings. "The ball just didn't bounce our way, and Brookside just came out looking like a different team," Keystone coach Bert Fitzgerald. "They really took it to us, and that's the way it goes sometimes." Keystone will travel to Firelands on Monday, as Brookside visits Fairview on Tuesday. Contact Michael Bodzenta at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.