Amherst Summer Baseball Classic: Elyria comes together to beat Brookside

ELYRIA – Elyria made the most of Brookside's youth and inexperience, defeating the Cardinals 12-2 in five innings Monday in first-round action of the annual Amherst Summer Baseball Classic. The Pioneers had more than enough ammunition to take down Brookside, scoring in four of the five innings. In addition to seven hits, the Pioneers took full advantage of seven wild pitches, six Cardinal errors, four walks and three hit batters. "We've had a good week of practice," said Elyria coach David Elbert. "They're coming together as team. We have a lot of young guys blending with the older guys so we're just trying to make it all work. It's summertime so everybody playing summer ball or something else so it was nice for them to lock in, enjoy and have fun." Elyria didn't win a game at last year's Amherst Summer Classic so Monday's victory was especially meaningful. "We definitely focused on what they were messing up on," said Elyria catcher Mason Burnette. "We played very well. We hit well. Worked as a team. Communicated a lot, that's the most important thing. All out. Everybody did good." Burnette singled home right fielder Steven Hernandez in the first inning for Elyria's second run of the game. His sacrifice bunt in the third inning was pivotal as it forced Cardinal pitcher Jorden Cosgrove to rush his throw which went wide of first, allowing both Brayden Barbee and Hernandez to score to push the Pioneers' lead to 5-2. Burnette drove home his fourth run of the game with a sacrifice fly in the fourth. "Practice definitely helps out a lot," said Burnette. "It's all it comes down to. We just need to keep the contact up. The hitting has been a big improvement since last year. Also, playing as a team. Criticizing each other was a big thing last year. I haven't seen any of it this year so far." Pitcher Domingo Ortiz was effective as he carried Elyria through the first four innings before being relieved by Jaylin Whitney. Ortiz limited Brookside to just one hit, which came in the second inning when the Cardinals scored both of their runs. Ortiz gave up five walks and recorded two strikeouts. He set Brookside down in order in the first, third and fourth innings. "We stayed together," said Ortiz. "I didn't pitch well in the second inning. I couldn't get my curveball going but my fastball was pretty good. The team picked me up and encouraged me to go out and to do a little bit better. We stuck together. We played as a team. The energy was very good today." When it was able to get on base, Brookside did a nice job. The Cardinals amassed five stolen bases, four coming in the second inning when Brookside scored its runs. Two stolen bases came on a double steal of second and home with Cosgrove stealing home plate. The Cardinals managed to coax five walks, four came in the second inning as Ortiz struggled. Other than the second inning, Brookside's offense was hamstrung by the pitching of Ortiz and Whitney. "Elyria did a very good job. They put the ball in play and that's the name of the game. You put the ball in play and good things happen," said Brookside coach Travis Baldwin. "When we put the ball in play they made plays. It's credit to them. We weren't getting the breaks and that's going to happen sometimes in the game of baseball. "We've had a couple open fields (practices) throughout the summer. They've been going well. Most of these guys are playing summer ball so it's hard to be able to get them at things because they're in tournaments and all sorts of stuff. I'm encouraged by what I saw here. That's all we're taking from the Classic -- trying to see what our younger guys have ... to give them a chance to play some varsity level quality baseball. So that's what we're looking for." Brookside survived a scare in the fourth inning when third baseman Logan Kennard and catcher Xavier Centifanti collided going after an infield flyball off the bat of Chris Woseman. Both were shaken but able to stay in the game. Elyria hosts Avon at 5:30 p.m. today in round two action while Brookside moves on to face host Westlake on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.