Everyone was ready tonight, how couldn’t they be? Weeks of practice, preparation, work and determination had brought both of the teams to this point.

Opening Day 2023 for the TYSA Junior Division.

Pregame festivities highlighted the evening as the local heroes from the Tiffin Fire/Rescue Division came out to receive their sponsorship trophy for the championship won by the Firefighters team in 2022. After receiving their award, a representative of the Tiffin Fire/Rescue Division delivered our ceremonial first pitch to open the 2023 season.  It was a nice celebration to acknowledge the 2022 Championship team.

From there though, the 2023 Tiffin Eagles took over! Riding the powerful right arm and hot bat of Quinton Tucker, the Eagles jumped on the Firefighters early, plating 3 runs in the top of the first inning. 3B Elijah Haman wasted absolutely no time in the new season, as he put the fourth pitch he saw into the right center field gap, collecting a triple to start of the year. After a strikeout and a hit by pitch (by Tucker), 1B  Blaize McCrory ripped a single through the infield scoring 2 runs. McCrory would come around to score on C Jake Kinn’s RBI single just inside the first base bag.

Firefighters would get one of those runs back when CF John Bremyer reached on a dropped third strike, advanced to third on a throwing error and scored on a 3B/P/1B Bradley Willman double to deep center, just the beginning of Willman’s record setting day.

The Eagles were far from done though as they went right back after Firefighters starting pitcher Skylar Cover, tagging him for 2 more runs in the second when LF Cohen Rhoad (single) and 2B/EH Kevin Mason (walk) both would come around to score on EH/2B Michael Rhoad’s 2 run double. Willman would come in, in relief of Cover and get out of the inning but not before 2 more runs would cross the plate, staking the Eagles to a 7-1 lead.

From there Tucker was dealing, blowing through the second and third inning, giving up just a single to Bremyer and a couple of walks. His teammates would continue to back his pitching, plating a run in the third after J. Kinn walked and would come around to score on a passed ball. They would make it a 10-1 lead in the fourth when CF Coleton Stover would walk with the bases loaded, scoring SS Blake Rhodes, and followed right behind by Tucker on an error.

That’s when the game got a bit more interesting, Willman would start to become a one-man wrecking crew in the bottom of the fourth. After a quick strikeout by Tucker, Willman took a 3-2 pitch and planted it deep over the left field wall for a solo homerun, his first of the year. It gave the Firefighters a spark as C Kason Daily followed with a walk and would make the score 10-3 when he came home on a deep fly ball to center that went off the fence for an RBI double by 1B/P Zane Cover.

On the mound, Willman settled in as well not allowing a run in the final three innings, while only allowing 3 baserunners and tallying 6 strikeouts.

The Eagles weren’t going to be denied on this night as Firefighters did chip away at the lead, once again using a Bremyer hit, this time a double before scoring on a Chance Lucius walk and rundown. Firefighters would have one more big moment in them, again courtesy of the big bat of Willman, as he again turned on a Tucker pitch and depositing it over the left field fence once again, for the first 2-homer game in the modern era of the TYSA Junior Division. He would finish 3-3 on the day with 2 homeruns and a double and 3 RBI.

Tucker was unfazed though as he came back to get out of the inning and fight through a bit of hiccup in the seventh giving up a walk to EH Thomas Toller after two quick strikeouts before getting Bremyer to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the game.

 

Eagles moves to 1-0 on the season, recording 8 hits from 7 different hitters to back Tucker (1-0) who threw a complete game, scattering 7 hits, striking out 14 batters and allowing 5 runs (4 earned).

Firefighters drops to 0-1. They would pound out 7 hits, but only had 3 hitters account for them. S. Cover took the loss (0-1) going 1 IP giving up 5 earned runs, while getting 2 strikeouts. Willman pitched 5 IP in relief striking out 11 batters, giving up 3 earned runs and only allowing 2 hits. Zane Cover secured the last inning, giving up a hit and striking out 2.

As memorable as the pregame festivities were with the welcome arrival and participation of our local firefighters, it was the 2023 Tiffin Eagles who would win the evening.

Firefighters will look to even their record this Wednesday, June 7^th against the Bair Brothers while the Tiffin Eagles will look to keep that unblemished record nice and clean on Thursday, June 8^th against the Tiffin Moose.

 

Photo credit: Linda Lucero Keefe (2022)