Warren JFK edges Calvert 2-1 in 10-inning thriller

LOUISVILLE – The pitching Thursday was so good that Calvert's Blake Coleman and Warren JFK's Freddy Bolchalk didn't get replaced until each ran into the pitch count. Bolchalk lasted 8 2/3 innings, while Coleman went 9 1/3 innings. In a high-stakes pitcher's duel in a Division IV regional semifinal at Louisville High School, one of the two teams had to lose. After making it to state the past two seasons, Calvert's season ended prematurely Thursday as JFK scored the winning run on a sac fly in the bottom of the 10th in a devastating 2-1 loss for the Senecas."Hats off to them, they executed when they needed to and yeah, both pitchers Bolchalk and Blake battled and that's two juniors laying it all on the line for their teams," Calvert coach Matt Coleman said. "We had our chances, and we made pitches when we had to, but it's hard to not think about the seniors in this situation. All five of these guys are coach's award type of guys that filled roles and did whatever you needed them to do. "Gotta a lot of love for each of them. To win four district titles and to consistently go about their business, they did a nice job of that and I love every one of them." Warren JFK (19-8) scored first Thursday in the opening inning. After an out, Michael Condoleon reached on an error and then came around to score on a two-out RBI single from Dominic Ryan.But that was all it got off of Coleman for the next eight innings. Coleman gave up only four hits and struck out 11."Overall and throughout his slider was good and his split-change was good and effective and had pretty good command after that first inning," coach Coleman said of Blake – his son. "He settled in and I love the way he competes. He's come a long way two years ago from his first regional appearance. Love the way he competes."Warren JFK coach Jim Ciambotti added: "Hats off to this Tiffin team … what a program. This is the third time we've played them in a regional and that Coleman, the pitcher was outstanding also."Each team squandered scoring chances the next few innings until Calvert knotted the game at 1 in the top of the fourth.Caden Otterbacher roped a triple to right center and then Connor Moyer lined an RBI single by the second baseman to tie the game. But after that, nothing happened on the scoreboard until Michael Bartoe's sac fly in the 10th to win it for JFK. "One thing we stressed after the game was that we took way too many pitches, especially in the first five innings, which allowed Bolchalk to stay in the game that long," Coleman said. "We gotta compete more, especially with the fastball more. Yeah, (the umpire) was calling the curveball down, but it was consistent for both, but we have to be a little more aggressive on the fastball in my opinion. We just didn't get it done today."The Senecas (23-7) will graduate Harrison Shultz, Otterbacher, Jamison Godfrey, Fabian Perez-Ramirez and Brody Cooper as the group was a part of two SBC River titles, four district titles and two trips to Akron. However, the Senecas will bring back a solid core of experienced players for the next few seasons and it will probably be a hungry group as well with some extra motivation."For Blake and these sophomores … yeah it's time to put the work in," Coleman said. "I think we didn't progress the way we needed to in the offseason honestly and it starts in the weight room and getting more time in hitting. I just want them to watch the game more and understand some situational-type things. We keep focusing on the little things, but maybe they don't fully understand all the little things yet."We had peaks and valleys this year, and I think it was different than last year as our bats really came out strong in the beginning of the season. Early this season, this was the type of games we had, so we've been here before, but it was a good season overall. Our league continues to improve and the pitching we face in the league gets us prepared for games like this. We have to execute a little better. Overall, I'm very proud of what we achieved and we don't take this for granted being here because there's a lot of teams that would love to be here for four straight years, but we're gonna let this sink in and motivate us over the next nine months I guess."