Shaker Heights, Ohio – Senior pitcher Nate Cowan threw five innings and struck out seven Monday afternoon as the host Shaker Heights Red Raiders fended off visiting Euclid 9-4.
Euclid jumped on top in the first, but Shaker Heights bounced back, scoring two in the second and third innings to take the lead 4-1.
In the top of the fifth, Euclid put two runners on, but starting pitcher Nate Cowan got out of the jam with two strikeouts and a thrown out runner at third base.
The Red Raiders capitalized when junior pitcher/second baseman Nathan Rose doubled to right field. He stole third and would score on an RBI groundout by senior outfielder Ryan Young. Shaker would add another run to increase their lead to 6-1.
Cal Nagusky (5) bats for Shaker Heights during the fifth inning.
Rose came on in relief, and like Cowan the inning before, got out of a jam with two strikeouts.
He would knock in another run with a triple to right field, and would later score on a wild pitch to add to the Shaker lead going into the top of the seventh.
But the Panthers were not done yet, tacking on a run on a passed ball, and two more on an error. But Rose got out another jam to clinch the win for the Red Raiders.
“We had a rough game against (Saint) Ed’s but today I feel like we got hits when we needed to and were able to get out of jams. We need to cut down on the mistakes but we have potential and I expect our hitting to get back to where it needs to be.” said Cowan.
“It feels good to get the win. I made the offspeed pitches. I was trying to find fastballs at the plate and drive them in the gaps.” said Rose.
In a losing effort, senior pitcher and Urbana football commit Jovan Owens threw six innings for the Panthers and scored in the seventh inning.
Euclid pitcher Jovan Owens (24) delivers during the fifth inning against Shaker Heights.
“It was a lot of hard work and I tried to pitch my hardest for my team to pull through.” said Owens.
Despite the loss, Euclid head coach Jordan Taylor was very optimistic about his team going forward.
“We have a great team of very hard working individuals. I’m really excited that we were able to fight through some adversity. There are things we can improve upon, but a lot of good stuff to improve on. We have the talent to compete with anybody in the state. I’m excited with what we see.” he added.
The Red Raiders improved to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the Greater Cleveland Conference. Euclid drops to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the Greater Cleveland Conference. Both teams play tomorrow afternoon, this time at Euclid.
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