FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio (Aug. 24, 2022) -- Rocky River's top two players stepped up. Its seniors stepped up. And its home course yielded a key advantage mid-round. It all culminated in the Pirates dealing the Westlake Demons a 152-1567 defeat in Wednesday afternoon Great Lakes Conference action.
River's top players this season -- juniors Luke Dietrich and Nick Tianello -- posted scores of 36 and 38, respectively, to earn first- and third-man status on Wednesday's team card. Seniors Owen Toole and Wes Bennett came through with the Pirates' second- and fourth-man scores (37, 41) in a clutch home win along the shores of the winding Rocky River. The match was contested on the opening nine at the 3,229-yard, par-36 Big Met Golf Course.
The Swinging Corsairs leveraged their local knowledge to bag a couple birdies (Dietrich, Toole) on the 458-yard, par-5 fifth, a hole on which the Pirates had also fared well in two matches earlier this month. Dietrich's nine would include that birdie, seven pars, and a bogey. Toole hit a team-high six greens in regulation and made six pars en route to his 1-over 37.
Tianello's round was built on eight pars and a double-bogey. Bennett's was constructed around two birdies -- a 3 on the par-4 third and a 3 on the par-4 sixth.
Plenty of scrambling was on display up and down the River roster on a day that saw the Pirates (4-1, 3-0 GLC) hit 8-of-28 (28.6%) fairways and 19-of-36 (52.8%) greens. The Maroon & White averaged 14.8 putts per man.
The five-stroke triumph came on the heels of the Pirates losing their most recent match (to non-conference foe Avon Lake last Tuesday). The margin of victory marked the Pirates' closest match of the season and their closest GLC match since Sept. 8 last season, when the Pirates and Demons tied 157-157 (RRHS lost on a fifth-man tiebreaker). That setback -- at Big Met -- was Rocky River's only GLC loss in 2021. And the Pirates would go on to finish second to Westlake in the GLC Championship Tournament.
In this season's preview meet -- held Aug. 5 at Rawiga Golf Club in Seville, Ohio -- the Pirates finished first, five strokes ahead of runner-up Westlake. So, color these two programs as being intertwined, walking out in front of the rest of the GLC field.
And the way Wednesday's scores tumbled into place, every player in Pirate colors came through with one key shot to make sure his was the team displaying winning colors when the cards were tallied.
Hoist the Jolly Roger! Because the Pirates emerged from the valley with a big victory as their treasure.
CANNON FIRE ...
NOTABLE: Owen Toole owns a stroke average of 83.3 on the season. Toole -- who registered an 88.0 average in 2021 -- has logged an 80.5 average since Aug. 15. ... Rocky River's 152 total was its best in a nine-hole match at Big Met since Aug. 16, 2021 (149 vs. Fairview, Normandy)
QUOTABLE: "This was a big win for us today. Westlake is a really tough opponent. It was really nice to see our two seniors step up and play well on a day when we needed them." -- coach David Hendrickson.
by Skip Snow
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