SHEFFIELD, Ohio -- Rocky River defeated Brookside, 9-4, in first-round bracket action in the
North Ridgeville District of the DII Ohio Baseball Tournament.
The Pirates bolted to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, got a five-run jolt with big RBI hits by Braedon Spies and Charlie Russell in the fifth, and rode the superior pitching of Dillon Bandi to the finish line. Bandi started, cruised through the middle innings after a shaky first, and went the route, allowing just three hits along the way.
In the top of the first frame, the Maroon & White cobbled together five walks, a hit, and a sacrifice fly to build a 3-0 lead. In the home half of that same inning, the Cardinals took advantage of two walks and their own sacrifice fly to get one run back. The pitching for both sides was strong in the second and third; for his part, Bandi got on a run of producing ground-ball outs and strikeouts. He stranded a leadoff single in the second and pitched a 1-2-3 third.
River wasted a scoring chance in the fourth; Brookside did not. A two-out walk and a River error brought the Cardinals within one (3-2). But the top of the fifth would loosen things up for Bandi and the Pirates.
Gavin O'Brien started things off with a single. After an error and a walk, Braedon Spies rapped a two-run double to give the Pirates some breathing room on the scoreboard. The inning continued with RBI hits by Joey Pike and Charlie Russell, and when Bandi took the mound in the bottom of the fifth, his Pirates were in front, 8-2.
The balance of the contest was an acceptable 1-for-2 exchange, with Pike, Russell, and Jacob Florentine combining to produce a run in the seventh after the home nine had plated two in the sixth. Dillon Bandi finished strong, retiring five of the last six batters he faced.
For the game, Bandi struck out six. He helped his own cause by going 1-for-3 at the plate; he also scored two runs. Bandi's complete-game effort marked his fifth win of the season, which is believed to be the most for a Pirate hurler since Chris Meyer tallied nine victories in 1999. Monday's outing marked the fourth straight start the senior right-hander has yielded exactly three base hits.
Russell went 2-for-3 with a walk. Spies and Tommy Capka each logged a hit and a walk in the game. Rocky River had eight hits to Brookside's three. Each team was tagged with two errors.
The Pirates -- the 20th-seeded team in the bracket -- now move on in the North Ridgeville District. River will travel to No. 4 Cloverleaf for a 5 p.m. game on Wednesday.