Koelle pitches six innings as Maplewood beats Cochranton 8-1

Apr. 18—GUYS MILLS — The Maplewood baseball team (5-4) defeated Cochranton (3-2) 8-1 in a cloudy Wednesday afternoon Region 3 game. Maplewood took the lead early, and played good defense to seal the win.

After a three up three down top of the first, Maplewood went to work at the plate. Maplewood ended up with runners on first and third. An attempted throw to second to catch a steal allowed Landyn Reynolds to score from third.

"It was a great team win," said Maplewood head coach Ken Smock. "We've been itching to put everything together, and we did tonight."

The Tigers created chaos on the base paths, stealing multiple times early in the game. The steals forced the Cardinals' pitchers to be mindful of baserunners, giving the hitters at the plate an advantage.

The Maplewood offense was led by Reynolds and Jacob Woge. Reynolds went 3-for-4, scored two runs and knocked in two as well. Woge walked twice, batting in one.

Maplewood also played team defense the entire game, making every routine play and even a flashy one here or there.

"Great defense early on," said Smock. "AJ (Andrew Proper) made some great plays for us in right field."

The Tigers saw good pitching in this one as well. Chase Koelle threw six innings giving up one run and earning six strikeouts. Reynolds would come in for relief in the top of the seventh. Cochranton managed to get some men on base, but Reynolds hung in there to get a strikeout to end the game.

"Chase (Koelle) did a great job today. He commanded himself and worked through some things. Landyn (Reynolds) came in and finished it behind him," said Smock.

Maplewood was consistently able to get their leadoff man on base, making it easier for the Tigers to get run after run in to extend their lead.

"I'm very proud of these boys. It's a dogfight with just about everybody. We had some mental lapses the other night against Saegertown and we turned it around tonight," said Smock.

For Cochranton, mental errors on defense cost them, as the team gave up four errors in seven innings.

"Overall I think we didn't play great," said Cochranton head coach Jarod Morrison. "We had some guys that competed, but overall not great."

The Cardinals were hanging close early in the game, but things fell apart after their starter, Walker Carroll, was pulled in the second inning. He was replaced by Brayden Burnette. Burnette pitched three innings, and Andrew Albert finished the game.

Cochranton just wasn't able to hit the ball where it wanted to. There were good moments of contact and chances to score runs, but the Cardinals just couldn't capitalize.

The Cochranton offense was led by Isaiah Long and Albert. Long went 1-for-3 at the plate, knocking in one run with a single in the top of the third. Albert went 0-1, but walked twice and scored on Long's single.

"We got some guys on but we just couldn't figure out a way to get them across the plate," said Morrison. "We just left too many guys on base and didn't get the job done."

Maplewood is scheduled to face Youngsville at home on Friday at 4 p.m. Cochranton is scheduled to face Iroquois on Friday at 4 p.m. as well.

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Cochranton 1

Foulk 4-0-0-0, Mattocks 2-0-0-0, Long 3-0-1-1, Carroll 1-0-0-0, Goodge 2-0-0-0, Burnette 3-0-1-0, Field 3-0-0-0, Albert 1-1-0-0, Hoban 1-0-0-0, Moore 3-0-0-0. Totals 23-1-2-1.

Maplewood 8

Reynolds 4-2-3-2, Proper 2—1-0-0, Woge 2-0-0-1, Willison 3-0-1-0, Koelle4-0-0-0, Hirosky 4-1-1-0, Jordan 2-1-1-0, Beuchat 4-2-1-1, Potosky 3-0-0-0. Totals 28-8-7-4.

Cochranton 001 000 0 — 1 2 4

Maplewood 110 150 x — 8 7 1

BATTING

2B: Maplewood — Hirosky.

PITCHING

Cochranton — Carroll LP 1.1-1-2-1-4-2, Burnette 3-4-4-3-1-2, Albert 1.2-2-2-0-1-2; HT — Koelle WP 6-1-1-0-8-3, Reynolds 1-1-0-0-1-1.

Trevor Teubner can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at trevor@meadvilletribune.com.