MACEDONIA — The Jefferson baseball team was five outs away from a district championship.
Then everything changed in one inning.
Norton erupted for five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday afternoon, rallying from a three-run deficit to defeat Jefferson 6-4 in the Division IV Northeast District 3 championship game at Nordonia High School.
The Falcons carried a 4-1 lead into the fifth before the Panthers pieced together the decisive rally to capture the district title.
“The stage got to us a little bit,” said Jefferson head coach Scott Barber. “It’s a big moment being out here, and it’s tough. Hopefully, we learned the lessons to put us in the right spots to be back here and ready to go next year.”
Help Ohio Varsity Tell More Stories
Ohio Varsity is independently owned and provides local coverage of high school athletes, teams and communities throughout Northeast Ohio.
One-time and monthly donations available through PayPal.
Norton struck first in the opening inning when Ronnie Ammons reached on an error and later scored on a double steal to give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage.
Jefferson answered in the top of the third with a three-run surge to take control.
Joey Sands delivered the tying run with an RBI single before Michael Riffle scored on a passed ball to give the Falcons the lead. RJ Cotton followed with an RBI groundout as Jefferson built a 3-1 cushion.
The Falcons added what appeared to be an important insurance run in the fourth when Tate Hudson brought home a run on another RBI groundout, extending the lead to 4-1.
Norton began chipping away in the fifth inning behind a Jonny Kievman RBI single that trimmed the deficit to 4-2.
The Panthers kept the pressure on as Jackson Lewis drew a bases-loaded walk to score Matt Hymes before Ian Starling tied the game at 4-4 with a fielder’s choice that brought home Kievman.
Norton then grabbed the lead for good on a Tyler Ruther seeing-eye RBI single before Starling later scored on a balk to make it 6-4.
Jefferson was unable to answer in the final two innings.
“They were very calm in the moment, except for that one inning,” Barber said. “Things kind of snowballed a little bit, and it got tough on the guys. It got tough on all of us as coaches, too, even though I’ve been here quite a few times. It’s not an easy stage when things aren’t going your way, and you’re trying to figure it out on the fly.”
Despite the loss, Jefferson closed the season with an 18-6 record, a Chagrin Valley Conference Lake Division championship, a sectional title, and a district runner-up finish.
“This is still a time to celebrate. This is a celebration to get to this point; that’s very nice,” Barber said. “The nice thing is the strength of what’s coming up for Jefferson baseball in the future.”
Top Players
- Joey Sands (Jefferson): 1-for-3, RBI, run scored
- Michael Riffle (Jefferson): 1-for-3, two runs scored
- RJ Cotton (Jefferson): RBI
- Tate Hudson (Jefferson): RBI
- Brayden South (Jefferson): hit, run scored
Sands also turned in a strong outing on the mound, allowing two runs on four hits with six strikeouts over four innings.
Dylan Myllymaki and Lucas Uden combined to pitch the final two innings in relief.
