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GTI's
Ethan Clark has to get out of the way of a pitch
delivered by Piqua pitcher Austin Reedy
as Clark attempted to bunt. GTI
lost the final game of the season 9-5 Thursday at GTI Field
on Sater. CNO Photo by George Starks
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GTI
drops season finale to Piqua
By George Starks
GREENVILLE- With the temperature said to be 103 degrees, GTI-I took the
field against Piqua.
GTI pitcher Austin Weimer took the bulk of that heat right out of the
gate. Forced to throw 49 pitches in the first inning alone, coupled
with four errors by his defense, added up to a 9-5 loss for GTI
Thursday.
If the heat and shaky defense wasn’t enough, the GTI offense was held
to one hit through the first three innings of the contest.
“I think their pitcher (Austin Reedy) had us off balance because of his
submarine delivery and it took us a while to get the offense going,”
said GTI coach Trey Wolter. “That threw the kids off a little bit
because we don’t see kids that throw like that. We had too many errors
and we’re still making the same mistakes that we have been making the
last week or two. We have to fix this in the next few days before the
tournament starts.”
It was a night when things got off on the wrong foot from the very
beginning when Piqua notched five first inning runs.
The Miami County team held that 5-0 lead until the fourth when GTI
struck for three runs on RBI’s from Ethan Clark, Reese Hunt and Cole
Ward.
Piqua would answer with two in the fifth, taking a 7-3 advantage.
“The heat was a dry heat and the Piqua coach and I talked about not
playing tonight,” said Wolter. “It was a dry heat and not a humid heat
so we decided to play. We figured the kids are young and if they stay
hydrated, they would be fine.”
GTI would never get closer than two runs the whole night after posting
a 16-13 win the night before at Piqua.
“With a shortage of players, Wolter is working with a make-shift
line-up.
“Going into the tournament like this is going to be tough,” Wolter
admitted. “It will all work out. We just have to figure out the
defense.”
Getting back into the game was one thing for GTI. Staying within
striking distance was not an option on this night.
“After the first inning, we weren’t making many mistakes and Piqua was
hitting the ball well,” Wolter said. “They were finding the gaps here
and there but in that first inning, they killed us right off the bat.”
The tournament starts Sunday in Piqua as GTI will face Versailles at
5:30.
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