In the 23rd game of our 24-game quest for back-to-back undefeated conference championships, it was #23 who kept that journey alive. After a few tough non-conference losses in a row, the first six innings of this one were absolutely terrifying. But, an outstanding performance by senior Devin Daugherty, both on the mound and at the plate, saved the Clippers from a devastating loss.
As noted, senior Devin Daugherty got the start on the mound for the Clippers, while his counterpart, an impressive junior, Cale Moraski got the ball for the East Palestine Bulldogs. The two went right at each team’s offense all night long. Daugherty and Moraski combined for 28 strikeouts for the evening across eight innings apiece (15 and 13, respectively). And yes, the game did indeed go into extra innings. Ultimately, it would be the Clippers who would prevail in a 3-1 victory after pushing two across in the top of the eighth to break a 1-1 tie. Daugherty earned his third win of the season, and the one run he did allow was unearned.
At the plate, the Clippers did have six hits but were unable to scratch anything across the board until the top of the sixth inning. There were some opportunities with runners in scoring positions, but none came to fruition up to that point. This was really unnerving considering the Bulldogs did score a run in the bottom of the fourth on a double from Kyler Bourne. Down 1-0, in the top of the sixth, it was none other than #23 Devin Daugherty who came through. With already one out in the inning, Devin dropped a hustle double into the right center field gap. Then, after an intentional walk to clean-up hitter, senior Alex Eusebio, a double steal by Daugherty and Eusebio would really put us in business. But, after a strikeout, things looked very bleak. However, a perfect read by Daugherty on a passed ball allowed him to score the tying run. This proved critical as that at-bat also ended in a strikeout. And, after a scoreless bottom of the sixth and full seventh, the game would go into extra innings, with both starters still going at it.
In the top of the eighth inning, with one out recorded, senior Colin Keleman was able to reach on an error. This was followed up by an absolute missile to the left center field fence by, you guessed it, Devin Daugherty. This resulted in a go-ahead RBI triple for Devin, scoring Keleman. Eusebio then dropped a base hit into right field to score Daugherty for a big insurance run, to make it 3-1. Devin would then go on to strike out two of the four batters he faced in the bottom of the eighth to close things out for the Clippers.
This win gave the Clippers their second consecutive outright EOAC title. However, there is a bigger fish to fry with the EOAC today against East Palestine at home. The Clippers look to have not only back-to-back EOAC championships, but back-to-back UNDEFEATED EOAC championships. Back-to-back undefeated league titles is something that I am not sure has ever been done in Columbiana history. Senior Alex Eusebio will get the ball today to try to help us do just that. 5:00 PM at Firestone Park.
Columbiana Clippers 
In the 23rd game of our 24-game quest for back-to-back undefeated conference championships, it was #23 who kept that journey alive. After a few tough non-conference losses in a row, the first six innings of this one were absolutely terrifying. But, an outstanding performance by senior Devin Daugherty, both on the mound and at the plate, saved the Clippers from a devastating loss.
As noted, senior Devin Daugherty got the start on the mound for the Clippers, while his counterpart, an impressive junior, Cale Moraski got the ball for the East Palestine Bulldogs. The two went right at each team’s offense all night long. Daugherty and Moraski combined for 28 strikeouts for the evening across eight innings apiece (15 and 13, respectively). And yes, the game did indeed go into extra innings. Ultimately, it would be the Clippers who would prevail in a 3-1 victory after pushing two across in the top of the eighth to break a 1-1 tie. Daugherty earned his third win of the season, and the one run he did allow was unearned.
At the plate, the Clippers did have six hits but were unable to scratch anything across the board until the top of the sixth inning. There were some opportunities with runners in scoring positions, but none came to fruition up to that point. This was really unnerving considering the Bulldogs did score a run in the bottom of the fourth on a double from Kyler Bourne. Down 1-0, in the top of the sixth, it was none other than #23 Devin Daugherty who came through. With already one out in the inning, Devin dropped a hustle double into the right center field gap. Then, after an intentional walk to clean-up hitter, senior Alex Eusebio, a double steal by Daugherty and Eusebio would really put us in business. But, after a strikeout, things looked very bleak. However, a perfect read by Daugherty on a passed ball allowed him to score the tying run. This proved critical as that at-bat also ended in a strikeout. And, after a scoreless bottom of the sixth and full seventh, the game would go into extra innings, with both starters still going at it.
In the top of the eighth inning, with one out recorded, senior Colin Keleman was able to reach on an error. This was followed up by an absolute missile to the left center field fence by, you guessed it, Devin Daugherty. This resulted in a go-ahead RBI triple for Devin, scoring Keleman. Eusebio then dropped a base hit into right field to score Daugherty for a big insurance run, to make it 3-1. Devin would then go on to strike out two of the four batters he faced in the bottom of the eighth to close things out for the Clippers.
This win gave the Clippers their second consecutive outright EOAC title. However, there is a bigger fish to fry with the EOAC today against East Palestine at home. The Clippers look to have not only back-to-back EOAC championships, but back-to-back UNDEFEATED EOAC championships. Back-to-back undefeated league titles is something that I am not sure has ever been done in Columbiana history. Senior Alex Eusebio will get the ball today to try to help us do just that. 5:00 PM at Firestone Park.
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