Confidence gained against St. Francis carries over to Ross’ win over Toledo Start

TOLEDO – The Little Giants didn’t get a win Wednesday, but for all the momentum they took from their suspended game against TRAC power St. Francis, they may as well have.

Brandon Schneider

Though darkness forced Ross’ game against the Knights to be stopped tied in the eighth inning of what coach Jared King called “their best game so far this year,” the Little Giants picked up right where they left off Thursday against Toledo Start.

Ross outhit Start by a 2-to-1 margin and scored four runs in the final two innings to take a 7-3 win over the Spartans.

“We’ve been taking a lot better approaches the last few days,” King said. “I thought last night was a good night to build off of and I told the guys that from the get-go today. … I was very happy with our approaches today and hope this is something we can continue to build on.

“St. Francis is a team that’s traditionally at the top of the TRAC,” King added. “Being able to stand toe-to-toe with them, I think our guys developed some confidence.”

With the game tied at three in the top of the sixth inning, Luke O’Brien hit a ball at the shortstop. When he failed to field it cleanly, it allowed Brandon Schneider to score from second base, sliding safely at home on a play at the plate.

The Little Giants added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh with two outs. Cole Druckenmiller hit an RBI double while Josiah Cook followed with an RBI single to further pad the lead.

“Early on in the game we got some guys on but couldn’t move them,” King said. “We had a couple guys later in the game get on and it sparked us and got kind of contagious where we got two or three hits in a row. We were getting guys on and moving them and getting them in.”

In addition to scoring the game-winning run, Schneider had a stellar game on the mound. He threw the complete game, scattering five hits over seven innings allowing one earned run with three strikeouts and just one walk.

“He did a really nice job,” King said if Schneider. “He wasn’t trying to do too much. He was around the zone, he only had three strikeouts but I’ll trade that any day when he’s putting it in play and letting our defense play. He kept it low in the zone and didn’t give them get too much over the plate to drive. I thought he did a tremendous job on the mound and allowed himself to get helped by his defense and put us in a good position.”

Caleb Bennison paced Ross’ offense with three hits while Cook had two RBIs.

The Little Giants (2-5 overall) will host TRAC rival Findlay Friday.

“I think our confidence is heading in the right direction right now,” King said. “I couldn’t tell you how much longer it will last but I’m hoping it’ll last as long as possible because right now I think we’re playing a good brand of baseball.”