Manning, Big Red tough out a victory
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STEUBENVILLE -- There's an old expression that sometimes a player needs a kick in the rear to get going.
Big Red pitcher Aydan Manning got a baseball to the head instead in Big Red's 4-2 win over Weir High.
Manning, Big Red's starter on the mound, was struck by an attempt to throw out a Red Rider stealing second base in the top of the second inning, and seemed to be even stronger on the mound after getting up and staying on the way to a complete game victory.
After being cleared by the trainers to stay in the game, he struck out the next two batters and put up 1-2-3 innings in the next three to keep his pitch count down and the Red Riders at bay.
"Aydan started out with 57 pitches in an inning and two thirds, then he settled down and started throwing the ball over the plate so his pitch count didn't get him out of the game," Big Red head coach Fred Heatherington said. "I think he pitched better after (he got hit). He showed his toughness, he wasn't coming out, he didn't want to come out and he settled in (after that)."
Big Red (2-2) jumped ahead early with a three-run first inning, aided by a Red Rider error, which proved to be enough with Manning on the hill.
After the Red Riders (3-6) left a pair of men stranded in the top half, Martie Lovato's RBI knock put Big Red on the board, then, after the Red Riders infield bobbled a ball that would have ended the inning, Hayden Hicks hit a deep two-out, two-run double to make it a 3-0 lead.
"We made too many mistakes," Weir head coach Dave Cowden said. "When you put the ball in play, good things happen and they put the ball in play early and scored three runs. We didn't finish plays, we made mistakes and you can't do that. And, (Manning) is a good pitcher. We struggled a little bit to string things together and get the big hit to break through.
"G (Cross) pitched well, too. He should have been out of the first inning but we bobbled the ball and made some mistakes in the field. That's baseball."
The Red Riders got on the board in the top of the second with an RBI single from Jerzee McCallister, but that would be their only offense until the seventh inning.
Big Red got that run back with an RBI groundout from Hicks in the fifth. Cross' two-out RBI single in the top of the seventh momentarily gave Weir some life, but it was short lived as Manning retired the next batter to end the game.
"We played good in the first inning and then kind of got in a lull, but we made the plays we had to make," Heatherington said.
UP NEXT
Weir High: Travels to Catholic Central on Wednesday.
Big Red: Takes on St. Clairsville today. That game, originally scheduled for to be played in St. Clairsville but has been moved to the Crimson Complex due to the forecast.