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CONNORVILLE -- Barnesville enjoyed a very special baseball season in 2021, advancing all the way to the OHSAA D-III state tournament.
The Shamrocks opened the 2022 campaign still riding the wave of that monumental success by blanking homestanding Buckeye Local, 5-0, Tuesday afternoon at sun-splashed Bill Mazeroski Field.
Coach D.J. Butler's well-drilled Red and Green charges exhibited fine pitching, superb defense and just enough hitting to leave Jefferson County with the victory.
"It's a nice way to begin the season," Butler offered. "We were a little sluggish with the bats but we had a few kids step up. Duker (Castello) gave us a big lift.
"Both our pitchers were solid," he added. "Defensively, we made all the plays. We take pride in how well we play in the field."
Kyvan Johnson worked the first five innings on the hill for the Shamrocks. He was impressive, striking out eight, walking just one while yielding just two hits.
Jaxon Wiley finished up with two sharp innings of relief. He fanned one, walked none and was touched for just one hit.
Barnesville tallied the only run it would need in the second frame. Designated hitter Noah Strauss singled but was later erased on a fielder's choice. Castello delivered a run-scoring single for a 1-0 Shamrock lead.
The visitors added another run in the third inning. Jeremy Hunkler coaxed a walk to open the inning. He advanced on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single from Logan Shepherd.
Barnesville's advantage grew to 4-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth. Kason Powell and Castello rapped singles. Powell scored on a CJ Hannahs fielder's choice. A pair of Panther errors enabled Hannahs to score.
The Shamrocks closed the scoring in the sixth. Hannahs opened with a walk and moved to third on an error. Shepherd brought him home with a ground out.
Senior Matt Scott started on the hill for Buckeye Local and pitched well despite suffering the loss. He left with two outs in the fifth, scattering five hits.
Freshman Kaleb Stang and junior Aiden Polanski turned in fine relief stints for the Panthers.
"We gave up too many walks early that got us in some trouble but other than that I was happy with our pitching," Buckeye Local head coach Jeff Patrick said. "Kaleb did a great job coming in and getting us out of a big jam.
"Obviously, our hitting has to improve, and I believe it will," he added. "We lost to a very good team. Barnesville has a great program, but I thought we competed well."
Scott, Corey Olinski and Trey Hoover delivered the lone hits for Buckeye Local.
The two teams will square off again today at 6 p.m. in Barnesville. The game was originally scheduled for Friday.
"Making the state tournament has made this group hungrier. We had a great summer and off-season," Butler noted. "Our numbers are up. We have 32 kids out.
"It is a great bunch of guys. They are a pleasure to coach," he added. "We don't have any issues. Barnesville has always been a baseball town."
Barnesville 5, Buckeye Local 0
Barnesville 011 201 0 - 5 6 1
Buckeye 000 000 0 - 0 3 4
BARNESVILLE: Johnson (wp) 8K, 1BB, Wiley (6) 1K, 0BB and Powell. Castello 2S, RBI; Shepherd S, 2RBI; Powell D, S; Strauss S; Hannahs RBI.
BUCKEYE LOCAL: Scott (lp) 1K, 5BB, Stang (5) 1K, 2BB, Polanski (7) 2K, 0BB and Olinski. Scott S, Olinski S, Hoover S.