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SHADYSIDE - Rhys Francis is a D-I college pitching recruit. Union Local witnessed firsthand Monday afternoon the impressive mound talents of the Shadyside senior.
The Oakland University signee was nothing short of dazzling in the Tigers' 12-6 win over the Jets. Francis fanned 10 and did not allow a hit in three innings of work. As fate would have it, however, the hard-throwing righthander fell ill and did not return to the mound in the fourth.
Shadyside owned a 12-0 lead when he departed. Francis walked one.
Mason VanNest and Tyler Stottlemyer worked the balance of the contest for the hosts.
"Rhys is a D-I recruit for a reason. He showed that again," Shadyside head coach Shawn Selmon noted. "He obviously pitched very well. I took him out sooner than I would have like but he was not feeling well."
Shadyside improved to a sparkling 15-3 on the season. The Tigers travel to Shenandoah today to complete a suspended game.
The hosts took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on the strength of a Bryce Amos RBI double and a sac fly from Ryan Florence.
Shadyside added two more runs in the second.
Senior standout Korey Beckett singled before Francis drew a walk. VanNest delivered a single to plate Beckett. Francis scored on a wild pitch.
The Tigers broke the contest wide open in the third inning, exploding for eight runs on seven hits.
Freshman Cole Micker singled in two runs while all-Ohio gridder Logan Crozier doubled in another. Alex Baker knocked in two teammates via a single while Beckett and Vannest also produced run-scoring singles.
Union Local bounced back with two tallies in the fourth. Two Jets were hit by pitches before Billy Schumacher singled them both home.
The Jets avoided being mercy-ruled by pushing across three runs in the fifth. Dalton Hess rapped an RBI single while Jake Toohey brought home two more teammates on a triple.
Shadyside finished with 12 hits while Union Local totaled five safeties.
"We hit the ball well today. But we took our foot off the gas," Selmon said. "Sometimes it's hard to stay focused when you build a big lead early but you cannot take your foot of the gas like we did today.
"I am not complaining about a 12-6 win, but we could have played better. We could have finished better," he added. "We were able to get a lot of players into the game. That was one of our goals today."
Beckett, VanNest, Baker and Grant Miller all had two hits each to pace the Orange attack.
Evan White was the first of four Union Local hurlers. He gave way to Toohey in the second before Schumacher took the hill in the third. Braylon Akers hurled the sixth frame. They combined for five strikeouts and 11 walks.
"We lost to a good team and a very good pitcher today," Union Local head coach Wade Smolira offered. "Francis really pitched well. We are using this week to get ready for the sectional."
Union Local will host Cambridge today.