AMHERST After staging a dramatic seventh-inning rally just to earn a place in the finals of the inaugural Amherst Baseball July Classic on Sunday, the host Comets were forced to settle for the runner-up trophy.

Medinas Kyle Maruna threw a complete game six-hitter and Bryce Vogels single drove in Nathan Lucarelli with the winning run in the sixth inning as the Bees defeated Amherst 2-1 in the championship game.

The Comets scored their only run in the first inning when Jacob Lezon singled home Jake Hart, who drew a one-out walk. Amhersts inability to score over the final six innings overshadowed the fine performance of sophomore pitcher Justin Hritsko.

Hritsko worked out of trouble in almost every inning to hold the Bees to two runs. Although Hritsko allowed 12 hits, he forced the Bees to strand a runner in scoring position in every inning except the fifth.

When Hritsko wasnt pitching this weekend, he was playing shortstop where he turned in a number of fine defensive plays.

I was a little nervous pitching at this level, Hritsko said. I just went out and tried my hardest and threw strikes and allowed my defense to make outs. I feel like I really improved this weekend and hopefully showed I can play at a higher level.

Amherst was nearly a spectator at its own party as it trailed 5-4 going into its final at-bat in the semifinal against Willoughby South.

Against all odds, and thanks to the Rebels defense making a huge mental error, the Comets scored five runs with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to steal a 9-5 win.

With two outs and the bases loaded, senior Gabe Solak hit a popup to the left side of the infield for what looked to be the final out of the game. Instead, two Willoughby South fielders converged and both appeared to lose the ball in the sun. As the ball dropped harmlessly onto the infield dirt, Kyle Dalzall and Hart scored to put Amherst on top 6-5.

Junior Connon Emch followed with a triple down the right-field line to score two more runs. Then Emch stole home as Christian Velez, who walked after the triple, got caught in a rundown between first and second base.

The improvements I saw in our team from Wednesday to Sunday was just phenomenal, Amherst coach Matt Rositano said. Justin (Hritsko) pitched really well today. Some of our guys were seeing varsity pitching for the first time this weekend and they had good approaches at the plate. You could see the game really slow down for the young guys from the beginning of the week until today. I was very encouraged with what I saw this weekend.

Medina advanced to the championship game with a 7-5 win against Canal Fulton Northwest in Sundays other semifinal at Penfield.

Solak doubled to lead off the seventh inning against the Bees but Maruna retired the next three hitters in order to end the game.

Rositano said he intends to make the July Classic an annual event and hopefully expand the field beyond six days.

Ohio High School Athletic Association rules permit teams to play or practice together with their coaches for 10 days in the offseason between June 1 and July 31. With that in mind, Rositano said he is exploring the possibility of making next years July Classic a week-long event.

Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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Amherst Baseball July Classic: Comets pull off wild comeback to win semifinal, but can't muster same magic against ... - Chronicle Telegram