Seven innings.
Six hits.
Four strikeouts.
One walk.
Complete game.
Shutout.
Those were the stats for Mansfield Lion Sean Neal, whose dominant performance on the mound led the Lions to a 6-0 victory over the Norwood Pirates to clinch the Class 2 District 10 Championship on Saturday afternoon.
“Sean was obviously the standout of the day,” said longtime Lions head coach Doug Jones. “Anytime you have a pitcher who throws a shutout, that’s a good day.”
Jones noted that Norwood defeated Neal on the mound in their last outing, and that Neal answered today in a positive manner.
Offensively, Mansfield struck early and hard, scoring four runs on four hits and three walks in the first inning. They would add to that total by one run in the second inning (hit, hit by pitch, walk).
“We had some timely hits early on,” Jones said. “We did have a baserunning error at homeplate early on, but luckily it didn’t end up hurting us too badly.”
Pirate helmsman Trent Oxenreider said that he felt his team competed in the contest.
“Things didn’t go our way early on, but I still feel that we competed,” he said.
Oxenreider noted senior Weston Chadwell’s performance on the mound.
“He gave us a chance. We had some chances to score early, but we just didn’t get it done in the box today.”
The Lions’ final run came in the fifth inning when Andrew Roy reached base on an error. He was sent on a trip around the bases by hits from Jacob Gray and Mason Roy.
Scoring for the Lions were:
Mason Roy 2-for-4, 1 RBI
Jonah Williamson 2-for-4, 2 runs scored
Spencer Greene 2-for-2,1 RBI
Jacob Gray 2-for-4, 2 RBIs
“Overall, I feel that we played as good as we can play today, both offensively and defensively,” Jones said. “You have to give Norwood credit. They’ve won back-to-back district titles and although they didn’t score today, they didn’t quit, either.”
Scoring for the Pirates were:
AJ Barnes 1-for-3
Joel Ogletree 2-for-3
Tyler Prichard 1-for-3
Matt Davis 1-for-3
Ben Campbell 1-for-3
Mansfield will host Plato in sectional play Monday evening at 5 p.m.
The Pirates finished their season with a 14-11 record.
