by Devan Matthews
Correspondent
The Nordonia High School baseball team played three regular-season games recently, and according to head coach Eric Cormell, one of them was the best game that the Knights have played so far.
That contest was the second game of a doubleheader at home May 16. The first game of the twin bill was against Northeast Ohio Conference Lake Division rival Brush.
The Arcs downed Nordonia by the score of 7-1.
According to Cormell, the Knights weren't able to do much offensively against Brush.
"Their pitcher did a good job," said Cormell. "He changed speeds really well. We had about 13 or 14 ground-ball outs."
In the second game of the doubleheader, Nordonia clashed with Kent Roosevelt. The Knights won a nail-biter, beating the Roughriders by an 8-7 margin.
Freshman Zach Lewis started on the mound for Nordonia. He faced a tall task in Kent Roosevelt; the Roughriders are a top seed in their sectional/district tournament.
Lewis went the distance to notch the victory, pitching a complete game. It was far from a smooth ride, though.
For example, the seventh inning provided many challenges.
With the potential tying run at second and no outs, Lewis struck out the next batter. He then enticed the next batter to pop out.
With two outs and the tying run still at second base, a fly ball to right field ended the ballgame.
Ben Shoop paced Nordonia at the plate, cracking a pair of singles. Bryan Nowak also had two singles, while Zach Siemon was 1-for-4 with five RBIs.
On May 19, the Knights faced another Lake division opponent, Valley Forge, on the road. Nordonia only needed five innings win, beating the Patriots by the score of 11-1.
Steve Becker started on the mound for the Knights and went the distance. He struck out eight batters in the process.
Shoop, who's been rock-solid all season offensively, continued his torrid pace against Valley Forge. He was 3-for-4 with three singles.
In addition, Siemon went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
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