Clinton Arrows clinch home field advantage with 8-5 win over Germantown
MADISON — Clinton has clinched home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Behind a four-run sixth inning and a strong pitching performance from Cole Manuel, the Arrows rallied past Germantown 8-5 to clinch the No. 2 seed out of Region 4-6A on Friday night.
The Mavericks will be the No. 3 seed out of the region. The first round of the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs begin on April 22.
Clinton (13-8) and Germantown (12-9) will play the third and final game of the series at 2 p.m. Saturday in Clinton.
“I’m super proud of the way the kids played and how they kept fighting,” said Clinton coach Sam Temple. “Cole is a gutsy ball player that plays with a lot of heart, and he did what he had to do on the mound and was throwing strikes.”
Germantown jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI triple to right by Cole Burton and an RBI single to left by Cameron Hill.
Clinton cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the second on a throwing error and tied the game 2-2 in the fifth on an RBI single to right by A.J. Seiter.
The Mavericks regained the lead at 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth on a three-run home run to left by Hill.
The Arrows answered in the top of the sixth with four runs, all with two outs, highlighted by a Seiter's two-run single to right that tied the game. The go-ahead run came on an RBI infield single by Ethan Wiggins that put the Arrows ahead 6-5.
Clinton added on the final two runs in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice.
Seiter finished the night with four hits and three RBI’s to lead Clinton offensively.
“Our guys were really scrappy at the plate and saw some good pitches, and we were able to piece together some timely hits," Temple said. "We’re putting things together late in the season and now (we've got) home field advantage in the playoffs. Germantown is a really good team and was up for the challenge, and we were able to have somethings go our way.”
Manuel (3-2) got the win on the mound for Clinton tossing a complete game, giving up seven hits, five runs and had 12 strikeouts.
“Pitching it was really execution," Manuel said. "When I made a mistake, they made me pay for it. Curve ball was really working tonight. The four runs completely changed momentum for us, and we were able to keep it. Real big we get home field in the playoffs now.”
Hill had two hits to lead Germantown, while Cole Burton takes the loss in relief for the Mavericks.
“It’s all about finishing for us on the mound and we’ve got to find somebody that’ll come in to finish the game,” said Germantown coach Brian Hardy. “We did a better job of hitting tonight, but just didn’t finish.”
