The fourth annual Tiger Cup game took place on Saturday, September 28th at Carleton Davidson Stadium during the Tigers' annual Family Day event. Team Black took home the Tiger Cup on a come-from-behind victory, defeating Team Red 6-5 in thrilling fashion.
The seniors selected their teams for the Tiger Cup during a 6-round live draft held on Wednesday, September 25th at the famous Mike and Rosy's deli in Springfield, OH. Team Black was led by seniors; Justin Bargar, Chase Carpenter, Aaron Fasano, Andrew Hammond, and Adam Mays. Team Red was led by seniors; Michael Flynn, Patrick Kenny, Ryan Probst, Jacob Muhleman, and Andrew Shanor. Team Red owned the first overall pick of the draft and selected Gabe Stacy. Team Black chose Jack Hollinshead with their first pick and from there the draft was on for the next 5 rounds. The remaining non-drafted players were then split up by the coaching staff to even out the teams positionally.
The Family Day event started off for the parents with a family-friendly breakfast tailgate party prior to the annual Tiger Cup game. Just before the two sides took the field, Coach McGee shared a brief welcome to the families, followed by a player introduction ceremony just before the first pitch.
During the game, there were nearly 200 spectators on hand to watch what would turn out to be a very close game, leading up to a suspenseful ending. Fasano was honored with the Player of the Game award after his two-hit, two-RBI performance that included the go-ahead two-RBI single in the top of the ninth inning which turned out to be the game-winning hit. Nick Cunningham took home the Pitcher of the Game honors after throwing two scoreless innings on one hit while picking up the win.
The game started with Muhleman tossing a scoreless inning for Team Red in the top of the first. Team Red would then jump out to an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Stacy got things going with a lead-off walk, followed by a stolen base. Max Monachino would get the scoring started with an RBI single that would bring Stacy around to score. Monachino would then proceed to steal second. Two batters later, Matt Moore would bring Monachino around to score with an RBI single to give Team Red a 2-0 lead. Tanner Boros would keep the rally alive with an RBI single of his own to plate Moore and give Team Red a 3-0 lead. Two batters later, Andrew Shanor gave Team Red a 4-0 lead on a sacrifice fly to bring Boros home to score.
Team Black would respond in the top of the second inning with two runs of their own, to cut the lead to 4-2. Fasano reached on a throwing error that would allow him to make it all the way to third base. The next batter, Cunningham, would get Team Black on the scoreboard with an RBI single to bring Fasano in to score. Two batters later, Bargar would bring Cunningham in to score with an RBI Double and bring the score to 4-2.
After a scoreless 3rd, Joe Horoszko would get the scoring started again in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run, to give Team Red a 5-2 lead after four innings. Horoszko would then proceed to toss his second consecutive scoreless inning in the top of the fifth, to keep the score at 5-2 after five.
Team Black would cut the lead to 5-3 in the top of the seventh inning after Mason Davis was hit by a pitch and would later come around to score after back-to-back walks issued to Dylan Jackson and Carpenter, and a fielder's choice.
Mays and Cunningham would keep the Red Team scoreless from the fifth through the eighth inning by tossing two scoreless innings each.
Heading into the top of the ninth, down 5-3, Team Black would need to score at least two runs to keep their hopes at the Tiger Cup alive. The inning was started with a leadoff single by Gage Carpenter. Chase Whisner was next to the plate and collected a single of his own. With two on and nobody out, Jack Hollinshead reached base off an error to load the bases. Davis would be next to the plate and would groundout to third to bring Carpenter in to score and cut the lead to 5-4. The next batter, Dylan Jackson, would be intentionally walked to load the bases. A fielders-choice on a grounder hit back to the pitcher and thrown home would keep the score at 5-4. With two on and two outs, Fasano would step to the plate and proceed to hit the go-ahead two-RBI single to put Team Black up 6-5. A groundout would end the top of the ninth and send the game to the bottom of the ninth with Team Black up 6-5.
In the bottom of the ninth, Jeff Chonko would lead off the inning with a single breathing life into the Red team. Probst came in to pinch run for Chonko and proceeded to steal second base to put Team Red in scoring position. However, Tanner Griggs would stop any momentum from there forward by striking out the next batter and inducing two groundouts to end the game and give Team Black the 6-5 win and the Tiger Cup championship.
After the game, the families and players gathered for a family day pot luck picnic. Families and players sat down the right-field line in the covered picnic pavilion enjoying a meal over each other's company. The day ended, with announcements from Head Coach Brian McGee and the presentation of the 2019 Team Season Awards to the honorary recipients.
Thank you again to all the families for their attendance, contributions, and show of support!