Ontario finds winning recipe for 2026 success in win over Clear Fork
· Yahoo Sports
BELLVILLE — The Ontario Warriors saw firsthand the recipe for their success in 2026.
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In their 3-1 win over the Clear Fork Colts on Tuesday, March 31, the Warriors played near flawless defense, pitched with urgency and to contact, put the ball in play offensively to make the defense make plays and got timely hits when they needed them. They did all four in their Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference opener beating their Richland County rival in the first of the two-game series.
“In our scrimmages and our first game, we haven’t been getting those key hits in key situations,” Ontario coach Bret Simmermacher said. “We did a couple of times tonight. We put some pressure on Clear Fork to make plays and we took advantage of a break there in the seventh. I am happy with how they played.”
After a scoreless tie through three, Ontario got on the board in the fourth after Guy Trader drew a leadoff walk, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a Jaren Holden RBI double.
First timely hit of the night.
The next came in the seventh after Kane Cantrell started the inning off with an infield single before advancing to second on a groundout and scored when Max Ciroli ripped an RBI double to left. He later scored on a fielder’s choice to give the Warriors some insurance runs.
It was just what Holden needed as he tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings allowing just four hits with nine strikeouts. Ciroli closed things out with the save working the final two outs with two strikeouts. Holden tossed 96 pitches with 57 going for strikes.
“I didn’t really want to throw him that many pitches, but I talked to him between the sixth and seventh inning and he convinced me to let him have a chance,” Simmermacher said. “We got a couple guys on base, made the move to Max and he shut the door.”
Clear Fork didn’t go away quietly. After a walk by Gracin Crunkilton and a double by Blayne Craddolph, the Colts brought the tying run to the plate with one out. Crunkilton scored on a passed ball and Quentein Rhinehart walked to put the winning run at the plate but Ciroli shut the door on any comeback attempt.
“At the end of the day, I would rather win ugly than lose,” Clear Fork coach Dane Kennedy said. “But I am proud of the way the kids battled, Ontario is a great baseball team and always is. They have a ton of talent and a great coaching staff. Their kids made plays when they needed to. The thing I took away from them is how sound their defense was. They made every play to win.”
Yet, he was still happy with the Colts’ ability to battle back.
“We had every reason to pack it in and say we were done,” Kennedy said. “Even when we were down 1-0, it felt like 10-0 and then got down 3-0 and we were even further behind. But our kids kept fighting and we believed until the very out. Other than a win, that is what I wanted to see as a coach.”
Holden added a hit and an RBI to go with his pitching performance that earned him victory No. 1 on the season.
“I wanted to just throw strikes early and get people out,” Holden said. “It really was that simple of a mentality. I wasn’t focused on striking people out. I trust my defense behind me, so I carried that mindset through the game.”
Guy Trader, Cantrell and Liam Holden had one hit apiece with Ciroli and Liam Holden adding one RBI apiece. The Warriors are now 1-0 in league play and 1-1 on the season. Getting that first MOAC win is a great start.
“It’s huge,” Simmermacher said. “Not only for the league standings early on, but for the kids and the program. I thought before the season started that if we could get off to a good start, build some confidence, we could be a dangerous team. We have a lot of really good players who need to just believe in themselves and wins will do that.”
Jaren Holden hopes more wins are to come.
“It shows we are going to be pretty good and can be even better,” Holden said. “We have confidence to get more wins. We have a lot of age diversity, but we are gelling pretty good right now and if we stay together, we can have a successful season.”
Jacob Brokaw led the Colts with two hits while Crunkilton and Bryar Ousley had one hit apiece for the Colts. Craddolph pitched well enough to win allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts in five innings of work.
The Colts are now 1-2 on the year and 0-1 in the MOAC, but still have all of their goals in front of them.
“We say it every year that this conference is a gauntlet,” Kennedy said. “We have a lot of young guys in new spots who are figuring out life at the varsity level. I like the progress we have made since our first scrimmage and believe we can compete for a league championship still.”
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ontario Warriors beat Clear Fork Colts in MOAC baseball action