ROSS TWP. — The Ross High School baseball team grabbed a piece of the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division title on Monday.
Monroe already had some of it locked up.
Ben Voegele hit a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Rams to a 1-0 victory over the visiting Hornets, completing what was a suspended game from 10 days earlier.
“This is what we set out for in the fall,” Ross coach Brad Voegele said. “We talk about that. We hang that banner out there. We show that banner during the Homecoming parade on our parade float. These guys take pride in that. They’ve worked hard to get there.”
So has Monroe. The Hornets had already captured at least a share of their first league title since 2016 with a 13-3 win over Bellbrook this past Friday.
“The guys have played extremely hard,” Monroe coach Ed Beck said. “We reeled off six wins in a row there, and Hamilton got us on Saturday night. We made a few miscues in the field and gave up a few runs, so we couldn’t get it done there.
“But obviously, it was a great ball game tonight. We played a great ball game. They played a great ball game. They got us in the end. My hat’s off to them.”
Ross was the outright SWBL Southwestern champion last year. With a victory over Franklin on Wednesday, Edgewood (15-7, 5-2 SWBL Southwestern) has a chance to claim a share of its first league title since winning the Fort Ancient Valley Conference in 2008. The Cougars have won six in a row and seven of their last eight.
The Rams (12-8, 6-2 SWBL Southwestern) lost their first conference game to Edgewood before going 6-1 the rest of the way. Monroe (13-8, 6-2 SWBL Southwestern) handed Ross its other defeat in a tight 2-1 contest on April 30.
“The league is really good,” Brad Voegele said. “Anybody that says otherwise is crazy. This is a good Monroe team. Ed does a really good job with them. So it’s a huge reward for our guys to win a share of the title, but it counts. They’ve worked hard.”
Ross senior Kerry Snyder Jr. got the initial start and pitched three scoreless innings against Monroe before inclement weather suspended things a week and a half ago. Rams senior Nolan Ertel finished it on the mound Monday, going five innings to get the win.
Ben Voegele had two singles along with the game-winning RBI that scored Brady McFarland, who added a single. Bryce Fulmer also had a single.
“Defensively and pitching-wise, I feel like we can play with anybody,” Brad Voegele said. “Once we figure out how to score some runs, we’re going to be dangerous. We knew we had this in us. We just keep competing.”
Monroe pitcher Dawson Watts started it off the first time around, and he also finished it. The junior went all eight innings, striking out six and giving up just three hits.
Hornets junior Joe Tarin went 2-for-4 with a double, and senior RJ Schwab went 1-for-4.
“We felt comfortable coming into tonight with Watts finishing the game for us,” Beck said. “Watts has been incredible for us all year, and he was again tonight.”
Monroe finishes off the remainder of its regular season schedule with five straight home games, including Fenwick on Tuesday and Miamisburg on Wednesday.
Ross, which has won three of its last four, travels to Middletown on Wednesday.
Ross softball captures second straight SWBL Southwestern title
The Ross High School softball team captured its second straight SWBL Southwestern title with a 12-2 win over Monroe on Monday. That was also a continuation from a suspended game.
Meadow Webb went 4-for-4 with four runs and a triple, Emilee Peters went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, and Kam Commins clubbed her school-record sixth home run of the season.
The Rams finished the regular season at 17-6 overall and 6-2 in the SWBL. They’ll open up Division III postseason play at home against Ursuline at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
