Sidney’s Aiden Ike slides into second as Springboro’s Micah Brandon attempts to tag him during a Division I sectional final on Thursday in Springboro. The Yellow Jackets lost 4-1 and finish the season with a 13-13 record.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
SPRINGBORO — Sidney struggled hitting in a Division I sectional final on Thursday and had its season come to an end.
After a solo home run by Aiden Booth tied the game 1-1 in the fourth inning, the Panthers scored two runs in the bottom half to take control and beat the Yellow Jackets 4-1.
Sidney, which won the Miami Valley League Valley Division title this year, finishes 13-13 overall.
Booth’s solo homer to left field came with two outs in the fourth and was Sidney’s first hit of the game. It was the fifth home run of the season for Booth, who had a .407 batting average. He finished the year with 20 RBIs and 22 runs to his credit.
The Panthers quickly regained momentum in the bottom half.
Sidney pitcher Gavin Roberts hit Jake Cane with a pitch, then Alec Poole hit a line-drive single to left field. Tyler Phillips hit a sacrifice bunt then Luke Burroughs hit a line-drive single to center to drive in one run. Poole then scored on a passed ball to push the lead to 3-1.
The Yellow Jackets went down in order in the fifth, and the Panthers’ scored the game’s final run. Ben Veletean hit line-drive single to left with one out, then Zack Gardner hit a line-drive double to left to drive in Veletean and push the advantage to three runs.
Sam New hit a line-drive single to center in the sixth with one out, but pinch runner Ethan New was picked off at first base. Roberts hit a single to center, but Ian Arnold hit a pop out to end the inning.
Sidney went down in order in the seventh.
Springboro took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Gardner led off the winning with a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a passed ball.
Springboro had five hits and didn’t commit an error, while Sidney had three hits and committed one error.
Roberts pitched five innings and gave up two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three. Booth pitched in the sixth and struck out two batters.
Sidney will lose six seniors to graduation, including Booth, who was a first team all-MVL selection. The squad will also lose Arnold, Wyatt Bisbee, Aiden Ike, AJ McLain and Roberts to graduation. Roberts was an honorable mention all-MVL selection.
Contact Bryant Billing at (937) 538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.
