PBR Spotlight Game: DIV No. 6 Newark Catholic vs. DII No. 15 Licking Valley

By Alex Schillig
PBR Ohio Assistant Scouting Director

NEWARK, OH - In the second meeting this season, Newark Catholic looked to get revenge on the Licking Valley Panthers.  With the Panthers sending out ace left-handed pitcher Drew Morrison (pictured right), the Green Wave understood runs were going to be hard to come by.  

In the top half of the first, the Newark Catholic lineup came ready for the challenge.  Green Wave hitters; Mike Lohr, Rob Engle, and Hunter Nance (BGSU Commit) all reached safely loading the bases with no outs to start the inning.  Licking Valley starter Drew Morrison was able to escape a potentially disastrous start as he worked out of the inning only giving up one run.  

Newark Catholic starting right handed pitcher Gabe Morris worked a scoreless first inning giving the Green Wave some added momentum. 

Still down 1-0 in the second inning, the Licking Valley lineup started to come alive.  Sophomore outfielder Jacob Dennis started the inning by stroking a double into the left center gap followed by a Tyler Nethers single. The Panther lineup was able to get on the board when Colt Caughenbaugh hit an RBI single to center plating Dennis.  Nethers also came around to score on a wild pitch giving Licking Valley a 2-1 lead.  

Now working with a lead, left handed pitcher Drew Morrison was able to settle in as he struck out six Green Wave batters through four innings.  

Looking to create some cushion, the Panther lineup went back to work in the fourth.  Licking Valley stretched their lead to 4-1 thanks to excellent base running by Colt Caughenbaugh and an RBI double by Senior Austin Skeese.

Drew Morrison ended his start throwing five innings, striking out seven, and giving up just two runs to the top ranked DIV No. 6 ranked Newark Catholic lineup.  

With a 4-2 lead, Licking Valley once again put two more insurance runs on the board in the bottom half of the fifth making the Newark Catholic odds of coming back even bleaker. 

With just six more outs needed for to secure their 6-2 victory, the Panthers turned to hard throwing sophomore, Jaqui Van Meter.  Meter worked two scoreless innings preserving their 6-2 win over DIV No. 6 Newark Catholic.

To view scouting notes about games across Ohio, please visit the Ohio High School Scouting Blog. The blog gets updated throughout the week.

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