By Chris Check                                                                                                                              NE Regional Scout

CANTON, OH- This game was a classic pitcher’s duel until the last inning when Hudson took advantage of a hit-by-pitch, 4 walks and a lone hit to finally put away a young scrappy Aurora team 4-1. 

Senior righty Kevin Zullo and sophomore lefty AJ Kimes battled pitch-by-pitch until an error cost Aurora what appeared to be sure victory in the seventh inning.

Zullo facing only one batter over the minimum through five innings, when freshman right fielder Ben Stawicki reached safely on an infield error. Junior first baseman Carter Semancik then sacrificed Stawicki to 2nd base giving Aurora only its second runner in scoring position of the game. 

Zullo then got a big strikeout for the second out, but junior shortstop Matt Carpenter slapped a line drive into left field scoring Stawicki with two outs, making the score 1-0, heading into the seventh inning.

The top of the seventh started with a leadoff single to center by senior first baseman Nanek Saran. Junior second baseman sacrificed Saran to second. Kimes got the next batter to pop up to junior second baseman Andy Weber. 

With two out, it appeared that Kimes had Saran picked off second base for the final out of the game but the throw went into center field. Saran raced all the way around to score just ahead of the throw by senior center fielder Kirk Janoch.

With the momentum shift, Zullo kept getting outs for Hudson on the mound. 

Hudson meanwhile kept getting on base in the top of the eighth inning by way of walks and a hit by pitch. Mckenzie knocked in the final of the three runs scored in the inning with an RBI infield single. 

Zullo finished the game strong working around a two-out walk to get the win for Hudson. 

Zullo went eight innings allowing just one run on four hits and one walk while striking out nine. Kimes went seven innings allowing just one run on two hits and four walks while striking out one.

Aurora finishes its season at 20-9, while Hudson (25-4) moves on to today’s championship game against Massillon Jackson at 5 pm.