Fourth Consecutive Title Secured: Portage South’s Offense Erupts,
Dynasty Rolls On
Portage South Black Squirrels earned a spot
in the Greater Akron AA League championship game for the 6th straight year and had to win 2 over the Canton Outlaws to win
their fourth consecutive title. In the first game, PS jumped out to the 3-0 lead in the first inning. Charlie
Drumm and Josh Salinas each walk and Ty Moorhead followed with a single to right
field that scored Drumm. Salinas then scored on a groundout. Chad Harper walked, stole second
and third and scored on a RBI single by Ryan Schromm. The Black Squirrels offense exploded in the third
inning with a 10-run frame and broke the game open. Justin Nelson opened the inning with an infield
single, Harper singled Nelson to second. Schromm added a single to load the bases. Logan Poole
would score Nelson with a single to right field. Lucius Ivory was hit by a pitch to bring home Harper.
Drumm singled up the middle to plate Schromm and Poole. After Drumm stole second, Salinas singled to right scoring Ivory.
Salinas stole second base and Moorhead would hit a line drive to left center to bring in Drumm and Salinas to make it 10-0.
Harper, Schromm and Poole would each drive in a run with 3 consecutive doubles. Portage South added 3 more runs in the
fourth inning to increase the lead to 16-0. Salinas singled on a line drive to left. Josh Simmons
reached on an infield single. Harper doubled to right field, scoring Salinas. A single to right by Schromm would
plate Simmons and Harper. Jonathan Kountis threw all 5 innings on the mound for the win, allowing just
4 hits and striking out five. Salinas and Schromm had 4 hits each for the PS offense. Harper, Moorhead and Poole
added 3 hits apiece for the Black Squirrels. The Portage South win forced a second game to decide the AA Championship.
In game 2, Portage South kept the offensive momentum going with 5 more runs in the bottom
of the first inning. Josh Salinas walked, stole second and third, then scored on a Ty Moorhead
single. Justin Nelson singled to move Moorhead to second. Chad Harper's single
to center scored Moorhead. Ryan Schromm singled to load the bases and Logan Poole
singled to left to plate Nelson. Lucius Ivory was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for the second
straight game and scoring Harper. Ryan Kitay's fielder's choice brings home Schromm to make it 5-0.
PS added another run in the second inning to push the lead to six. Salinas doubled to left field and Moorhead followed
with a single to move Salinas to third. A Nelson groundout would score Salinas. The Outlaws got a run in the third
and another in the fourth to cut the lead to 6-2, but that is close as it would get. Kevin Haley went
the distance on the mound, after throwing a complete game the day before, for his 9th victory of the season and capture Portage
South's 4th consecutive championship. Moorhead was 2-3 to lead the Black Squirrel offense.
Squirrels Shake Off the Sting and Punch Title Ticket
After losing their first tournament game since 2021, Portage South Black Squirrels would face
the Cleveland Pirates for spot in the Championship game. Portage South was able to get on the board first for the early
lead with a 3-run second inning. Jesse Michel drew a 1-out walk and Lucius Ivory,
running for Michel, would steal second and advance to third on a throwing error by the catcher. Ryan Schromm
doubled to left center to score Ivory. Logan Poole, courtesy running for Schromm, was plated by
Ryan Kitay's single to left. Chad Harper followed with a single up the middle to put runners
on first and second. Both runners would steal a base on a ball in the dirt and Kitay was able to score when the throw
got away from the third baseman. PS added another run in the fourth when Michel doubled to right center and scored on
a Kitay single. The Pirates got a run in the seventh, but the Black Squirrels held it there to win 4-1 and advance to
the championship game. Kevin Haley went 7 strong innings on the mound for the win, his 8th of the season,
allowing just 2 hits. Kitay was 2-2 with 2 RBI to lead the Portage South offense.
Portage South’s Title Path Detoured in Extra-Inning Heartbreaker
The Portage South Black Squirrels made their way into the Winner's Bracket Final of the Greater
Akron AA tournament. They would face the Canton Outlaws at Copley HS on Wednesday night, with the game needing to resume
at Hudson on Friday to finish in extra innings. The Outlaws took the lead in the first inning with a run and then added
2 more in the third for the 3-0 lead. PS was able to get on the board finally in the third inning. Josh
Salinas drew a 2-out walk and Ty Moorhead followed with a homerun to left field, cutting the lead
to 3-2. The Black Squirrels tied the game in the fifth inning. Ryan Schromm singled to lead off
the inning. Lucius Ivory would follow with a beautiful bunt single to make it first and second.
Charlie Drumm would move both runners with a groundout and Salinas scored Schromm on a sacrifice fly.
The game remained tied 3-3 after 7 innings and was suspended for darkness. It resumed on Friday at Hudson and the two
teams played a socreless 8th inning. Canton was able to scratch a run across with 2 outs to go up 4-3. Portage
South got a runner to third in the bottom of the 9th, but unable to get the runner home and lost. Jonathan Kountis
threw 4 innings in relief, striking out six. Moorhead led the offense with the HR and 2 RBI. This loss broke a
14-game tournament winning streak for the Black Squirrels.
Team Effort Lifts Portage South Past Lakers in 7–3 Victory
In the second round of the playoffs, the Portage South Black Squirrels matched up against
the Portage Lakes Lakers at the Ballpark in Hudson. The Lakers took the early lead with a run in the first inning.
Portage South answered with a run in the bottom of first. Josh Salinas tripled to center and scored
on a RBI groundout by Ty Moorhead. The Lakers got the lead back in the top of the second with another
run, making it 2-1. With 2 outs in the bottom of the fourth, Ryan Kitay would be hit by a pitch and
Charlie Drumm followed with a walk. Salinas doubles to left field to score, both, Kitay and Drumm for
the first PS lead at 3-2. The Black Squirrels added 2 more runs in the fifth to increase the lead to 5-2. Chad
Harper was hit by a pitch and Matt Dile singled down the third base line to put runners at first
and second. Mike Haney moves the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt, that did cost him
stitches after. Jesse Michel singled up the middle to score both Harper and Dile. Portage South
pushed the lead to 7-2 in the sixth with an additional 2 runs. Drumm singled and Salinas was hit by a pitch to put runners
at first and second. An errant pickoff attempt by the catcher moved Drumm to third and Salinas to second, then a sacrifice
fly to center by Moorhead scored Drumm. Justin Nelson's RBI groundout scored Salinas for the 5-run
lead heading into the final inning. Portage Lakes Lakers got a run in the seventh, but would get no closer as PS wins
7-3. Kevin Haley went the distance on the mound for his 7th victory on the year. Salinas went
2-3 with 2B, 3B and 2 RBI to lead the Black Squirrel offense. Nelson and Dile each chipped in with two hits for PS.
Portage South Rocks Rays Behind Kountis Gem in Tourney Opener
The Portage South Black Squirrels opened tournament play against the Akron Rays at Roosevelt
Park Wednesday night. Both pitchers came out throwing well with the first run not coming until the third inning.
Portage South scrathed a run across for the 1-0 lead. Ryan Kitay lined a single to center. Both
Charlie Drumm and Josh Salinas reached on infield singles to load the bases, then Kitay
was able to just beat the tag to score on a wild pitch. In the fourth inning, PS would able to break the game open with
a 6-run frame. Justin Nelson walked to start the inning. Matt Dile followed
with a double to deep left center to score Nelson. Kevin Haley singled up the middle to score Dile
for the second run of the inning. After a Kitay walk made it first and second, Lucius Ivory singled
home Haley. Drumm followed with a triple to score Kitay and Ivory. Salinas plated Drumm with a sacrifice fly to
right field to make it 7-0. The Rays would score an unearned run in the fifth, but the Black Squirrels would go on to
win 7-1. Jonathan Kountis went the distance for the win, allowing just 5 hits and striking out 12.
Drumm led the offense with 3 hits, 3B and 2 RBI.
