(Above photo: Jake Mancini)
Circleville pitcher Jake Mancini kept the #4 state ranked Unioto Shermans batters off balance all game, as he fired a four-hit shutout to lead the Tigers to a 4-0 win and send them to the Division 2 Regional Final against Steubenville, Friday afternoon.
Mancini fanned five Unioto hitters in the game, but limited the Shermans scoring opportunities by stranding three runners throughout the complete game effort. Unioto was able to advance a runner as far as third base once, before being left there in the fourth inning without a run.
Unioto's Harley Patterson pitched well up into the sixth inning, yielding only two hits. Patterson's downfall was control, walking five Tigers and hitting two others.
Circleville got their big sixth inning started when they loaded the bases on two walks and a hit-batter. That's when Jake Mancini drove in two runs with a single, then later scored on a two-run single by Ethan Wolfe. Mancini and Unioto's Ryan Sigler were the only multiple hit players in the game, both with two.
Mancini got the win, going the distance, while Patterson suffered the loss in 5 2/3 innings of work, as all four runs were charged to him, even though Sigler gave up Wolfe's two-run single after coming on in relief. The two runners were on-board while Patterson was pitching.
Circleville improves to (18-10) and will play Steubenville at 5pm Friday for a trip to the State Final Four. Steubneville advanced with a 4-1 over John Glenn. 94 Country WKKJ and iHeart Radio broadcast time will be 4:45pm from Bob Wren Stadium at Ohio University.
Unioto closes their (23-6) season as SVC and District Champs.
To hear the replay of the Circleville-Unioto game with WKKJ's Mike Smith and B. Jay Dailey, go to our podcast link below....