Alex Schillig
PBR Ohio Assistant Scouting Director

UPPER ARLINGTON, OH – On Friday, an OCC league matchup took place as the DI No. 40 Upper Arlington Golden Bears clashed with the powerhouse No. 5 Olentangy Liberty Patriots.  

Liberty handed the start to highly touted right handed pitcher, Jacob Niggemeyer (Ohio State Commit).  While, Upper Arlington gave junior right hander Alec Radcliff the start in hopes of knocking off the No. 5 ranked team in Ohio. 

The Patriot squad came out of the gates early in the top of the first, in hopes to destroy the Golden Bears morale.  Senior Danny Kirchner set up the scoring opportunity as he walked, and stole a base, putting him in scoring position.  Pitcher Jacob Niggemeyer helped his cause as he singled to right, allowing Kirchner to score giving Liberty the 1-0 lead. 

Things were looking good for the Patriots, as Niggemeyer cruised through the Golden Bear lineup in the first two innings.  The Ohio State Commit featured a mid-to-high 80’s fastball and a mid-70’s breaking ball.

In the top of the third, the Liberty bats went back to work.  Senior Marcus Wechselberger started the inning with a single out to left field.  With no outs, Wechselberger found himself in scoring position with Virginia Commit Cam Comer up at the plate.  Comer stroked a single into left center plating Wechselberger, and most importantly giving the Patriots a 2-0 lead. 

Niggemeyer looked in complete control on the mound, but in the bottom of the fourth Upper Arlington started to make some noise.

The Patriots helped Golden Bear shortstop Will Marable reach base on an error, giving the home team a little life.  Directly after, Alec Radcliff singled to right field putting Golden Bear runners on the corners with no outs.  Marable willed his way home on a ball hit back to the pitcher that Niggemeyer attempted to turn a double play on, squeezing the Patriot lead down to 2-1. 

Starting to gain momentum, the Upper Arlington lineup went back to work in the bottom of the fifth.  With two outs, Davis Robeson and Will Marable both recorded singles.  Pitcher Alec Radcliff was now at the plate with the go ahead run on first.  Radcliff took advantage blasting a two RBI double deep to center field, putting the Golden Bears up for the first time in the game 3-2. 

Alec Radcliff impressed throwing five innings, giving up four hits, and just two earned runs against a strong Liberty lineup. 

With just six more outs needed to upset No. 5 ranked Olentangy Liberty, Golden Bear coach Matt Middleton handed senior Will Marable (pictured right)  the ballin hopes of preserving the 3-2 lead. 

Marable worked a quick sixth inning, but hit two batters in the seventh.  This put Liberty’s tying run in scoring position with Niggemeyer up at the plate.  Niggemeyer smoked a line drive right back at pitcher Marable who happened to make an outstanding catch, recording the third out and a 3-2 victory.  

This will likely affect both teams in the Division I Team Rankings Polls that will be released Sunday night.  For more information on Team Rankings follow us @pbr_ohio

Game Notes

• Upper Arlington junior right handed pitcher and outfielder, Alec Radcliff went 2 for 3 on the day with 2 RBI's. 
• Liberty junior shortstop Cam Comer (Virginia Commit) went 2 for 3 on the day as well with an RBI.

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

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