By Chase Bryson
SW Ohio Regional Scout

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in a game between No. 2 Archbishop Moeller (10-1) and Archbishop McNicholas (4-5), the Crusaders extended their win streak to five games after taking down the Rockets in a close match up, 3-0. 

The Crusaders wasted no time in striking first, by putting up 2 quick runs in the top of the first inning. Riley Mahan (2014-SS-Kentucky Commit) and Kyle Dockus (2015-INF-unsigned) showed their patience at the plate by opening the game with a pair of walks; however Mahan was thrown out at second base on a steal attempt during Dockus' at bat. In the three slot was Zach Logue (2014-LHP-Kentucky Commit), who reached second base on a error in the outfield, pushing Dockus over to third base with only one out on the board. Batting clean up was Joe Vranesic (2015-RHP-unsigned) who laced a double to right center off of the Rockets starter, Sam Browning (2016-RHP/3B-unsigned), giving the Crusaders a 2-0 lead. Browning quickly finished off the inning thereafter, by striking out the next two batters. He finished the day pitching 6 and 1/3 innings with 4 K's, 3 walks, 2 ER, and 1 HBP.  

The starting pitcher today for the Crusaders was Gus Ragland (2014-RHP-Miami football commit). Ragland showed his strength in the first inning against the Rockets by maintaining a consistent velocity around 80-82 mph and topping out at 85 mph on a few select fastballs. Throwing straight over the top, Ragland showed a nice 12-6 curveball with speed averaging near 70 mph; however he had some difficulty finding his accuracy with this pitch in the first inning. The Rockets first three batters were shut down by Ragland and the supporting Crusader defense, and at this point it seemed as though things may get out of hand for the Rockets. Ragland finished the day on the mound with 4 innings pitched, 2 K's, 0 walks, 0 ER and only gave up three hits. 

The remainder of the game went silent, on both sides, excluding the unearned run given up by McNicholas in the top of the 7th inning to make it a 3-0 game. Moeller relief pitcher, Joe Vranesic, took over the mound in the 5th inning and shut out the Rockets offense all three innings he pitched. He finished with 2 K's, 1 walk, 1 HBP and allowed no hits. 

The Crusaders take on rival Elder on Monday, April 21st at 5pm on their home field. They will look to gain some revenge as the squad from Elder handed Moeller their only loss of the season thus far back on April 10th. The Rockets next match up will take place on April 21st  against Fenwick. 

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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