Braden Mast’s three-hitter leads East Holmes past Massillon in payback matchup
East Holmes Williamsport 12U pitcher Braden Mast may have not been Duane Miller’s first pick to throw in the team’s all-important loser’s bracket final against Massillon on Friday, July 15, at Hiland High School’s softball field complex, but he turned out to be the best possible choice, as the righty led East Holmes to an 11-1 victory propelling them into the finals.
Mast escaped trouble in the first inning, then completely shut Massillon down, the same team that had unceremoniously dumped East Holmes into the loser’s bracket in the opening game of their District 4 Final Four double elimination tournament.
Massillon jumped on Mast in the first inning, putting together a lead-off walk, a double and a single to score and put runners on the corners with one out. However, second baseman Chris Kline made a tremendous over-the-shoulder running catch in right field, wheeled and gunned down Massillon’s Vince Murray trying to tag and score to end the threat.
From that point on, Mast used a wicked change-up to supplement his fastball, and completely shut down Massillon, allowing just one hit, walking none and striking out four.
“Braden did an excellent job of keeping them off balance,” said East Holmes coach Duane Miller. ‘They are a good hitting team, and Braden was able to keep them guessing. We weren’t sure who to throw tonight, but with what Braden did, it opens up a lot of possibilities for us heading into the finals.”
While Mast was on cruise control on the mound, his teammates were doing just enough on offense to keep a 4-1 lead until the bottom of the fifth inning when they exploded for seven runs to complete the 10-run mercy game.
Kline reached on an error, went to third on Bryan Yoder’s single and scored on a Noah Sommers groundout to tie the score and Yoder found home on a Zach Chupp single to give East Holmes a 2-1 lead. In the second, Jared Yoder reached on an error, Kurtis Yoder singled, as did Derek Miller, and both Yoders eventually scored to make it 4-1.
That was followed by an ugly incident in the Massillon dugout that featured a coach being thrown out for language and excessive violence, which brought an eerie pall over the crowd, and brought the game to a grinding halt for several minutes.
“We talked to the kids following that, and talked about staying focused. It was one of those heat of the moment things, where frustration takes over. The whole team felt bad for their kids, but we talked about how we had to get back to playing ball.”
Bryan Yoder led off the fifth with a single, Sommers walked and Chupp singled, but Yoder was thrown out at home. Tyson Gingerich then reached on a fielder’s choice before Mast himself delivered a huge two run single through the left side for a 6-1 edge. Jared Yoder then reached via an error, and Mitch Massaro drove in a run on a fielder’s choice. Kline then singled and Derek Miller reached on an error before Bryan Yoder put an end to things with a ringing single to left.
“We came to play, and between some good at bats, we were able to take advantage of a couple of errors and they didn’t have their top pitching left,” said Miller.
The bats came to life to put the game away, but it was Mast who set the stage for the convincing win.
“I used my changeup a lot, and my fastball was pretty good,” said Mast. “My arm felt a bit sore, but I was able to hit my spots, and Bryan set up well behind the plate.”
Mast’s changeup had Massillon hitters lunging all night long, hitting meek fly balls and weak grounders off their front foot.
“I was a little nervous at first, but once I settled in I felt good,” said Mast, who has shown very good control all season long. “I was able to keep the ball down and I figured I’d just let my defense do the job for me.”
Mast escaped trouble in the first inning, then completely shut Massillon down, the same team that had unceremoniously dumped East Holmes into the loser’s bracket in the opening game of their District 4 Final Four double elimination tournament.
Massillon jumped on Mast in the first inning, putting together a lead-off walk, a double and a single to score and put runners on the corners with one out. However, second baseman Chris Kline made a tremendous over-the-shoulder running catch in right field, wheeled and gunned down Massillon’s Vince Murray trying to tag and score to end the threat.
From that point on, Mast used a wicked change-up to supplement his fastball, and completely shut down Massillon, allowing just one hit, walking none and striking out four.
“Braden did an excellent job of keeping them off balance,” said East Holmes coach Duane Miller. ‘They are a good hitting team, and Braden was able to keep them guessing. We weren’t sure who to throw tonight, but with what Braden did, it opens up a lot of possibilities for us heading into the finals.”
While Mast was on cruise control on the mound, his teammates were doing just enough on offense to keep a 4-1 lead until the bottom of the fifth inning when they exploded for seven runs to complete the 10-run mercy game.
Kline reached on an error, went to third on Bryan Yoder’s single and scored on a Noah Sommers groundout to tie the score and Yoder found home on a Zach Chupp single to give East Holmes a 2-1 lead. In the second, Jared Yoder reached on an error, Kurtis Yoder singled, as did Derek Miller, and both Yoders eventually scored to make it 4-1.
That was followed by an ugly incident in the Massillon dugout that featured a coach being thrown out for language and excessive violence, which brought an eerie pall over the crowd, and brought the game to a grinding halt for several minutes.
“We talked to the kids following that, and talked about staying focused. It was one of those heat of the moment things, where frustration takes over. The whole team felt bad for their kids, but we talked about how we had to get back to playing ball.”
Bryan Yoder led off the fifth with a single, Sommers walked and Chupp singled, but Yoder was thrown out at home. Tyson Gingerich then reached on a fielder’s choice before Mast himself delivered a huge two run single through the left side for a 6-1 edge. Jared Yoder then reached via an error, and Mitch Massaro drove in a run on a fielder’s choice. Kline then singled and Derek Miller reached on an error before Bryan Yoder put an end to things with a ringing single to left.
“We came to play, and between some good at bats, we were able to take advantage of a couple of errors and they didn’t have their top pitching left,” said Miller.
The bats came to life to put the game away, but it was Mast who set the stage for the convincing win.
“I used my changeup a lot, and my fastball was pretty good,” said Mast. “My arm felt a bit sore, but I was able to hit my spots, and Bryan set up well behind the plate.”
Mast’s changeup had Massillon hitters lunging all night long, hitting meek fly balls and weak grounders off their front foot.
“I was a little nervous at first, but once I settled in I felt good,” said Mast, who has shown very good control all season long. “I was able to keep the ball down and I figured I’d just let my defense do the job for me.”
Published: July 15, 2011
