Karson Kayden squaring balls for hits to gaps for Ross baseball

There are no other outs like the final out in a baseball game.

Hondo Melchor literally did everything he could to get Fremont Ross to the finish line Wednesday. Braylon Schneider relieved with two outs in the seventh, pushed the potential tying run into scoring position and induced a ground ball to end the Little Giants' 4-2 victory over Toledo Whitmer in a Division I sectional final.

Melchor struck out six and walked three while allowing seven hits. One of the two runs he allowed was earned.

He was just shy of 125 pitches after 6⅔ innings.

"Hondo threw his tail off," Ross coach Jared King said. "He mixed fastball and offspeed to keep kids off balance. Whitmer hits well 1 through 9. There were a couple key situations with the 3-hole hitter [Connor Barber] going to Toledo, [Melchor] got out of a few situations.

"Hat's off to Hondo, he threw it well."

Eleven-seed Ross plays top-seed Anthony Wayne in a district semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Carter Park in Bowling Green.

"It's the postseason, record doesn't matter," King said. "Play our game."

Melchor played third base last season, but he's mostly pitched this year.

"He had some struggles last year," King said. "This year, he's had command of his pitches around the zone. He's been our most consistent guy. He gives us a chance to win every time out there."

Ross quickly gave Melchor an advantage to work with.

"In the first inning, [Cory Viola] struggled to find the zone with the first four kids," King said. "We took advantage and got a nice three-run lead."

The Little Giants won despite four errors.

"The kids never got down," King said. "We had an error at shortstop. The next play Chewy [Adam Hrynciw] charges the ball and makes a play on the run. The kids made plays when it mattered. It was a great team win."

Karson Kayden added an RBI for a 4-0 margin in the sixth inning. Whitmer scored once in each of the final two innings.

"Karson doubled to the gap in right center to pad the lead," King said. "He got his front foot down and went the opposite way. He stayed closed and it kept carrying. He's such a strong kid, if he squares balls they're on a line and he can drive a few runs in."

Kayden doubled to the left-center gap in a loss to Toledo St. John's this week.

"If you look at his line, it's not where he wants it," King said. "He's had an up and down year. He struggled to make consistent contact early. He made some adjustments and he's squaring it better and using the whole field."

Kayden pitches as well.

"We feel comfortable throwing any of those three," King said. "It's a great 1-2-3 punch."

Dylan Wright, Mason Durnwald, Brayden Guhn and Josh Ross each scored one run. Melchor, Ross and Guhn added one hit apiece.

"It's been a group effort," King said. "One guy gets hot, the next night it's somebody else. We lost 10-0 to St. John's, but we hit the ball. We encouraged them all week, continue to do that, we give ourselves a chance."

Ross is batting nearly .400.

"He played JV last year as a junior," King said. "He was a mid-year call up. He pitched a few innings, nothing significant. He's been solid at third base. He's been a key component."

The Little Giants (11-13) beat Clay 5-2 last week. Durnwald notched the win on the mound.

"We had good pitching and defense," King said.

Ross won six of 14 games in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference during the regular season. It won four games each of the previous two seasons.

"It's a tough league," King said. "We're very excited about the direction of the program. We return some pitching. I think we can continue to make noise. We're not looking at that, we're excited to keep playing this year."

The Little Giants head to the Northern Lakes League next season.

"I have a good relationship with their coaches," King said. "We'll continue to play them in the NLL, but it's always sweet to tack on a tournament win against a league opponent. It adds a little sweetness, but it's not something you can read into."

More pertinent is Schneider. He left a game last week without completing an inning.

"We've been cautious," King said. "He had discomfort in his elbow. He took a week off, a little DH. Coming into the season, he was our No. 1. We wanted him in that spot."

He walked a batter to load the bases and put another runner in scoring position.

"The last out in the seventh inning is the hardest out," King said.

Even when it's the only one you get.

mhorn@gannett.com

419-307-4892

Twitter: @MatthewHornNH

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Hondo Melchor, Braylon Schneider part of Ross baseball 1-2-3 punch