SIMULATED CINCINNATI — Greene County area schools Legacy Christian and Bellbrook went back in time for Thursday’s simulated high school baseball game. The Knights and Golden Eagles went to a ball park that played home to the Cincinnati Reds for 58 years — Crosley Field.
Legacy Christian would’ve probably preferred to go back in history as well. The Knights jumped out to a 3-0 lead after an inning of play, only to fall 5-3 to Bellbrook.
Things looked good for the Knights in the first. With consecutive walks from Brandon Martin and Zach Zesiger, followed by consecutive singles by Jacob Thompson, Ty McEntyre and Michael Pickens, Legacy Christian scored three runs on those three hits to jump way out in front, 3-0.
Bellbrook’s bats came alive in the third, fourth and fifth innings, however.
In the third, the Golden Eagles got on the scoreboard thanks to a trio of hits of their own. Adam Galle opened things up with a double, then Nolan Sizemore singled. Galle tried stretching Sizemore’s hit to shallow right center into a score, but he was gunned down at home plate. Jayden Elliott then singled to center, to score Sizemore.
Bellbrook scored twice in the fourth on an RBI double from Galle, and an Elliott single, scoring Sam Sherrill and Ethan Jenkins, tying the game at 3-3.
The Golden Eagles collected four hits in the fifth, with a sacrifice fly to left from Jenkins, and an infield error that brought Sherrill home for the final 5-3 score.
Galle, Bellbrook’s lead-off hitter for this simulated contest, enjoyed a 4-for-5 batting performance with two doubles and one run driven in.
Elliott went 3-for-4 at the plate, and drove in a run.
Sizemore, Ethan Fryman, Ben Borszcz and Jake Todd each had two hits in Bellbrook’s second win in as many games.
After giving up the Knights’ three hits in the first inning, and a Zesiger single in the second, starting pitcher Ethan Jenkins held Legacy Christian’s batters hitless for four innings. Cole Schindleblower no-hit the Knights in the seventh, then LCA picked up a pair of hits — a Josh Frueh single in the eighth, and a Martin double in the ninth.
SEIBLER SUIT STYMIED: For years, Crosley Field had a sign out beyond left field advertising Seilber business suits. If a batter knocked a home run off the Seiber suit sign, they’d earn a free tailored suit. No balls from either team came close to clearing the Crosley Field fences in this one. In unsimulated days, the Reds’ Wally Post banged dingers off the Seibler sign 11 times; Willie Mays hit seven.
OTHER CROSLEY OCCUPANTS: The Reds weren’t the only team to call Crosley Field home. According to Wikipedia, three Negro American League teams (Cincinnati Tigers, 1937; Cincinnati Buckeyes, 1942; and Cincinnati Clowns, 1943-‘45) and two football teams also played there. The Cincinnati Bengals of the then American Football League played football at Crosley in ‘37 and ‘41 through ‘43, and the Cincinnati Reds football team played at Crosley from 1933 to 1934 in the NFL.
Crosley Field closed in 1970 and the Cincinnati Reds moved to Riverfront Stadium that same year.
NEXT: Cedarville (0-1) will take on Fairborn (0-0) at Wright State University’s Nischwitz Stadium.