NEW HOPE — With the way both pitchers were dealing, there weren’t many truly big at-bats when the New Hope High School baseball team hosted Saltillo on Tuesday night.

But two Tigers on base and one out with the Trojans nursing a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth was one of them.

Brant Smith needed just one pitch.

The New Hope senior got the ground ball he needed, as Saltillo catcher Matthew Ronkalli sent one toward New Hope shortstop Caden Perrigin, who fielded it cleanly and flipped it toward second baseman Hayden Dodson, who quickly turned and fired to Dawson Lofton at first to complete the timely double play. 

The only time the Tigers put a runner on second with fewer than two outs came to nothing against Smith, who tossed a four-hitter with five strikeouts and one walk as the Trojans clinched the MHSAA Class 5A, Region 1 title with a 1-0 victory over the Tigers at Trojan Field.

“We knew they had a good hitter coming up; it was the 3 hole,” Smith said. Ronkalli went 4 for 7 during the first two games the teams played. “We were talking about how one pitch and you can get out of the inning. Luckily, that’s what happened.”

“He was unreal,” New Hope coach Lee Boyd said of his starter, one of 11 seniors honored on senior night. Smith threw a first-pitch strike to 19 of 26 hitters. “I think he was at 61 pitches going into the seventh inning. There was no doubt we were going to send him back out.”

While a single, a stolen base and Smith’s only walk of the night put two on with two outs for the Tigers, Gavin McGee only could manage a little squib hit in front of the plate that Smith fielded for the final out, setting off a loud celebration from the New Hope side.

Smith had a 1-0 lead to protect courtesy of, well, Smith, who sent a two-out double off the wall in left field to score Perrigin in the bottom of the fourth. Saltillo starter Drake Douglas, who had dominated the Trojans two weeks earlier in a 3-1 Saltillo win, had struck out the previous two batters and was ahead 0-2 on Smith.

“I was looking for a fastball because he throws hard,” Smith said. “I was looking for a fastball up, and when I saw it, it was a little high and I hit it. I knew it was out there somewhere, but I didn’t exactly know where it went.”

The sound of the ball hitting the wall told everyone where it went, and Perrigin, who had reached on a bunt single leading off the inning, came around to score what would be the only run of the game.

Douglas, while not as dominant as he was two weeks earlier, turned in another strong performance. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings. On most nights, that would have been enough.

But not on this one.

“The story of the night, in my opinion, was the breaking ball,” Boyd said. “Fastball looked good, and they’re a good fastball-hitting offensive team. His breaking ball was sharp, and he was able to throw it for strikes consistently. And when you do that, you’re able to get some swings and misses at balls in the dirt.”

Balls in the dirt weren’t much of a problem, either, because New Hope catcher Hunter Carr had a stellar night. That was never more obvious than during the fifth inning.

First, Carr alertly backed up first base on an infield grounder, ensuring a throwing error didn’t put the runner on second with nobody out. Then, he blocked a tough pitch in the dirt with that runner on first, still with nobody out. Smith eventually struck out that hitter, and when Saltillo sent the runner on a 1-2 count, Smith got the strikeout and Carr nailed Daniel Meeks at second for a double play.

“Hunter’s tremendous back there,” Boyd said. “We kind of take Hunter for granted. He receives well, he blocks well, he throws well, and his offense is incredible as well.

“We’re fortunate to have him. He makes it look easy, and it’s not an easy job.”

Perrigin had the only other hit for the Trojans, finishing 2 for 3. The only other runners for New Hope were Landon Moore, who walked in the third, and Carr, who walked in the sixth. 

However little offense the Trojans mustered, it was one run better than the Tigers managed, and the win was a sweet one.

“Saltillo’s a quality program,” Boyd said. “They won it last year, got most of their guys back. This was a big-time series win.”

The Trojans (24-3, 8-1 5A-1) claimed the region title by one game over the Tigers (21-6, 7-2 5A-1) and earned a first-round bye in the Class 5A playoffs. While Saltillo will be tangling with Canton this weekend. New Hope will await the Jim Hill-Cleveland Central survivor the following weekend.

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