MASON, Ohio - The Walsh Cavaliers baseball team kicked off the 2021 Great Midwest Baseball Tournament with a combination of great pitching and timely hitting on Wednesday (May 12) afternoon at Prasco Park. 

Walsh dispatched the Cedarville Yellow Jackets 3-1 in the opening round in the #2 vs. #7 matchup. 

The Cavaliers started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead. Andrew Czech and Brendan Spaulding both singled to put runners on first and second base with two outs. Cameron Kaiser singled home Czech with a knock to center field. 

In the fourth inning, Alec Debruler blasted a leadoff solo shot down the left field line, sneaking it inside the Chick-Fil-A foul pole. The home run made it 2-0 Walsh after four innings. 

Cedarville got a run scored in the sixth inning on a RBI groundout after a one-out triple. 

Walsh closed the scoring in the eighth inning after taking advantage of an error. Debruler reached on an one-out infield single and went to second when the throw went into the Cedarville bullpen. An infield single by Jarret Lyon moved Debruler to third base. Ben Lefebvre brought home Debruler with a sacrifice fly to center field for a 3-1 lead. 

Hyatt Shenefield was dealing on the mound as he twirled seven innings of one-run ball. The right-hander improved to 7-1 this season and tied the career record for wins at 22. Shenefield allowed four hits and one walk while fanning four batters. 

Cole Brogan worked out of trouble in the ninth to complete a two-inning save with three strikeouts.

Spaulding and Debruler each had two hits including one extra base hit. 

The Cavaliers advance to the winner's bracket with a matchup of Hillsdale on Thursday. Walsh and Hillsdale will play at 1:30 PM on Legacy Field.

-WC-