This wasn’t how it was supposed to end for Amherst.
The Comets came into their regional semifinal against Brecksville-Broadview Heights on June 3 riding a 10-game win streak. But their state title dreams were shattered in a 6-4 loss in nine innings.
“If we play a clean game, I think we come out on top,” said Amherst coach Matt Rositano. “We just didn’t play a clean game. Their first four runs were unearned. We left guys in scoring position all day. At this stage, there’s no bad teams, and they’re going to take advantage of your mistakes.”
Things started to go wrong almost immediately, as starter Cael Charles walked two in the first and allowed three unearned runs after the Comets were unable to turn a double play that would have gotten them out of the inning.
BBHHS gets three unearned runs in the first and Amherst is in a hole early.@MJournalSports @Brecks_Baseball pic.twitter.com/WtHAXO7me0
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) June 3, 2026
After falling into a hole early, Amherst couldn’t get its bats going over the first five innings, with its only real scoring chance coming in the third, when it had runners on first and second with nobody out, but was unable to capitalize.
The Bees added another unearned run in the fifth after Max Ritter reached on a dropped third strike, got all the way to third when the ball was thrown into right field, and scored on a Mario Mancuso RBI single.
BBHHS makes it 4-0 on an RBI single from Mario Mancuso, scoring Max Ritter, who reached on a dropped third strike.@MJournalSports @Brecks_Baseball pic.twitter.com/iFUWV1Kova
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) June 3, 2026
Through five innings, Amherst trailed, 4-0, thanks to four unearned runs and had had just three runners reach base against Brecksville-Broadview Heights starter Michael Reed.
“He pitched a very good game, kept us off balance,” Rositano said. “It took us a while to get to him, but we eventually did, it was just a little too late.”
The Comets finally began to turn things around in the sixth inning. It started with Brody Glick entering and pitching a scoreless inning with a pair of strikeouts.
Then the Amherst offense finally found its stroke, scoring three runs on an RBI single from Landon Wolf and two-run single from Eli Toyoda.
Amherst gets on the board in the sixth with a Landon Wolf RBI single.@MJournalSports @ASHSBaseball pic.twitter.com/gxcjVCc6ac
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) June 3, 2026
Eli Toyoda plates two with a single to make it 4-3, but BBHHS gets a flyout to strand runners at second and third and hold on to the lead.@MJournalSports @ASHSBaseball pic.twitter.com/4PqFfOo5iN
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) June 3, 2026
After Glick worked a scoreless seventh, the Comets tied the game on a sac fly from Cooper Bingham. Despite the comeback, the final innings were a story of more missed chances.
Cole Marquez scores on a Cooper Bingham sac fly, and we are headed to extras tied at 4.@MJournalSports @ASHSBaseball pic.twitter.com/PczIbZpOW8
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) June 3, 2026
After it was unable to tack on any more runs in the sixth with runners on second and third with two outs, Amherst had the winning run aboard in both the seventh and eighth innings, but it was unable to get a big hit, and the missed opportunities came back to haunt the Comets.
“Down 4-0 going into the sixth, we could have rolled over and died,” Rositano said. “But those guys put together a good inning to cut it to one, we played good baseball to tie it, and we had opportunities to win it, we just couldn’t get the big hit when we needed it.”
As the Comets missed their chances, Glick put on a heroic effort out of the bullpen, striking out eight across four innings, only the second time this season he has pitched that many, but he came up just short in the end.
“Brody’s been great all year,” Rositano said. “He just came in, and he was a bulldog. But they got the hits when they needed them, and we didn’t.”
That was the case in the ninth, as with a runner on first and two outs, Wade Bender delivered the biggest hit of the game, an RBI double off the wall in right, and Mancuso followed it up with his second RBI single of the game to make it 6-4.
BBHHS takes a 5-4 lead on an RBI double from Wade Bender with two down in the ninth.@MJournalSports @Brecks_Baseball pic.twitter.com/R37nZo5sCX
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) June 3, 2026
And as it turned out, the Comets were out of comeback magic, going 1-2-3 in the ninth, bringing an end to both this season and the careers of one of the most decorated senior classes in the program’s illustrious history.
Amherst goes 1-2-3 in the ninth, and the Comets’ season comes to an end in the regional semis.
BBHHS 6
Amherst 4
Final@MJournalSports @ASHSBaseball @Brecks_Baseball pic.twitter.com/yTNgDyeudb
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) June 3, 2026
“Most of these guys have been at the varsity level for three or four years, so it’s going to be different when they’re not around,” Rositano said. “They’re all great kids, and obviously they wanted to get back to where we were last year, and hopefully win it all, but when you play a game like we did today, it just isn’t in the cards.”