The Brush Varsity Baseball team came up short  in a hard-fought 5-2 loss to the Kirtland Hornets on Wednesday afternoon at Kirtland High School.

The Hornets broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning, stringing together a pair of singles to jumpstart their offense. Nate Chuko delivered the key hit in the inning, driving in the game's first run.

Brush responded quickly in the top of the fifth, tying the game at 2-2. Dominick Taylor contributed with an RBI single, while a defensive miscue by Kirtland helped the Arcs bring another run across the plate.

However, Kirtland regained control in the bottom half of the fifth, capitalizing on an error to reclaim the lead at 3-2. From there, the Hornets never looked back, adding two more runs to secure the win.

Chuko not only contributed at the plate but also earned the win on the mound for Kirtland. The right-hander pitched a complete game, allowing just four hits and two runs (only one earned) while striking out eight and walking four.

Owen Thompson took the loss for Brush, going six innings and surrendering five runs (four earned) on 11 hits. Despite the outcome, Thompson matched Chuko with eight strikeouts and showed solid control, walking only one batter.

Taylor, Geofferson Betts, Braylon Davis, and Jayden Amey each recorded a hit for the Arcs. Keith Feagin, Jr. showcased his speed with two stolen bases, contributing to the team's total of four steals on the day. Defensively, Brush turned a double play to aid Thompson's effort on the mound.

Kirtland's offense was led by left fielder Carson Kalous, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBIs from the seventh spot in the lineup. Chuko and Tyler Turk each had multi-hit performances as well. The Hornets matched Brush with four stolen bases and also turned a double play in a clean defensive showing.

With the loss, the Brush Arcs slip to 4-7 but will look to bounce back on Thursday as they travel to face the Madison Varsity Blue Streaks in another Lake County road matchup.
While a 4-7 mark makes no Arc happy - take away a 9-2 decision to Perry - and Brush has succumbed in its other 6 losses by just a total of 10 runs ! That is a miniscule 1.66 runs per game on average that a couple of clutch hits, produced here and there, would have made for a big difference in the season record !  Yet this isn't a coaching staff or ballclub that makes excuses - so they'll attempt to grab a couple of wins against Madison today and Chagrin Falls tomorrow and go into the weekend at 6-7, regrouping for next week !