Fast start helps Brooke top Big Red – weirtondailytimes.com

Apr 16, 2025
MAKING THE PLAY — Brooke’s Gino Provenzano makes a throw to first for an out against Big Red after fielding the ball at shortstop during Tuesday’s game. – Andrew Grimm

STEUBENVILLE — Holding onto one of the top four spots in a tight Class 5A field entering the final week before the OVAC cutoff but on a three-game slide, Tuesday evening’s trip to the Crimson Complex was an important one for Brooke.
The Bruins certainly came out like they knew the importance, plating seven runs in the top of the first inning on the way to a 12-5 victory over Big Red.
“This was a very big win for us,” Brooke head coach Doug Costain said. “We’re right there in a tight race and there were some bonus points for us because Big Red has some great wins. This was an important game.
“It was about these kids, we had some big hits from multiple guys and it was an all-around team win.”
Perhaps bigger than the big first inning for Brooke (10-6) was a three-run fourth, which recaptured the momentum after Big Red had clawed back within 7-5 through three innings.
Big Red’s Royal Mayo throws to first for an our against Brooke. – Andrew Grimm
“We knew they weren’t going to go away, this is Big Red baseball and we’re at their place,” Costain said. “Our kids did a great job, we needed that. Our bats have been a little cold the last few games so we needed this. I told the kids its not always about getting hits, but timely hits and we some big two-out hits that got us two or three more runs and that really helped us separate.”
After giving up the early runs, the Bruins Parker McMahon settled in and put up zeros in the final four innings to earn the complete game win on the mound. He struck out eight and walked five.
“What a great job he did,” Costain said of his pitcher. “He’s a sophomore and he controlled what he could control, threw strikes and put us in a position to win.
“We scheduled a lot of games and we’re playing them, which is good, but it’s a strain on the pitching staff so only using one (Tuesday) was a big help. He was right at the limit.”
Aiden Provenzano, who finished the day with four RBIs, started the big opening inning for the Bruins with a two-run single. McMahon drew a bases loaded walk, then Ty Sperringer put a ball in play and an error brought two runs in to make it 5-0. Andrew Murdock then plated two more runs with the first of his three hits on the day for the big early lead.
Brooke’s Aiden Provenzano swings at a pitch against Big Red. – Andrew Grimm
“We had a rough start, but we battled,” Big Red head coach Fred Heatherington said. “We battled and didn’t give up and that’s a good thing. It’s hard to overcome a rough start, but we had a chance. That fourth inning kind of got us down again.
“We’ll get back on the field tomorrow and hopefully play a little better.”
Nolan Blackburn, who struck out seven in five innings in the loss on the mound, knocked an RBI double to get Big Red on the board in the bottom of the first, then AJ Borsch’s RBI single made it 7-2. A Kail Simmons RBI groundout capped the scoring in the opening frame.
An inning later, Brenden DoBreff scored on a passed ball, then, in the bottom of the third, Maddox Gulan’s RBI knock got Big Red within two.
That was as close as it got, though, as Brooke scored the final five runs.
Provenzano knocked a two-run single in the fourth, then Gino Provenzano singled to bring him home to push the lead back to five.
An inning later Zac O’Mery hit a sac fly and Garrett Moore hit an RBI single to cap the scoring.
UP NEXT
Brooke: Is slated to host Buckeye Local at Bowman Field in Weirton today.
Big Red: Continues a string of four home games in four days today hosting Wheeling Park.
Brooke 12, Steubenville 5
B 7-0-0 3-2-0 0 — 12 11 1
S 3-1-1 0-0-0 0 — 5 8 2
BROOKE (10-6): McMahon (WP, CG, 5R, 3ER, 8H, 8K, 5BB) and A. Provenzano. Murdock 3S, 2RBIs; O’Mery S, RBI; Moore 2S, RBI; A. Provenzano 2S, 4RBIs; G. Provenzano 2S, RBI; McMahon S, RBI; Sperringer 2RBIs.
STEUBENVILLE (4-5): Blackburn (LP, 5IP, 12R, 7ER, 10H, 7K, 4BB, 1HBP), Kokiko (2IP, 0R, 1H, 1K, 0BB) and Simmons. Mayo D; Blackburn D, RBI; Borsch 2S, RBI; Crosier S; Simmons S, RBI; Gulan S, RBI; DoBreff S.
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