[Stardust]

MOUNT STERLING — Bishop Brossart senior pitcher Zach Fardo kept the bats of the George Rogers Clark baseball team at bay for eight innings. In the bottom of the eighth, he proceeded to win the team’s 10th Region semifinal game with his bat and daring base running.
Fardo, a left-hander who allowed two hits and one run in eight innings, led off the bottom of the eighth with a single to left, sprinted to third on an error and scored two batters later on a bases-loaded walk to lead Brossart to a 2-1 win at Montgomery County High School.
Brossart (24-12), which has never won a regional baseball title, advances to the championship game for the first time since 2001 where it will face perennial 10th Region power and three-time state champion Harrison County at 5 p.m. today at Montgomery County. Harrison County (30-9) advanced with a 2-1 win over Bourbon County. There is a chance the game time will be moved due to rain and storms predicted for later this afternoon.
Fardo’s single came off GRC junior reliever Derek McKenzie, the team’s third pitcher of the game.
Junior catcher Tanner Norton then dropped a bunt down the third-base line that McKenzie fielded and threw low and into the dirt at first that senior first baseman Wes Lawwill tried to scoop. Lawwill couldn’t find the ball and Fardo opted to sprint to third, where his slide allowed him to just beat the throw.
“At first I was just rounding and then I saw the throw and saw that he had bobbled it and he was trying to locate it and decided I might as well just try it,” said Fardo.
After senior center fielder Trevor Bezold was walked intentionally, McKenzie walked senior first baseman Bobby Roderick on four pitches to force in the winning run.
Said Brossart coach Ron Verst of the daring base running: “It’s aggressive and that’s how he is. He’s probably one of our best base runners. Your heart kind of stops there, because it was the winning run.”
Brossart got a leadoff triple from senior designated hitter Jared Hahn in the bottom of the first and one out later Fardo scored him with a sacrifice fly to left.
GRC sophomore starter Hunter Osborne went 52/3 innings, allowing four hits, two walks and had two strikeouts.
“I’ll give the guy credit, he kept us off balance enough,” said Verst.
George Rogers Clark (20-14) did even less against Fardo, who threw 104 pitches in eight innings, 66 for strikes. He allowed just two hits, walked one and struck out seven.
“He’s done it all year,” said Verst. “We put him against the toughest teams we play all year. You give him the ball and he does his job and what a fantastic job he did out there today.”
Fardo allowed only a one-out, ground-ball single to center in the third inning and a leadoff triple to Pokey Harris in the top of the sixth. Harris scored when the following batter, Logan McQuerry, hit a sacrifice fly to left to tie the score at 1-1.
“I’m not going to lie, I was a little stressed, but I’m not going to show that for my teammates,” said Fardo. “I wanted to show them I was confident and that would help them be confident for me. ... This is huge for us to make the championship game and hopefully we can get it done.”http://preps.cincinnati.com/nky