Both were replaced after reaching the OHSAA maximum pitches alloted at 125.

In the end, Berkshire’s Blake Jenkins lifted a one-out fly ball to left field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning. Ryan Matey caught the ball, but his throw sailed wide to the third base side as Jack Jacobs raced home with the game’s only run to set off the Badgers’ celebration.

“Mitchell Seymour is the real deal and will be pitching at Youngstown State next season,” Springfield coach Terry Dobson said. “It’s a shame that he ran out of pitches. He pitched a heckuva game and my heart goes out for him.”

Seymour struck out 14 batters and allowed three hits. He walked four, but the last of those was to Jacobs leading off the bottom of the eighth. It was the final batter for Seymour, who was replaced by Alex Rothwell. Birgmeier sacrificed Jacobs to second base and the Tigers intentionally walked Jake Brown.

Staff photo / Brad Emerine Springfield’s Mitchell Seymour fires a pitch on Monday. He struck out 14 in a 1-0, eight-inning loss to Berkshire.

“Brown was the one guy we couldn’t let beat us,” Dobson said. “He’s their best hitter and we had a base open and could set up a force play. But then the next batter (Brian Brent) worked a walk to load the bases and then we were in a bind.”

The sacrifice fly ended the season for the fifth-seeded Tigers, who finished 19-8. Fourth-seeded Berkshire will play seventh-seeded Mooney in the district final at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Cene Park.

Birgmeier, a left-hander, struck out just four, but had the Tigers chasing pitches out of the strike zone much of the contest. Springfield managed just one hit off him in seven innings — a Rothwell two-out double in the second inning. Birgmeier was replaced on the mound by Brown in the top of the eighth.

“It’s a game we shouldn’t have lost,” Dobson said. “We didn’t have good apporaches at the plate and looked like we didn’t know how to play the game. We knew everything they were going to do and we just didn’t play anywhere near our potential. (Birgmeier) didn’t have a great pickoff move to first base for a lefty, but we had two guys get picked off base in the same inning. We also got caught stealing once. It was very disappointing because we go over those types of things every game, every practice, every day.”

The Tigers have five junior starters expected back next season and a handful of sophomores who were key contributors.

“I’ll tell you that 19 wins sounds like a good season, but the truth is we didn’t play to our expectations, to our potential,” Dobson said. “I think we’re a much better team than that. But you have to show up ready to play every game. Be excited to play. I didn’t get that feeling tonight from our guys.”