The John Glenn baseball team’s memorable run ended in heartbreak Thursday, as the Muskies were knocked off by Steubenville, 4-1, at Bob Wren Stadium at Trautwein Field.

Big Red starting pitcher Calvin Bickerstaff smothered the John Glenn lineup throughout the day, limiting the Muskie offense to a single run through seven innings. While his starting pitcher was effective for most of the night, Steubenville coach Fred Heatherington noted how integral a part his defense played in the winning equation.

“(Bickerstaff) got himself into situations, but he was able to get himself out of situations, thanks to our defensive play,” the long-time coach said following the game. “Our kids knew coming down here they were going to have to be ready to battle.”

The “situations” Heatherington is referring to are the three separate times the Muskies were able to load the bases. In the first inning, the John Glenn lineup was able to get three runners on with no outs, but failed to score after a strikeout and a 6-4-3 double play. Later, as the Steubenville offense had taken a three-run lead, the bases were stacked, but no runs came across.

A lack of run production in moments like those, as well as some well-placed hits for the Big Red, led to the end of the Muskies season. Coach Brad Barclay, who was noticeably a small bit emotional while hugging each of his senior players before they left the field one final time, looked back on the first inning and wondered what could have been.

“Coming into a game like this, you’ve gotta capitalize. You’ve gotta put the ball in play and give yourself a chance to score runs,” he said. “I mean, we had them on the ropes a few times. If we put one or two across in that first inning, maybe it’s a different game.”

While Barclay went on to say his team did at least put themselves in a position to ultimately win, the much needed, well-placed hit that could have brought home two or even three runs never came. Instead, Bickerstaff was able to work himself out of jams with the help of his defense behind him.

John Glenn started the scoring, as some small-ball and bunting put a runner on third for Gavin Thompson, who put a fly ball just deep enough in right field to bring his teammate home on a sacrifice. It was the only run they could muster all evening.

Carlo Biasi started the four-run fifth inning for Steubenville, notching an infield single to push across the team’s first run, before three more scores crossed home plate. As noted by Barclay, the ball just seemed to find its way where it needed to for the Big Red to rack up runs.

Steubenville advances to the next round of the tournament, while the Muskies memorable season comes to an end. The Big Red now face Circleville on Friday, with the first pitch at 5 p.m.