Ryan Torok dazzles as Tri-C splits home half of series with Bryant & Stratton

PARMA, Ohio (athletics.tri-c.edu) – Starting pitcher Ryan Torok (So./Canton, Mich./Toledo) was the star of a huge 8-2 Cuyahoga Community College win, putting the Triceratops back into the win column by tying a career high with 11 punchouts after Bryant & Stratton College took game one, 6-1, May 1.

The series split puts even more emphasis on tomorrow's half of the four-game slate, with. Both teams have clinched spots in the NJCAA Region XII Tournament, but one Tri-C win would give the Triceratops the OCCAC Division II Championship and a first round home series in the regional bracket.

Game one was a vintage pitching duel between Ethan Elbert (So.) and Bryant & Stratton's Max Wagar. Wagar claimed victory in the battle, with the Triceratops only able to notch one hit in the first inning off of the senior.

Game two, though, came up all Triceratops. Torok struck out eight of the first 10 batters he saw and continued dealing, striking out a career best 11 over 5.1 innings – carrying a no-hitter through 5.0 innings - and earning the win. The 11 punchouts tied a previous career high for Torok, last coming February 20, 2026, at Point Park University. Tri-C's offense woke up in game two, punctuated by a two-run silencer of a home run by Nathan Hill (So./Medina, Ohio/Toledo) in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead. The Triceratops continued to pour on the offense.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game One

• Bryant & Stratton kicked off the scoring with a two-run blast off the bat of reigning OCCAC Co-Player of the Week Gavin McLane, giving the visiting Bobcats a 2-0 lead in the first.
• Ethan Elbert, the Triceratops' starter, settled in after the opening frame homer, striking out the side in the top of the third for the first 1-2-3 inning of the day.
• Bryant & Stratton struck again in the top of the fifth with a two-out RBI single, taking a 3-0 lead.
• Lincoln Briggs (Fr./Medina, Ohio) was summoned out of the bullpen in the top of the sixth with the bases loaded and two outs, punching out Drew Kockler to retire the side with no damage incurred.
• Bryant & Stratton added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh with an RBI walk and two-run double.
• The Triceratops started mounting a comeback in the home half of the final frame, with Jackson Boles (So.) scoring on a throw attempting to pick up Zeylen Yanmaz off of first base. Boles' run was the only one the Triceratops could score in the first game.

Game Two

• Starting pitcher Torok started hot with three strikeouts in the first inning.
• Pat Farrell (So./Cleveland, Ohio) gave the Triceratops their first lead of the series with an RBI single up the middle, scoring reigning OCCAC Co-Player of the Week Jamir Ross.
• Torok came back in the second and, once again, punched out three Bobcats.
• A Bryant & Stratton error allowed Nash Driedger (Fr./Windsor, Ontario, Canada) to score before Hill blasted a two-run shot over the right field wall to put the Triceratops up 4-0.
• Brayden Bortnick (Fr./Mentor, Ohio) roped a triple off the left field wall, driving Driedger in. A Hill sacrifice fly brought Bortnick in, driving the Tri-C lead to 6-0 through four.
• The lead grew to 7-0 with an RBI single by Brock Miller (Fr./Willard, Ohio) in the home half of the fifth.
• A single by Tyler Biskup broke up Torok's no-hitter bid in the top of the sixth inning, spelling the end of Torok's day. Spencer Mueller (So./Grafton, Ohio/Findlay) got the call in relief, with Bryant & Stratton's Adam Kidder immediately roping a 2-run double to cut the Triceratops' lead to 7-2. Mueller forced a ground out to the next batter and punched out the final Bobcat of the inning to stymie the rally.
• Farrell knocked in his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly in the home half of the sixth, bringing Hill in and making the score 8-2.

UP NEXT

The Triceratops will close their regular season tomorrow, May 2, with a doubleheader at Bryant & Stratton. First pitch from Solon Community Park is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Tri-C only needs one win in tomorrow's games to claim the OCCAC Division II Championship and home field advantage for the first round of the NJCAA Region XII Tournament, May 7-8.

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