Pirates douse Flames, 15-5
The Cardington-Lincoln Pirates came with bats blazing on May 7 to score three runs in the first and roll to a 15-5 victory over the Mansfield Christian Flames.
The Pirates went up 8-0 after scoring five more runs in the third inning, but the Flames got on the board with a two-run bottom half of the inning. The Pirates went to work in the top of the fourth with six runs to go up 14-2, but the Flames added a pair of runs to make it a 14-4 game. Both teams scored in the fifth inning, which was the the final inning of the game as the mercy rule kicked in.
The Pirates piled on 16 hits in the victory and held Mansfield Christian to only four hits. Merek McClure was the hitting star of the day for the Pirates, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a pair of runs. McClure also stole two bases. Wyatt Wade also went 3-for-4 and had two runs and two RBIs, while swiping three bases. Dillon Minturn went 1-for-1 with a double, two walks and three runs. Logan Reynolds had a two-run single in the win.
Denton Garrison went 2-for-2 with a double, a pair of RBIs and a walk. Kaiden Beach went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Wade took the win on the mound with two innings of work, allowing no runs, no hits and a walk while striking out two batters.
With the win, the Pirates improved to 9-8 overall and are 5-6 in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
Trojans crack Big Walnut, 6-3
The Centerburg Trojans jumped out to a 2-1 lead after one and 3-1 after two. Each team put two on the board in the fifth, and the Trojans added an insurance run in the sixth for a three-run victory.
In the first, Jarred Rings smoked a one-out single to center, and with two outs, Dalton Hall lined a run-scoring single to right. He stole second, and after an error put runners at the corners, Hall scored on a passed ball.
Centerburg outhit BW 7-3, with all of the hits being singles. Jarred Rings was the only player to get two hits. Grayson Reynolds and Dalton Hall each scored twice.
Dakota Baer, one of four Centerburg pitchers in the game, got the start and the win for the Trojans. He pitched two innings and allowed an unearned run.
Fredericktown doubles up on Galion, 14-7
The first-place Fredericktown Freddies hosted Galion on May 5, and thanks to a hot start and a huge third inning, the Freddies came out on top, 14-7, to improve to 14-4 and 10-1 in the KMAC.
Fredericktown scored a pair of runs in the first two innings while holding Galion scoreless, and with a 4-0 lead going into the third, the Freddies piled on five more to go up 9-0. Trevor Jobes knocked a double to get things going for the Freddies in the third inning. Luke Bean drew a walk with one out, and then Jobes and Bean pulled off a double steal to make it one out with runners on second and third. Braden Sapp hit a double to center field, knocking in two runs.
Next up was Jesse Doup with Sapp on second, and the offensive surge continued with a line drive double to left for an RBI. Doup then stole third, and Tyler Ruhl drew a walk. Doup scored to make it an 8-1 game on a fielder’s choice that also advanced Ruhl to second base. With two outs, Brady Lester lined a single to center to score Ruhl to make it 9-1, but Lester was caught stealing to end the inning.
The hit parade continued for the Freddies, who scored a pair of runs in the fourth to make it an 11-1 game. Galion scored four runs in the top of the fifth to close the gap to 11-5, but the Freddies scored two more times in the bottom half of the inning to go up 13-5. Galion scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning, but the deficit was too wide to come back from, and the Freddies cruised to victory.
Fredericktown had 14 runs and 12 hits in the win. The Freddies were led by a three-hit showing by Lester. Jobes and Sapp each drove in three RBIs to lead the scoring charge for the day.
Tight game gets easier late as East Knox defeats Loudonville, 11-6
The East Knox Bulldogs traveled to Loudonville on May 5 and scored late to win 11-6 over the Cardinals.
It was a tight game to start, with East Knox scoring one run in the first and Loudonville getting a run in the third inning. In the fifth, the Bulldogs' offense woke up with four runs to go up 5-1, but it was the sixth inning that sealed the deal for East Knox.
Carson Steinmetz led off the sixth with a walk and then advanced to second on a passed ball. Peyton Lester was hit by a pitch, and Bryan Householder knocked a line drive single to center, with Steinmetz coming around to score and Lester advancing ton third. With the score 6-1, Landon Spearman hit an RBI double to left and Householder moved to third. Cole Delaughder made it an 8-1 game with a line-drive RBI single to right field.
Shane Knepp singled to right, driving home Spearman to make it a 9-1 game. The scoring continued with a RBI single by Ryan Morton to make it 10-1 before Loudonville finally recorded an out on a sacrifice fly by Derrick Field, which ended the scoring frenzy for the Bulldogs that inning.
Householder was the offensive leader with four hits and three RBIs. Delaughder had three hits in the win, and Lester scored three runs. Landon Spearman had a great day on the mound with four innings pitched, allowing one unearned run and striking out four. EK improved to 12-5 and 8-4 in the conference
Golden Knights top Crestline 15-4
The Northmor baseball team hosted Crestline in a nonconference matchup, and the Golden Knights jumped on top quickly with a seven-run first and never looked back en route to a 15-4 win. Northmor improved to 12-7 with the win, and the Golden Knights are 6-6 in conference play.
The first inning started off with Griffin Workman and Garrett Corwin both reaching on errors. Andrew Armrose then walked to load the bases with nobody out. Workman scored on an error on a ball hit to second by Gavin Whited go up 1-0. Mathew Kearns then reached on an error that also plated two runs to go up 3-0.
With one out, Jack Sears singled to right center field to advance runners to second and third. Marcus Cortez then walked with the bases loaded to make it a 4-0 game. With two outs, Workman smashed a single to center to knock in a pair of runs and put a runner at third. Garrett Corwin drove in the seventh run of the game with a two-out single to left before Armrose grounded out to end the scoring surge.
Crestline put up two runs in the second, but Northmor got four runs in both the third and fourth innings that put it in line for the easy victory.
Armrose had four RBIs in the win, while Kearns drove in three runs. Workman led the Golden Knights with a pair of hits in the win. Northmor had eight total hits in the game.
Danville, Mansfield fight to 11-11 tie
In a seesaw game, the visiting Danville Blue Devils traveled to Mansfield on May 5 and came away with an 11-11 tie. Danville is now 3-14-1 overall and 1-7-1 in conference play.
It was a roller coaster ride from the start, with both teams scoring in lockstep fashion right up to the sixth inning, in which both teams scored four runs apiece.
In the four-run sixth inning, Josh Byers led things off for the Blue Devils with a single, followed by another single by Joey Mickley to put runners on the corners with one out. Mickley swiped second, and Kendall Carter followed with a line drive single to right for an RBI. Carter stole second and Mickley scored on a passed ball. Carter took off for third, and Wyatt Weckesser reached on a walk. After a pop out and a Walker Weckesser walk, Carter scored on a passed ball, and Wyatt Weckesser scored on an error to make it 11-7.
Mansfield came into the next inning and matched the Blue Devils with four runs to end the game in a tie.
Mickley had a solid day at the dish with a 3-for-4 showing. Carter had a pair of RBIs in the win. Walker Weckesser was 1-for-1 in the game, with his only hit being a triple. He also walked three times. Wyatt Weckesser had a double in the game.
Danville ran all day on the base paths, swiping eight bags as a team.
