Householder throws four-hit shutout in 5-0 win for East Knox
Bryar Householder continued as ace of the Bulldogs' staff with a 5-0 complete-game four-hit shutout over Big Walnut on May 14.
Householder was a force on both sides of the ball, knocking in the game’s first two runs on a single in the first inning while also dominating in his shutout work on the slab. He threw 97 pitches across eight innings in which he allowed only four hits while striking out nine batters. Householder led the offensive charge with a pair of hits in the win.
In the first inning, Carson Sternmetz led off the game with a single, and Peyton Lester sent him to second on a single of his own. Householder then came up to bat and drilled a single to right, bringing around both runners to go up 2-0.
The rest of the scoring came in the sixth inning. Householder and Landon Spearman worked back-to-back walks to start the inning, followed by a sacrifice fly by Cole Delaughder to drive in a run. Shane Knepp and Ryan Morton both walked to load the bases and Mitch Williams drove in a pair of runs with a two-out RBI single.
East Knox improved to 14-6 and 8-4 in KMAC play with the win.
Utica topples Danville, 11-1
The Utica Redskins took their home finale from start to finish, scoring three in the first and three in the second and building on the 6-0 lead to polish off the visiting Danville Blue Devils, 11-1, on May 14.
The first inning stet h tone for the game as Utica’s home half started with a Chase Bennett led-off double, a bunt single by Roman Gamble and a walk to Hayden Piper to load the bases. Gavin Chinn was hit by a pitch to force in Utica’s first run, and Jordan Hartman singled in the second run. Tyler Collura walked (he walked three times during the game) to force in Utica’s third run.
Utica put the mercy rule in play with two runs in the seventh on a single by Gavin Tussey, walks to Bennett, Gamble and Piper and a steal of home by Bennett to make it 11-1.
With 11 hits, Utica was led by Gamble, who went 3-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Bennett, Hartman and Tussey each collected two hits for the Redskins. Hartman drove in three runs. Danville managed four hits, two of them by Kendall Carter. Conner Whisner pitched Utica to the win, going all six innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out five.
Northmor, Clear Fork bats come alive in 13-12 win by Golden Knights
In what was a high-scoring late-season matchup, Northmor came back from being down 7-0 to tie the game, then had to make another comeback in the sixth inning to take down Clear Fork for the win. Northmor sits in fourth in the KMAC with a 6-6 conference record and 15-7 overall.
The Golden Knights scored four runs in the third inning. Max Lower knocked a single, and two batters were hit by pitches. Andrew Armrose walked with the bases loaded to bring around a runner to score, and two wild pitches and an RBI single by Gavin Whited took care of the rest of the scoring.
The game-winning rally came in the sixth inning and was started by back-to-back singles by Armrose and Matt Kearns. A hit batter put another man on, and Whited smacked a two-run single. Trenton Ramos and Lower drew two-out walks, and Griffin Workman and Grant Bentley sliced singles to drive in the winning runs.
Northmor was led by Whited, who went 4-for-4. Four Knights drove in two runs in the win. Northmor struck for 12 hits in the win.
Fredericktown tops River Valley, 5-3
Fredericktown traveled to River Valley on May 12, and pitching was the name of the game with the Freddies squeaking by with a 5-3 win to improve to 16-5 and 11-1 in the conference, good for first place.
The Freddies got going early with a lead-off double by Brady Lester in the first inning. Kaid Carpenter laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Lester scored on a two-out passed ball.
Fredericktown went up 3-1 in the fourth inning on three walks, a passed ball to score a run and a ground out that knocked another in. The Freddies scored a run in the sixth and another in the seventh inning to secure the victory.
Fredericktown was outhit 9-6 in the game, with six different Freddies recording a hit. The Freddies used four pitchers to limit the River Valley squad to three runs. Xavier Mullins took the win in three innings, in which he allowed one run.
Lester has been at or near the top of every offensive category this season. As of May 7, he was leading the KMAC in a number of categories, including hitting with a .534 average, slugging percentage with 1.302, doubles with eight, triples with three, and homers with eight. He was also one back from the lead in RBIs with 29 and has also been a force on the base paths with 14 steals.
Cardington-Lincoln explodes for 13 hits in blow-out 14-4 win over Bucyrus
On May 12, the Pirates traveled to Bucyrus, and Cardington-Lincoln had an offensive explosion out of the gate en route to a 14-4 win in a game shortened due to the mercy rule. The win put Cardington-Lincoln at 11-11 on the season and 5-6 in KMAC play.
The Pirates scored in every inning they went to bat, going up 3-1 after one inning and then 8-1 after two innings. Cardington-Lincoln tacked on three more runs in the third inning, but Bucyrus narrowed the gap with three runs to make it an 11-4 game. The Pirates scored three more times in the fourth inning to go up 14-4, which was the final tally for the win.
Merek McClure was on the hill for Cardington-Lincoln and picked up the win. He pitched all five innings, giving up four earned runs and six hits, while striking out six batters and surrendering no walks. He also went 1-or-3 at the plate with an RBI.
There were several stars on offense for the Pirates, but catcher Dillon Minturn stood out with a five-RBI performance on a 2-for-3 day, which included a double, while also drawing a walk and scoring twice. Third baseman AJ Hall was also a force for Cardington-Lincoln, going 3-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and a pair of runs. Right fielder Kaiden Beach provided some pop at the bottom of the order, going 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored.
Shortstop Wyatt Wade was also productive at the dish going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
