Highland 11, River Valley 1
Highland 11, Clear Fork 1
Highland (19-3, 13-0) secured the MOAC title with a pair of back-to-back 11-1 victories, thanks to strong pitching by Zach Church and Kort Sears.
Highland picked up an 11-1 win over River Valley (5-19, 3-11) on May 8 to clinch a share of the MOAC title.
It was Senior Night for the Fighting Scots, and the three seniors were all integral in the win, which was the team's 15th-straight win in MOAC play. Brock Church went 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored, while Zach Schmidt had a hit, walk and a run. Layton Shaffer recorded two hits, including a double, an RBI and a run.
Freshman pitcher Zach Church took the ball and shined in the start, allowing three hits and one unearned run while striking out three batters. He is now 7-0 and has an ERA of 1.09.
Highland then took on Clear Fork on May 9, and continued their dominance with another 11-1 victory to claim the MOAC title outright, making it the fifth-straight season the Fighting Scots have taken home a league crown.
Sears pitched six innings of three-hit ball, allowing one earned run and getting a pair of strikeouts in the win.
Brock Church had two hits and scored a run. Shaffer had a pair of hits, including a triple, to go with two RBIs and a run. Jayden Collins and Jace Brooks both had doubles.
Mount Vernon 2, Jonathan Alder 1
Mount Vernon (17-4, 9-3) won its 10th-straight game in a 2-1 victory over a previously undefeated Jonathan Alder squad (22-1, 13-0) on May 8. MV's Konnor Daughriety was dominant on the hill, allowing only two hits in the win for the Yellow Jackets.
Both teams scored in the first inning, and that tie was held until the third inning, when the Yellow Jackets put a run on the board. This was all they would need as they kept the Pioneers scoreless the rest of the way.
Daughriety pitched seven strong innings, with one unearned run allowed on two hits, two walks and six strikeouts.
Leading the offense was Trevor Buttke with a 2-for-3 day. The lone RBI went to Cedric Burger. Also recording hits were Zac Clow, who also scored, Logan Trace and Kayden Packard. Caden Rowland crossed the plate with a run scored, as well.
East Knox 13, Ridgewood 2
Bryar Householder and Carson Steinmetz were a major one-two punch for East Knox (15-4, 9-3) on May 9. The two combined to go 7-for-10 with six RBIs with Householder homering in a 13-2 win over Ridgewood (4-9, 3-3).
It was the 12th-straight win for East Knox, who continued to be hot with their third-consecutive blowout.
East Knox scored a pair of runs in the first and put two across again in the second inning to go up 4-0. In the first inning, EK's Josh Keith knocked in a run on a single. Steinmetz had a double in the second inning to lead the offense.
The third inning was the knockout blow to Ridgewood, with the Bulldogs piling on seven runs. Steinmetz, Householder, Landon Spearman and Mitch Williams each had RBIs in the inning.
The Generals scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning, but East Knox finished the game with a two-run sixth.
East Knox connected for 16 hits in the win, led by Steinmetz, who was 4-for-5 with a double, three RBIs , two runs and a steal. Householder was 3-for-5 with two runs, three RBIs and a homer. Williams knocked in three runs and scored twice while going 1-for-2 with a walk and a steal. Caden Wengerd had a 3-for-3 day with two runs and an RBI. Ryan Morton was 2-for-4 with two runs.
Keith pitched a complete game to seal the win, allowing five hits with two earned runs, three walks and six strikeouts.
Northmor 8, Cardington-Lincoln 0
Trevor Brubaker was in command on the hill for Northmor (17-5, 8-3), throwing a three-hit shutout to beat Cardington-Lincoln (8-9-1, 3-9-1) by an 8-0 count on May 9.
Northmor scored twice in the second inning and followed with a three-run third to take a 5-0 lead. In the fifth inning, the Knights put two more runs on the board and finished with a one-run sixth.
Brubaker went seven innings with three hits allowed, two walks and seven strikeouts.
The Golden Knights had nine hits and were led by Garrett Harvey, who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk. Bryce Cooper had the only extra-base hit in the game, knocking a double in a 1-for-4 showing with an RBI.
Wyatt Wade, Denton Garrison and Kaiden Beach all had singles for the Pirates. Wade started the game on the mound and took the loss, going 2 2/3 innings, allowing six hits, five earned runs and three walks while striking out three.
Danville 6, Wellington School 2
The Blue Devils (6-11, 3-9) got a big sixth inning to break open a tie ball game, sealing a 6-2 victory over Wellington School (3-10, 2-10) on May 8, on the back of a solid pitching performance by Zach Sapp.
Danville scored a run in the first on a Kendall Carter RBI single, and then another in the second to take a 2-0 lead, but the Jaguars tied the game 2-2 in the third inning. In the sixth inning, Danville scored four runs, highlighted by two runs coming home on an error.
Sapp was the winning pitcher, striking out eight while allowing four hits and two runs.
The offense for Danville was led by Dustin Beckett, Caleb Lucas and Carter, who all had two hits apiece. Beckett and Carter both knocked in a run. Also recording RBIs were Levi Furay and Wyatt Nissley.
Northmor 10, Galion 0
Drew Hammond was a beast on the mound for Northmor (17-5, 8-3), throwing a complete-game shutout in which he allowed only one infield hit in the 10-0 win over Galion (4-9, 1-6) on May 9.
Hammond struck out eight batters and walked one in the victory.
Northmor got on the board with three runs in the bottom of the second inning, sparked by a sacrifice fly by Trevor Brubaker. The second run came on an RBI single by Bryce Cooper, which was followed by another RBI single by Grant Bentley.
In the fourth inning, Northmor scored a run on an error to go up 4-0. Hammond then knocked in two runs on an RBI double. The Golden Knights scored three more runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by an RBI single by Bentley and a walk for Hammond with the bases loaded. Isaac Black hit an RBI single in the sixth inning to complete the scoring barrage.
There were 11 hits in the game for Northmor, led by Hammond, who was 1-for-2 with a double, three RBIs and a walk. Bentley was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Cooper was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs, as well as a steal. Garrett Harvey also had a multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 day and an RBI.
Marion Harding 10, Mount Gilead 0
It has been a tough end of the season for Mount Gilead (8-13, 3-8), and those woes continued against Marion Harding, as the Indians took their fourth-straight loss, this one by a score of 10-0.
The Presidents went up 2-0 in the first and then 4-0 in the second inning to take the early lead. After a scoreless third inning, Marion Harding tacked on five runs in the fourth inning. They added a run in the sixth inning to finish off the runaway.
Mount Gilead had two hits on the day compared to 13 for the Presidents. Cole Fricke and Nick Garvey both went 1-for-2 on the day. Fricke also had a stolen base.
Fricke took the loss, pitching three innings and allowing four runs – three earned runs – and seven hits, while striking out three batters. Cam Vickers pitched three innings in relief, allowing six runs with five earned, three walks and a strikeout.
