April 21, 2000

Baseball stories

Breyman &emdash; gasp &emdash; makes an out, but Tigers blast their way to win

ATTICA &emdash; New London found a way to do something Thursday many teams in the area haven't figured out yet. Too bad it didn't help.

The Wildcats broke Mike Breyman's streak of 32 straight trips to first off a hit or walk by getting the Seneca East slugger to ground out hard in the first inning, but the Tigers pounded out seven runs in the fifth inning to power past New London 15-8 and stay unbeaten.

The Tigers led 3-0 after the second inning, but New London roughed up Seneca East starter Jason Burkholder for two homers and five runs in the top of the third to grab a 5-3 lead.

The Wildcats (9-4) extended that lead to 8-3 in the next inning off relief pitcher Leif Fortney. Then Seneca East came alive.

Kurt Weaver's three-run home run blast trimmed New London's lead to 8-6 in the bottom of the fourth &emdash; and that was just for starters.

While Fortney and the defense found a way to silence the Wildcats' bats, Weaver and Rusty Wagner each slammed a two-run homer in the fifth inning and Breyman drilled a two-run shot in the sixth to power Seneca East, ranked sixth in the first Division III poll, to the victory.

It was a slow start to a powerful win, but one that coach Frank Lamoreaux is sure woke up his team.

"We were kind of silent until the fourth and fifth inning," Lamoreaux said. "We had to learn a few things. We had a couple of at-bats that weren't smart, but we got smarter as went. You learn from your mistakes."

Fortney (2-0) got the win as Seneca East moved to 8-0.

Breyman also had a double and a single to help him drive in five runners on the night. His homer was his 10th long ball of the year, but the slugger saw his season average drop 31 points &emdash; to .926.

He's now 25-of-27 on the year. The only other time he's been retired so far this year came in his first-at bat against Monroeville to open the season.

Weaver's two home runs give him four in his last four games while Wagner's was his first of 2000.

Brian Bischoff added two singles and double to chase home two runs, Wagner added two singles, Burkholder had an RBI and single and Nate Leber and Joe Holmer each lined a single.

The Tigers host Buckeye Central Monday.

Lutz, Tornadoes .500 in NOL

UPPER SANDUSKY &emdash; Columbian improved to 3-3 in the Northern Ohio League and 4-5 overall Thursday, scoring seven times in the last two innings of a 10-4 win over Upper Sandusky.

Columbian jumped out on Upper (1-8, 0-6) quickly, scoring twice in the first inning. Four runs in the top of the sixth gave TC a 7-1 edge.

"Upper really battled, and they stuck with us for most of the game," Columbian coach Adam Schmucker said. "We left eight runners on base, and they kept finding ways to stop us from scoring and blowing it open. I don't think our offense is clicking the way it can yet, but we've played eight of our nine games on the road, so I'm very happy with 3-3 in the league.

"We'll go to Ashland Saturday for a doubleheader, and those games along with every game we play in the next week will be important for the tournament. We have a chance to get the second seed."

Dan Lutz hit a home run and added a double for the Tornadoes, going 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Brad Snyder cracked a double as one of his two hits, scoring twice and driving in one, and Brain Eachus had another two runs and an RBI to go with his two singles.

Jamie Moore and Jere Paull each had a run scoring single, Anthony Theis had a hit and a run and Ryan Clouse added a hit for Columbian. Justin Sauber came across the plate with two runs.

Mike Porter (1-0) picked up the pitching win, striking out three and walking two in a complete game. Losing pitcher Chad Karg gave up all 10 runs, but only six of them were earned. Blake Ross also pitched.

Tye Orians had two hits, inlcuding a double, and two RBIs for Upper, which is at home for a doubleheader with Wynford Saturday. Karg homered as one of his two hits. Riordan McClain and Kevin Ward (double) had a hit and a run each, and Dennis Karcher scored a run.