April 30, 2000
Baseball games
More tough luck for TC
MANSFIELD &emdash; Hard-luck scenarios continued to play themselves out for the Columbian baseball team, which gave up two unearned runs in the seventh inning to drop a 6-5 decision to Sandusky in a Division I sectional game.
Scott Bloomfield seemed to give TC plenty of firepower by homering in the top of the first and then allowing just three hits on the mound through the first six innings.
The Tornadoes even overcame three unearned Sandusky runs in the bottom of the first. Columbian rallied in the top of the seventh with a pair of runs to grab a 5-4 lead.
But by that time Bloomfield had thrown 110 pitches.
"Scott had thrown 110 pitches, and he suggested it was it was time for him to come out and we knew it was, too," Columbian coach Adam Schmucker said. His team fell to 4-11. "So we put (Dan) Breyman in, and he did a nice job throwing the ball. He gave up a single off our shortstop's glove who was diving on the play, and after that we just didn't make the plays in the field to get ourselves out of the inning."
Both runs Breyman gave up were unearned. He and Bloomfield combined on a five-hitter.
Chad Cotton got the final out of the game to notch the win for the Blue Streaks. Ironically, Cotton gave up both runs and blew a save opportunity.
Anthony Theis (double) had a pair of hits for the Tornadoes, as did Bloomfield and Ryan Clouse (two RBIs). Dan Lutz and Jamie Moore had singles.
"We showed spirit by coming back to not only tie the game, but to take the lead and give ourselves a chance to win," Schmucker said. "But right now winning games is the hardest thing for us to do."
Tigers win 13th in a row, first tourney game
MILAN &emdash; Seneca East scored eight runs in the third inning to seal a sectional tournament victory over Western Reserve, 12-0.
"You never know what to expect in tournament play, so I'm happy with how we played," Seneca East coach Frank Lamoreaux said. "Anyone can beat anyone once they start, and you never know what's going to happen. It was a good way to start things."
Mike Breyman struck out seven in four innings of work and improved to 3-0 for the Tigers (13-0). Jason Burkholder had two strikeouts in one inning of pitching. Western Reserve is 4-10.
Breyman doubled twice at the plate, also getting a run and driving in two. Rusty Wagner cracked a double as one of his two hits, scoring two runs and knocking in three.
Kurt Weaver (run, two RBIs), Nate Leber (two runs, RBI), Brian Bischoff (run), Mike Risner and Elijah Kimmet had singles for the winners. Burkholder scored two runs, as did Lief Fortney (RBI), and Joe Holmer had a run and an RBI to his credit.
Seneca East is at North Baltimore Monday. The next tournament game for the Tigers will be May 9 against New London or Milan Edison.
Mohawks upend Lakers in pitching duel
OLD FORT &emdash; In a game of dueling pitchers, St. Wendelin took advantage of mistakes by Danbury hurler Mark Nelson to upend the Lakers 2-1 in the first round of the Division IV sectional Saturday at Old Fort.
Nelson fanned seven and gave up just four hits on the day, but just couldn't seem to be at ease when St. Wendelin's Shannon Dixie got on base.
Dixie lined the second of his two singles in the top of the third inning, moved to second on a balk by Nelson and then scored on Ryan Smith's double to put the Mohawks up 1-0.
Three innings later, Dixie drew a walk, again moved to second on a balk and advanced to third on a wild pitch before trotting home on another balk for a 2-0 lead.
The Mohawks had a chance to add to that in the seventh when Brett Taylor singled with one out, stole second and moved up to the third on a wild pitch. But Nelson fanned the next two batters to end the inning.
The Lakers halved St. Wendelin's lead in the bottom of the seventh.
Leadoff hitter Josh Stephens singled, moved to third on Josh Schenko's single and scored on Mike Abbot's sacrifice.
With the tying run at second, St. Wendelin pitcher Ryan Smith got two groundouts to quiet the rally and get the win.
Smith retired the first 12 batters he faced before giving up a leadoff single in the fifth to Stephens, who was later forced out at second on a grounder by Schenko.
Schenko got to third on a sacrifice and error, but third baseman Sean Reiter threw out Chad Indorf at first to end the inning.
Tong too much for Hopewell-Loudon
NEW RIEGEL &emdash; Vanlue only had three hits, but the Wildcats took advantage of three Hopewell-Loudon errors to slip by the Chieftains 4-3 in the first round of the Division IV sectional Saturday at New Riegel.
Winning pitcher Aaron Tong was Vanlue's biggest offensive weapon, belting a double and single and scoring three runs. Those runs were either set up by or were the direct result of Hopewell-Loudon miscues.
Tong led off the bottom of the first with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch before later scoring.
In the third, he singled, stole second, went to third on fly ball and scored on an error by catcher Brett Taylor.
He reached first in the fifth inning on an error by second baseman Jason Thompson, used two wild pitches to get to third and scored on a balk by pitcher Neil Harber.
Justin Blair added Vanlue's other run by scoring in the first after singling.
Hopewell-Loudon tied the game with two runs in the top of the second.
Scott Elchert drew a one-out walk and Thompson got the Chieftain's lone hit, a single. Both scored later on passed balls.
The Chieftains added another in the third when Andy Brickner reached on a fielder's choice and later scored. But Tong's second run of the game tied for Vanlue that same inning.
The loss eclipsed a great pitching effort by Harber, who struck out 13 Wildcats for Hopewell-Loudon.
But Tong's pitching effort was his equal. He gave up just the one hit to Thompson and struck out six.
The Wildcats face Arcadia May 6 at New Riegel at 2:15 p.m. in the tournament.
Early runs lift Eagles past Lakota
OLD FORT &emdash; Eastwood scored all nine of their runs in the first three innings, including four in the first, and held on for a 9-8 win over Suburban Lakes League foe Lakota in their Division III sectional semifinal matchup.
John Sander led the Raiders at the plate by going 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored. David Russell added two runs and a double. Tim Ray suffered the loss in a complete-game effort. He gave up 14 hits and two walks while striking out three.
Aaron Meyer went 3-for-3 for the Eagles. Aaron Server (double), Scott Becker, Ross LIngenfelter (home run), Luke Speck (home run, double), and Mike Hatas each had two hits.
Lakota falls to 8-11 with the defeat, while Eastwood moves on to play another SLL rival &emdash; Elmwood &emdash; in the sectional finals.
Regular Season
Fisher, Senecas blast Colonel Crawford
NORTH BALTIMORE &emdash; Bart Fisher was 4-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs, hitting two doubles and a home run in Calvert's 14-4 waxing of Colonel Crawford.
"We were down 3-0 and 4-3, but we turned a double play to end the third inning and we did a lot of good things from there," Calvert coach Rick Demith said. "The team that I thought we could have showed up today. Bart Fisher took four of the best swings he's ever taken while I've been here today, and he hit the ball hard every time. We showed up to play ball today, and I think we're coming out of our shell."
Eric Lee improved to 2-1 on the mound, striking out five and walking five for the Senecas (7-6). Colonel Crawford slips to 6-13.
Harvey (run, two RBIs) had a double as one of his two hits, as did Eric Puffenberger (two runs, two RBIs). Lee (two runs, RBI) added two singles, and Jon Raitz was 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs. Alex Plotts and Scott Frank had a run and a hit each, and Robbie Ritzler, Andy Ritzler and Dustyn Risner scored.
The Senecas are at St. Joseph in an MAL game Monday.
Bobcats earn split
BETTSVILLE &emdash; Bettsville pushed across a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to down Buckeye Central, 4-3, and earn a split in a doubleheader.
The Bucks took the first game, 4-2.
Joe Kizer got things started in the ninth when he tripled to lead off the inning. Jon Rollins and Nick Baker were intentionally walked to load the bases for Eddie Sisco, whose single down the the third-base line brought home the game-winner.
"Both games were pitched very well, and it's nice to win a close game," said Bettsville coach Brian Coleman, whose team improved to 5-8 after the win. "It came down to the small things. I told the kids that if we do the small things right we'll win the close games.
"It was just fabulous as far as the pitching goes," he said. "Hopefully we can carry that into the tournament also."
Don Lawrence started the second game, and went seven innings, giving up six hits and four walks while striking out three. Sisco (two walks, two strikeouts) went the final two innings to notch the win.
Rollins (two hits, RBI) also tripled for Bettsville, while Evan Baker (two hits) and Josh Schumm (two hits) contributed doubles. Paul Yeakle and Justin Harrison also had hits.
Rollins pitched the second game, allowing seven hits in a complete game effort. He struck out four and walked only two, but the Bobcat offense could only manage two runs out of its eight hits.
Schumm doubled and Evan Baker tripled. Kizer, Rollins, Nick Baker and Lawrence also had hits.
River Valley outlasts Mohawk
MARION &emdash; River Valley scored two runs each in the seventh and eighth innings of a 7-6 win over Mohawk (6-11).
The Warriors held a 5-3 lead in the seventh and were one out from a win when the Vikings mounted a late rally.
"Our kids deserved a better fate than what they got today," Mohawk coach Phil Kimmet said. "Grant Good and Nate Lofay had great days. It's too bad that some things that were out of our control and had an effect on the game weren't prevented. This is probably one of the better games we've played this year, and I can't fault our effort."
Mark Gaietto took the loss for Mohawk, striking out three and walking four in three innings of relief. Starter Kraig Lease struck out six and walked six in five innings.
Grant Good had three hits and three RBIs for the Warriors, and Nate Lofay had two runs and two RBIs to go with his three base hits. Gaietto chipped in two runs, a run and an RBI. Zack Ekleberry and T.J. Marcotte had a run and a hit each, and Ryan Hohman scored a run.
St. Wendelin entertains Mohawk Monday.