Sr. ACME District Tournament Championship
Bellefontaine 15, Indian Lake 5 (6 innings)
For the first time since 2019, the Bellefontaine Chieftains are heading to the ACME State Tournament after a 15-5 run-rule victory over Indian Lake.
With the game tied at four after the Lakers scored in the top of the fifth, the Bellefontaine offense erupted for eight runs in the bottom of the inning before adding three more in the sixth to complete the run-rule victory.
Both teams got out to a hot start at the plate.
In the top of the first, Indian Lake grabbed an early 1-0 lead. Chance Persinger led off with a walk, stole second, and scored on a Lane Kipker RBI single to left. Brady Golliday followed with a single, but Chieftain starter Aiden Smith limited the damage with a pair of groundouts before striking out Cohen Brown to end the inning.
Bellefontaine answered immediately.
Sutton Daring led off the bottom of the first with a single to center. After Kipker struck out Sammy Kline, he walked Lincoln Banta and Ean Fultz to load the bases. During Hayden Shreve’s at-bat, a passed pitch allowed Daring to score before another wild pitch brought home Banta to give the Chiefs a 2-1 lead. Shreve also worked a walk, and Nicholas Beair followed with an RBI groundout to score Fultz, making it 3-1 after one.
Both pitchers settled in during the second. Smith worked around a two-out single, while Kipker struck out two and stranded a two-out hit of his own.
Smith retired the side in four batters in the third, and the Chiefs added another run. Banta doubled to center before Shreve drove him in with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 4-1.
The Lakers answered in the fourth.
Brown and Colt Volbrecht opened the inning with walks before advancing on a wild pitch. Owen Slagle struck out, but the third strike wasn’t handled cleanly by Shreve, allowing Brown to score while the out was recorded at first.
Later in the inning, Persinger singled to center to score Rush Hurley, then stole second and third before scoring on a balk by Smith to tie the game at 4-4.
Bellefontaine threatened in the bottom half with a pair of one-out singles, but Kipker escaped by striking out Sennett Stolly before getting Daring to ground out.
Indian Lake carried the momentum into the fifth and reclaimed the lead.
Golliday was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a groundout, stole third, and scored on a passed ball to make it 5-4.
Kipker’s day ended there, as Golliday took over on the mound. Suddenly, the momentum quickly swung back to Bellefontaine.
Kline was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and advanced to third on two passed balls. Banta reached on an infield single before Kline scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Fultz was then hit by a pitch, putting runners on the corners with nobody out.
Shreve doubled to left to score one run before Beair followed with a two-run single to center, giving the Chiefs an 8-5 lead. Indian Lake turned to Brown in relief, but Bellefontaine wasn’t finished. Beair later stole home to make it 9-5.
With one out and runners on second and third, Stolly doubled to center to score both Evan Alexander and Smith before Daring capped the inning with an RBI double to center, scoring Stolly. The Lakers escaped on a 5-4 double play, but Bellefontaine had seized a 12-5 lead after five innings.
Smith stranded two runners during a scoreless sixth, and the Chieftain offense finished the job.
Banta and Fultz reached on a walk and hit by pitch before two groundouts put Indian Lake one out away from escaping the inning. Banta scored on a passed ball, Fultz came home on an Alexander infield single, and Alexander later scored when Persinger misplayed a ground ball off the bat of Smith, ending the game by run rule and sending the Chieftains into celebration as District champions.
Smith pitched all six innings for Bellefontaine, allowing five runs, four earned, on five hits and three walks while striking out three.
Offensively, six different Chieftains recorded multi-hit games: Daring, Banta, Beair, Alexander, Smith, and Stolly. Beair led the team with three RBIs, while Shreve and Stolly each drove in two. Banta scored four runs, Fultz crossed the plate three times, and Alexander scored twice.
On the bases, the Chiefs stole 10 bags, with Banta, Beair, and Daring leading the way with two apiece.
For Indian Lake, Persinger led the offense with two hits, two runs scored, and an RBI. Kipker, Golliday, and Hurley each added a hit, while Kipker drove in the Lakers’ other run.
The win capped a perfect 4-0 District Tournament run for Bellefontaine, which outscored its opponents 40-8.
The Chiefs will head to Kalida for their first ACME State Tournament appearance since 2019, where they will open play against St. Henry on Saturday, July 18, at 2:30 p.m.
Bellefontaine will be seeking its fourth ACME State Championship, following titles in 2003, 2005, and 2006.
