OHSAA First Round
Graham 4, Greenon 3
The Graham Falcons are advancing in the OHSAA playoffs after holding on for a 4-3 First Round win over the Greenon Knights.
Greenon struck first in the opening inning as Falcon starter Nathan Crisler battled command issues early, walking the bases loaded. A sacrifice fly brought home the first run, then a dropped third strike allowed another run to score for a 2-0 Knights lead after one.
Graham answered in the second. Jack Traylor led off with a single and later scored when Crisler helped himself with an RBI liner into left field to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Falcons then grabbed the lead in the third with two outs. Levi Hollingsworth worked a walk and Brody Jenkins followed with a single before Traylor ripped a two-run double to right field, giving Graham a 3-2 advantage.
From there, Crisler settled in nicely on the mound. Despite a pair of Falcon errors behind him, he faced just one batter over the minimum across the next three innings and got key outs, including a double play to end the fifth.
Graham added an important insurance run in the fifth when Jenkins reached and later scored on another RBI single from Traylor to make it 4-2.
Greenon threatened again in the sixth. With two outs, the Knights loaded the bases and drew a walk to cut the lead to one. Crisler was then lifted after 5.2 innings and more than 100 pitches, with JP Morris entering in relief. Morris immediately struck out the next batter to strand the tying runners.
Crisler finished allowing three runs, two earned, on just one hit while striking out eight and walking six.
In the seventh, Morris shut the door with two flyouts and a strikeout, retiring all four batters he faced while earning a pair of punchouts to secure the 4-3 playoff victory.
Traylor led the Falcons offensively with a three-hit day, including a double and three RBIs. Jenkins added two hits, while Crisler drove in the other run.
Graham improves to 7-19 and advances to the district quarterfinals Thursday against the Anna Rockets.
Regular Season
Urbana 9, Arcanum 0
The Urbana Hillclimbers stretched their winning streak to 16 straight games after shutting out the Arcanum Trojans 9-0.
Brody Donahoe dominated on the mound for Urbana, tossing a three-hit shutout while striking out 10. The three hits were the only baserunners he allowed all night.
The Hillclimbers broke through in the second inning. Dexyn Yohey led off with a double and later scored on an RBI double from Austin Hill. A later error in left field allowed courtesy runner Braxten Spriggs to score, and Colton Roberts eventually came home on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.
Urbana added on in the third when Kevin Endres launched a solo homer to lead off the inning. Tate Lantz later scored on an infield single from Yohey to extend the lead to 5-0.
Another run crossed in the fourth as Carter Houseman singled and later scored on a Grady Lantz triple to deep center field.
The Climbers then put the game away in the sixth. Houseman tripled, Grady Lantz was hit by a pitch, and Endres crushed a three-run homer over the right field fence to cap the scoring at 9-0.
Endres led the offense with a huge three-hit, two-homer, four-RBI night. Yohey added three hits and an RBI, while Houseman and Grady Lantz each collected two hits.
Urbana improves to 21-5 and will now prepare for its tournament opener against Northridge.
Riverside 5, Indian Lake 2
The Riverside Pirates used steady offense and a complete game from Brody Orsborne to defeat county rival Indian Lake 5-2.
Riverside wasted little time getting on the board. Orsborne reached on an error to lead off the game, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Cooper Crouch RBI groundout for a 1-0 lead.
Orsborne then worked a clean first inning on the mound, striking out one while retiring the Lakers in order.
After a scoreless second, the Pirates added another run in the third. David Gross was hit by a pitch and later scored when an error on a Tony Robinson bunt allowed the inning to continue and the run to cross.
Indian Lake answered in the bottom half. Chance Persinger singled to begin the inning, and later with two outs, Cooper Hall lined an RBI single to score Mack Jarvis. Another run came home on a catcher error to tie the game at 2-2 after three.
Riverside quickly regained control in the fourth. Camden Shoe walked, stole third, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Colton Hurley. In the fifth, three straight Pirate singles from Robinson, Crouch, and Syler Clark pushed another run home to make it 4-2.
Meanwhile, Orsborne continued to keep the Lakers quiet, allowing just one baserunner over the next two innings before escaping a sixth-inning jam with two runners stranded.
The Pirates added insurance in the seventh when Carson Manning scored on an RBI double to center from Crouch.
Orsborne completed the game by retiring the Lakers in order in the seventh, finishing with a complete-game effort allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits and four walks while striking out six.
Crouch led Riverside with two hits and two RBIs. Robinson, Clark, Hayden McCully, and Orsborne each added hits, while Clark and Hurley drove in runs.
For Indian Lake, Hall, Brady Golliday, and Persinger each had hits, with Hall recording the lone RBI.
Riverside improves to 16-7 and will await the winner of Dayton Christian and Yellow Springs in the district semifinals. Indian Lake falls to 10-14 and will travel to face West Liberty-Salem in the district quarterfinals on Thursday.
London 11, Mechanicsburg 6
The Mechanicsburg Indians suffered just their third loss of the season in an 11-6 defeat to the London Red Raiders.
London jumped out quickly with three runs in the first inning, all coming with two outs. A pair of singles and an error at third base each plated runs before the Red Raiders added a two-run homer in the second to build a 5-0 lead.
Mechanicsburg answered in the third when Colton Salyers drew a leadoff walk and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Crew Lafary.
However, London kept the pressure on offensively. A sacrifice fly and a two-out double added two more runs in the third for a 7-1 lead.
The Indians scratched another run across in the fourth. Conner Eyink reached on an error, stole both second and third, and scored on a Bodee Delong sacrifice fly. Eyink then helped limit further damage in the bottom half by striking out the final two batters of the inning with two runners aboard.
London responded again in the fifth with three more runs, highlighted by a solo homer and two RBI doubles to extend the lead to 10-2.
Mechanicsburg continued to battle late. In the sixth, Eyink scored on a failed pickoff attempt, and Drew Lawhorn later added an RBI infield single. The Indians added two more runs in the seventh on an RBI single from Eyink and a sacrifice fly from Hank Huffman, but the comeback fell short.
Eyink led Mechanicsburg offensively with a hit, an RBI, and three stolen bases. Lawhorn and Huffman each added hits, while four different Indians recorded RBIs.
Mechanicsburg falls to 19-3 and will next play in the district semifinals Tuesday, May 26 against either Cardington-Lincoln or Wellington School.
Miami East 4, West Liberty-Salem 4 (Tie, 5 innings)
The West Liberty-Salem Tigers and Miami East Vikings finished in a 4-4 tie after weather forced the game to be called during the fifth inning.
Miami East scored once in each of the first two innings to take an early 2-0 lead. In the first, a walk and single set up a run-scoring fielder’s choice. In the second, two walks and a passed ball moved runners into scoring position before an error in right field allowed another run to score.
West Liberty-Salem stranded four runners across the first two innings, including two in scoring position in the second.
Miami East threatened again in the third with runners on second and third, but the Tigers escaped with back-to-back groundouts to keep the deficit at two.
The Tigers finally broke through in the bottom of the third. Isaac Sertell and Reese Oder drew walks around a bunt single from Braden Hershberger to load the bases. Josiah Johnson then forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk before Sam Strapp lined a two-run single to center, giving WL-S its first lead. Koons later added a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2 after three innings.
Both teams were quiet in the fourth, but Miami East tied the game in the fifth. Two singles cut the deficit to one, and later a runner scored from third on a pickoff attempt to even the score at 4-4.
West Liberty-Salem came to bat in the bottom of the fifth, but after two outs and with Strapp in a 1-2 count, rain and lightning forced the game to be called. The contest was later ruled an official tie.
Koons pitched the first three innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits and three walks. Timmy Howells tossed the final two innings, giving up two runs, one earned, while striking out two.
Strapp drove in two runs for the Tigers, while Koons and Johnson each had an RBI. Sertell recorded the lone multi-hit performance.
West Liberty-Salem is now 14-9-1 and will face Indian Lake in the district quarterfinals Thursday
