OHSAA DISTRICT QUARTERFINALS
Indian Lake 10, West Liberty-Salem 7
The Indian Lake Lakers exploded for eight runs in the sixth inning to power past the West Liberty-Salem Tigers 10-7 in a dramatic local district quarterfinal showdown.
Both teams were quiet early as starting pitchers Reese Oder and Jackson Snipes controlled the game through the opening innings. Oder worked around a hit batter and walk in the first, then the Tigers struck first in the bottom half. Brandel Sullivan drew a walk, and with two outs Jeremiah Johnson ripped an RBI double to right field for a 1-0 lead before being thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.
Snipes quickly settled in, striking out two in a perfect second inning, while Oder tossed another scoreless frame before Indian Lake answered in the third. Reed Strayer led off with a single and later scored on a Cooper Hall RBI double to left. Hall moved to third on a passed ball and came home on a Brady Golliday groundout to give the Lakers a 2-1 advantage.
West Liberty-Salem tied the game in the bottom of the third after back-to-back doubles from Timmy Howells and Isaac Sertell made it 2-2.
Pitching took back over from there. Snipes and Oder each worked two more scoreless innings, with Snipes striking out the side in the fifth to finish an impressive outing. He allowed just two runs on four hits and one walk, while 11 of his 15 outs recorded came by strikeout.
The game completely changed in the sixth. Chance Persinger led off with a double and Lane Kipker walked, ending Oder’s outing. After a pair of wild pitches gave Indian Lake the lead back, the Lakers loaded the bases and began a massive two-out rally. Brady Golliday lined a two-run single to center, and later Persinger cleared the bases with his second double of the inning to blow the game open at 9-2. Mack Jarvis followed with another RBI single to cap the eight-run inning and make it 10-2.
West Liberty-Salem refused to quit. Jeremiah Johnson delivered another RBI double in the sixth, and the Tigers mounted a final rally in the seventh. Isaac Sertell and Sullivan singled before Oder walked to load the bases. Johnson then ripped a bases-clearing double to center to cut the deficit to three and bring the tying run to the plate. But Lane Kipker came on and struck out Josiah Johnson to end the game and secure the Laker victory.
Indian Lake head coach Ryan Lillard talks about the win and tells how his team continues to improve late in the year:
Persinger led the Indian Lake offense with two doubles and three RBIs, while Golliday also drove in three runs. Strayer added a three-hit day, and Hall, Jarvis, and Nixon Lillard each recorded hits.
For West Liberty-Salem, Jeremiah Johnson had a monster performance, going 3-for-4 with five RBIs. Sertell added two hits and an RBI.
West Liberty-Salem ends its season at 14-10-1, while Indian Lake improves to 11-14 and advances to face Anna in the district semifinals Tuesday, May 26.
Full highlights of the game are available below:
Bellefontaine 12, Stebbins 11 (10 innings)Urbana 10, Northridge 0 (5 innings)
The Urbana Hillclimbers carried their massive winning streak into postseason play, rolling past the Northridge Polar Bears 10-0 in five innings behind a dominant all-around performance from Kevin Endres.
Endres was nearly untouchable on the mound, allowing just two hits — both by the same Northridge batter — while striking out 13 of the 15 outs he recorded. He struck out the side in the first, third, and fourth innings.
The Hillclimber offense backed him immediately. Carter Houseman opened the first with an infield single, moved up on a balk and stolen base, then scored when the second baseman dropped a pop-up from Brody Donahoe. Grady Lantz followed with a single and a stolen base before Endres ripped a two-RBI single through the left side to make it 3-0 after one.
Urbana added another run in the second when Donahoe singled home Colton Roberts, though the Climbers stranded the bases loaded. Endres continued to cruise from there, and Urbana added two more in the fourth after Grady Lantz singled, stole second and third, and later scored on an error that allowed Endres to reach.
The Hillclimbers ended it in the fifth. Roberts singled and stole second before Donahoe drove him in, Tate Lantz added a two-run double, and Dexyn Yohey delivered the walk-off RBI single.
Endres also drove in three runs at the plate, while Donahoe and Tate Lantz each had two hits and two RBIs. Grady Lantz finished a perfect 3-for-3, and Urbana stole 11 bases as a team.
Urbana has now won 17 straight games and improves to 22-5. The Hillclimbers travel to another baseball powerhouse in Bishop Watterson on Friday before facing Eaton in the district semifinals on Wednesday, May 27.
Benjamin Logan 4, Northwestern 0
The Benjamin Logan Raiders shut down Northwestern in a 4-0 district tournament victory behind a dominant complete-game shutout from Jacob Hawley.
Hawley allowed just five hits and one walk while striking out 10 Warriors, consistently working out of trouble to keep Northwestern off the board.
The Raiders struck first in the opening inning after Soli Hughes drew a leadoff walk. Later, with the bases loaded, a wild pitch allowed Hughes to score for a 1-0 lead.
Benjamin Logan added two more runs in the third. Parker Yelton and Adam Tinsman opened the inning with singles before Carter Fay reached safely on a bunt, and an error allowed Yelton to score. Later in the frame, Tinsman aggressively stole home to make it 3-0.
Northwestern’s best chance came in the fourth after two singles put runners on with one out, but Yelton threw out a runner attempting to steal second, and Hawley ended the inning with a strikeout.
The Raiders added insurance in the fifth as Fay singled and later scored on an RBI infield single from Carrick Spriggs.
Fay and Spriggs each recorded two hits and an RBI, while Hughes, Xavier Allen, Yelton, and Tinsman also added hits.
Benjamin Logan improves to 16-7 and advances to face Valley View in the district semifinals on Wednesday, May 27.
Triad 3, Houston 1
The Triad Cardinals used strong pitching and timely hitting to fend off Houston 3-1 in a tightly contested district tournament matchup.
Cardinal starter JJ Roberts was sharp from the start, striking out the side in the first inning and later escaping a bases-loaded jam in the second to keep Houston scoreless.
Triad broke through in the bottom of the second after George Hartman and Hayden Blackburn were both hit by pitches. Later, with two outs, Connor Hayes lined an RBI single into right field to score Blackburn for a 1-0 lead.
Houston answered in the third with a leadoff double and an RBI single to tie the game, but Roberts regrouped with two strikeouts to limit the damage.
The Cardinals responded immediately in the bottom half. Waylin Holtsberry singled to lead off the inning, Ty Botkins later walked, and Alex May doubled to right to score Holtsberry. Hartman then added a sacrifice fly to center to make it 3-1 after three innings.
Roberts settled in from there, escaping another bases-loaded threat in the fourth before Triad’s defense turned double plays behind him to close out the win.
Roberts tossed a complete game, allowing one run on nine hits and three walks while striking out eight.
Holtsberry and May each collected two hits, while May, Hartman, and Hayes each drove in a run.
Triad improves to 9-16 and advances to face top-seeded Fort Recovery in the district semifinals on Wednesday, May 27.
Anna 5, Graham 3
The Graham Falcons saw their season come to a close in a 5-3 loss to Anna in district quarterfinal action after one big inning swung the game.
Graham struck first in the opening inning when Levi Hollingsworth singled, and Jack Traylor followed with a two-run homer over the left field fence for an early 2-0 lead.
Falcon starter JP Morris controlled Anna through the first three innings, allowing just one baserunner while getting strong defensive help, including Traylor throwing out a runner attempting to steal in the second.
The Falcons had chances to add on in both the second and third innings, but stranded runners in scoring position each time. Anna then erupted in the fourth.
A leadoff single and one-out double plated the first run before a two-out RBI single tied the game. Moments later, an error at shortstop allowed two more runs to score, and another RBI single capped the five-run inning for the Rockets.
Graham answered with a run in the sixth after Kingston McWilliams walked and Nathan Crisler and Morris followed with singles. Kase Loudenback added an RBI infield single, but a rare inning-ending double play stopped the rally.
Hayden Nitchman was excellent in relief, retiring all six batters he faced while striking out three over two perfect innings.
The Falcons threatened in the seventh after Hollingsworth singled and Traylor walked with two outs, but the final batter grounded out to end the game.
Hollingsworth and Morris each had two hits, while Traylor’s homer accounted for two RBIs.
Graham finishes the season at 7-20, one year after making a trip to the state finals.
