Students participating in the 2026 Summer Enrichment Academy (SEA) Sportscaster Camp got a firsthand taste of sports broadcasting Wednesday evening as they called a live Junior ACME baseball game from Blue Jacket Park between the Bellefontaine Chieftains and Indian Lake Lakers on PeakofOhioTV.
Wearing headsets and working behind the microphones, the young broadcasters provided play-by-play and color commentary throughout the contest, putting into practice the skills they learned during the week-long camp.
The student broadcasters included AJ Estes, Luke Doseck, Sully Storm, Cannon Wood, Ike Meister, McKenna Jones, and Oliver Fleming.
The Sportscaster Camp is one of many offerings available through the Summer Enrichment Academy, which is held June 8-12 at Bellefontaine High School. The program is a collaborative effort between Benjamin Logan Local Schools, Bellefontaine City Schools, Indian Lake Local Schools, and the Midwest Regional Educational Service Center.
Designed for students entering grades 2-8 throughout Logan County, the academy provides a variety of educational experiences aimed at encouraging academic growth, creativity, and career exploration.
This year’s SEA features a wide range of engaging courses, giving students opportunities to explore new interests while developing valuable skills in a fun, hands-on environment.
For the aspiring sportscasters, Wednesday’s live broadcast offered a unique opportunity to step into a real-world media setting and experience the excitement of calling live game action for viewers across the region.
The full replay of the game is now available on PeakofOhioTV HERE and on Roku.
Bellefontaine 11, Indian Lake 1 (5 innings)
The Bellefontaine Chieftains used a dominant stretch of baseball over the final three innings to pull away from the Indian Lake Lakers and earn an 11-1 run-rule victory in five innings Wednesday night in Jr. ACME action.
Indian Lake came out aggressive from the opening pitch.
Wyatt Beair reached on a throwing error by the Chieftains’ shortstop to start the game and immediately put pressure on the defense, stealing both second and third base over the next two at-bats. With one out, Charlie Stimmel lined a single into the outfield to score Beair and give the Lakers an early 1-0 advantage.
Bellefontaine starter Graycen Gross settled down after the RBI hit, stranding a pair of runners to keep the deficit at one.
Brady Jackson got the start on the mound for Indian Lake and matched Gross early. Despite surrendering a one-out double to Hudson Banta in the first inning, Jackson worked out of trouble and left the runner stranded at third to preserve the lead.
The Lakers threatened again in the second.
Graysen DeLong opened the inning with a single and Kaiden Lacher followed with a walk, putting runners at the corners with nobody out. Gross responded in a big way, striking out the next two hitters. After a pitch skipped away from Bellefontaine catcher Dean Buffkin, DeLong broke for home, but Buffkin recovered quickly and applied the tag at the plate to end the inning.
That defensive play proved to be the turning point.
Bellefontaine answered in the bottom of the second. Keaton Dinovo led off with a single up the middle and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Zaige Huffman. Dinovo advanced to third on a groundout by Buffkin before scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1.
Gross returned to the mound in the third and delivered a clean 1-2-3 inning, setting the stage for Bellefontaine’s offense to take control.
Karter Keller was hit by a pitch to begin the bottom of the third and eventually moved into scoring position. Rowan Daring then ripped a ball into the right-center field gap for an RBI triple, giving the Chieftains their first lead of the evening.
The next batter, Banta, wasted little time adding on.
He lined a single into center field to score Daring and make it 3-1. Bellefontaine later loaded the bases, and Banta crossed the plate on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 4-1 after three innings.
Gross continued to dominate on the mound in the fourth.
The right-hander retired the Lakers in order, and the inning ended on a line-drive double play back to the pitcher after the runner failed to tag up at second base.
The Chieftains then blew the game open.
Indian Lake turned to DeLong on the mound, but Bellefontaine immediately put pressure on the new pitcher. Gross was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and walks to Keller and Bennett Lang loaded the bases.
After a fielder’s choice recorded the first out at home plate, Banta drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run. A balk brought home another run moments later, and Daring later scored on a wild pitch.
The biggest blow came off the bat of Colson Garver.
The Bellefontaine slugger hammered a two-run double that rolled all the way to the wall, pushing the Chieftains’ lead to 9-1 and putting the run rule firmly in sight.
Banta took over on the mound in the fifth and added to his already impressive evening.
Despite hitting one batter, he struck out all three outs in the inning and never allowed Indian Lake a chance to mount a comeback.
Bellefontaine wasted little time ending things in the bottom half.
Hunter Werling was hit by a pitch and Gross followed with a single to left. An outfield error allowed both runners to advance, putting immediate pressure on the Lakers. Keller delivered an RBI single to score Werling, moving the Chieftains within one run of ending the game.
A few batters later, Banta stepped to the plate and delivered the finishing touch. His infield single beat the throw to first base, allowing Gross to race home with the game-ending run as Bellefontaine secured the 11-1 victory.
Banta turned in a stellar all-around performance, finishing 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored while striking out the side in his inning of relief.
Garver added a two-run double and Daring finished with a triple, a run scored, and an RBI. Dinovo, Gross, and Keller also recorded hits for the Chieftains, while Keller drove in a run and scored once.
Gross earned the win on the mound, allowing just one unearned run while shutting down the Lakers over four strong innings.
For Indian Lake, Stimmel and DeLong accounted for the team’s only hits. Stimmel drove in the Lakers’ lone run in the first inning.
With the victory, Bellefontaine improves to 2-1 on the young Jr. ACME season, while Indian Lake falls to 2-4.
