Olentangy Orange 5, Urbana 0
The Urbana Hillclimbers saw their 17-game winning streak come to an end in a 5-0 shutout loss to one of the state’s top-ranked teams, the Olentangy Orange Pioneers, in a non-tournament matchup.
Urbana had shut out each of its previous three opponents, making this the first time the Climbers allowed a run since facing Olentangy Liberty on May 14.
The Pioneers struck first in the opening inning. A leadoff triple quickly turned into a run on a sacrifice fly to give Orange an early 1-0 lead.
Tate Lantz recorded Urbana’s lone hit in the second inning, but was later picked off to end the frame.
Olentangy Orange added another run in the third after a single, stolen base, and error moved a runner to third before a two-out double to right brought her home. The Pioneers extended the lead to 3-0 in the fourth after a batter reached on an error and later scored on a two-out infield single.
The final two runs came in the sixth. The first two batters reached base, and during a double pickoff attempt that retired one runner, another came around to score. A wild pitch later plated the fifth and final run.
Grady Lantz took the loss for Urbana, allowing five runs, three earned, on five hits while striking out five. Olentangy Orange used four different pitchers to combine for the one-hit shutout.
Tate Lantz accounted for Urbana’s only hit, while Carter Houseman, Bentley Cordial, Larkin Moore, and Tate Lantz each drew walks. The Hillclimbers put two runners on base in both the third and seventh innings but could not capitalize.
Urbana falls to 22-6, suffering its first loss since April 15 against Jonathan Alder. The Hillclimbers return to tournament play Wednesday, May 27 against Eaton in the district semifinals.
