Mechanicsburg 13, West Liberty-Salem 7
Mechanicsburg’s explosive start proved too much to overcome, as the Indians stayed unbeaten with a 13-7 win over West Liberty-Salem on Tuesday to complete the season sweep.
The Indians came out swinging, putting up five runs in the first inning. With the bases loaded, Matthew Davis opened the scoring with an RBI infield single, and Bodee DeLong followed with a two-run single. A string of hits kept the inning alive, with Liam O’Laughlin adding an RBI before DeLong scored on a passed ball to make it 5-0.
Mechanicsburg added two more in the second. Crew LaFary doubled to lead things off, and after advancing runners, Connor Eyink brought one home with a groundout while another scored on a wild pitch. West Liberty-Salem answered with a run on a fielder’s choice from Bayes Lapp, but still trailed 7-1.
The Indians broke it open in the third with four more runs. After a pair of walks and a wild pitch, LaFary reached on an error that allowed two runs to score. He later came home on a passed ball, and Davis added another RBI single to stretch the lead to 11-1.
The Tigers didn’t go quietly. They threatened in the middle innings before breaking through in the fifth and sixth. Brandel Sullivan drove in a run, and a four-run sixth inning — highlighted by hits from Dallas Koons and Sam Strapp along with multiple Mechanicsburg errors — cut the deficit to 11-6.
Mechanicsburg responded with insurance runs, including a sacrifice fly from LaFary and another run scoring on a defensive miscue, pushing the lead to 13-6. West Liberty-Salem added one more on an RBI groundout from Timmy Howells, but couldn’t get any closer.
Davis led the Indians with three hits and two RBIs, while DeLong added two RBIs and LaFary drove in a team-high three. For the Tigers, Strapp went 2-for-2 with an RBI, and five other players recorded hits.
Mechanicsburg improves to 11-0 and will face Cedarville on Thursday. West Liberty-Salem falls to 7-6 and will travel to Bellefontaine on Saturday.
Riverside 7, Milton-Union 4
Riverside rode a strong pitching performance from Cooper Crouch and timely hitting to a 7-4 win over Milton-Union on Tuesday.
Crouch struck out 11 batters while allowing just one earned run on seven hits and two walks, controlling the game from the mound.
The Pirates jumped out early in the first inning. Brody Orsborne singled, Crouch doubled, and Syler Clark walked to load the bases. A fielder’s choice brought in the first run, and with two outs, Hayden McCully delivered a two-RBI single to make it 3-0.
Riverside added two more in the third. McCully came through again with an RBI single, and Colton Hurley scored on an error to extend the lead to 5-0.
Milton-Union battled back, scoring twice in the third on a hit and an error, then adding two more in the fifth after a bases-loaded situation and another defensive miscue cut it to 5-4. Crouch settled in to escape further damage and preserve the lead.
The Pirates answered in the sixth. Tony Robinson delivered a clutch two-out, two-RBI single with the bases loaded to give Riverside breathing room at 7-4.
Crouch worked around a late threat before Syler Clark came on in the seventh and shut the door with a pair of strikeouts.
McCully and Robinson each led the offense with two hits and three RBIs.
Riverside improves to 12-3 and will travel to Bethel on Thursday.
West Jefferson 21, Triad 0 (5 innings)
Triad was overmatched in the second game of the series, falling 21-0 on Tuesday to West Jefferson in a run-rule loss.
The Roughriders combined for a no-hitter, allowing just three walks while dominating from start to finish.
West Jefferson piled up 21 runs on 17 hits and three walks, taking advantage of three Triad errors along the way.
The Cardinals’ best chance came in the fourth inning when they put two runners on, but couldn’t capitalize.
Triad falls to 1-11 and will look to regroup when they host Southeastern on Friday.
